When we think of fashion, we often picture runways, trends, and glossy campaigns, but behind the beauty lies a hidden cost. Fast fashion is deteriorating our climate, our rivers and nature. It is leading to volumes of landfills and eventually affecting lives and our landscape. People living in such poorly maintained land areas are prone to succumb to the illeffects of pollution. This issue of Threads of Change peels back the layers, not to shame style, but to rethink the what we wear and which fashions we adopt.

In “Carbon Footprints on the Catwalk,” we trace how a single T-shirt leaves behind invisible trails of emissions, connecting our wardrobes to global warming. “Water, Waste, and Wardrobes” dives into the toxic rivers and mountains of discarded clothes that fast fashion leaves behind. From there, “The Human Cost of Cheap Clothes” reminds us of the faces and hands behind every seam – workers whose safety and dignity are too often overlooked.

Awareness is the beginning of a phenonmenal change. “Greenwashing vs. Real Change” reveals how brands mask harmful practices with empty promises, while pointing us towards genuine sustainability. Finally, “The Future of Fashion: Slow, Circular, Sustainable” offers a glimpse of what is possible – an industry built on thrift, innovation, and conscious choices.

As you turn with cyclic trends, we invite you to see fashion not just as self’expression, but as a world-shaping power. Together, let’s weave change – thread by thread.
We need to focus on the perils of fast fashion. and bring brought to the forefront the different perspectives on the disasters of fast fashion and how we need to adopt sustainable eco-conscious designing, manufacturing and eco-consumerism.

— Khanti Savla and Prof. Dr. Vishaka Karnad*
*Professor, Department of Textile and Fashion Technology, College of Home Science Nirmala Niketan Mumbai Maharashtra India.