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Home Our Seamers

Our Seamers

Our Seamers

Off the record

Whether off the record or for the record, a clear well-intended thought can alter things – change the way we think, what we do and how we can be.

Through words, we can rebel respectfullyTM. In our writing, we don’t wish to hurt anyone or take sides on a discussion; we merely present a view. Take it, leave it; but allow it to trigger a thought in you that you can challenge, pursue and take forward.

If you are as passionate as we are and want to contribute, then write to us contactus@seamsunbranded.com with your agenda. If suitable, we will share our rule book and selections will be posted, with due credit to you.

 

The Great Indian Ways – Wasteful or Wasted?

Most cultures have over the years found ways to utilise resources in the best way possible; quite often unknowingly becoming champions of eco-friendly ways and waste management.  

Managing waste is an essential practice in every Indian household.

Think of the creative use of yesterday’s leftovers in the fridge – from old bread to vegetable curry. Used tea leaves often find their final home in household plants, with the tannic acid believed to increase oxygenation and facilitate growth. Vegetable peels become bribes for blessings from her holiness, the local cow. Some amongst us never shy away from collecting little leftover pieces of bathing soap until there are enough to stick together to make a new bar. And then remember the posh Ralph Lauren Polo that came from the US as a present from the long forgotten ‘saala’. Dad wore it. Older son wore it. Then it passed on to the younger son, who used it until it had holes in it. It then became a duster, a mop and a car wipe. When it was finally laid to rest, there wasn’t much of Ralph Lauren or Polo left in it.

Clearly Indians over the years knew how to live well – not wealthy but healthy. Why is it, then, that “India generates the most waste globally” with food and green waste comprising more than 50% of all waste?

Something’s not right. We know it. We have the answers, we have many opinions. Everyone everywhere is a ‘giani’; with an advice for how things should be done. Then why are we failing? Why aren’t we serious in managing our waste? What is going wrong? Who is at fault?

Fortunately, many are now exploring lifestyle changes – Zero Waste and Minimalism – that encourages reviewing the trash one produces and carrying one’s own containers and bags for groceries and takeaways. Fortunately, there is an increase in the number of Zero Waste families and are not just a few stories in the press.

And yet it feels like the great old traditional Indian ways are going to waste, as we embrace wasteful ways in the name of modernisation and growth. What a pity!

 

 

Brainwashed by ‘greenwashed’ agendas

We are all victim to carefully crafted brand messages that highlight lifestyles and product features that convince us to buy, buy more than we need, even stuff we never thought we needed. As the world increasingly discusses impacts on the environment and the ill-effects of human intervention and greed, we need to think about marketing spin that appeals to an emotion, often guilt, which encourages us to make a purchase in the belief that we are doing our little bit for the environment.  

The term ‘greenwashing’ emerged in the 1980s when American environmentalist Jay Westervelt challenged the ‘save the environment’ messages promoting reuse of towels in hotels, highlighting all the wastage that occurs within hotel buildings. He concluded that it was just a customer pull and costs savings agenda. 

‘Greenwashing’ makes a “company appear more environment friendly than it really is”, with unsubstantiated or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product. 

A plethora of buzzwords now permeate the garments sector – ‘sustainable’, ‘conscious’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘ethical’. How much of it is ‘greenwashing’, and how much is honest to its purpose? 

There are ways you and I can commit to spotting ‘greenwashing’. 

When next walking into a major retail outlet, ask how much of the retail shop floor is committed to the ‘green’ agenda. How much of a garment is true to an environmental agenda—fabric, buttons, threads, dyes used? Who is the manufacturer, and did they deliver against ethical practices—working conditions, gender equality, wage management, child labour etc.? And the big question—the carbon footprint that a single garment produces before it hits the shop floor. 

Maybe we can’t solve it all. But we can start by rejecting what is obviously just a marketing ploy to sell more from a larger portfolio. Together let’s become aware of the brainwashing that greenwashing is successfully achieving. Let’s think before we buy; after all that’s the one thing we can all do.