According to some estimates, nearly 25% of fabric is lost during the garment cutting and making process. That is shocking considering that textiles can take up to 200+ years to decompose in landfills! Thats where the opportunity of upcycling lies.
Textile artist, fashion designer, social entrepreneur Bhavini Parikh saw infinite opportunities in upcycling this waste fabric into fashion products that people would love to own. That was how Bunko Junko was born.
Working in the clothing industry since1990, the desire to do something creative was always there within Bhavini. Her journey started with working on garment ornamentation, embroidery work for large and small manufacturing brands where she helped in the socio-economic development of society by giving employment opportunities to more than 1000 women. After working with them for so many years, she finally started her own clothing manufacturing company along with her husband where they would make garments for brands like Vira, Ethnicity, Handloom Emporium, Aari, Maaya Clothing Pvt. Ltd.
Upcycling is the new fashion
During the production process, she realised a lot of waste fabric was produced and how so much fabric would go to waste. It was on seeing this plethora of fabric that she started thinking and researching sustainable ethical fashion. In the last few years, she is totally focused on converting scrape from the cutting floor to commercially viable products using environmental friendly upcycling and manufacturing methods.
Bhavini says, “Bunko Junko’s aim is to create an environmentally sustainable product by upcycling textile scrap and its contribution to the socio-economic upliftment of the community. Our vision is to recreate the fashion industry, and lead it into a future of sustainability by creating 5000 women entrepreneurs in upcycling. We want to industrialise textile upcycling globally as a common practice by designing a business model that is environmentally conscious. At the same time, increasing socio-economic productivity of the youth and women in the community (women empowerment) and improving their livelihood through sustainable income-generating activities and entrepreneurship development.”
The initial years were difficult as there was very less awareness and few conscious consumers.
Speaking her thoughts on the upcycled fashion sector and its impact on the environment, Bhavini believes, “An increasing amount of waste is generated every year from the production and use of textiles. For economic and environmental reasons, it is becoming increasingly necessary to recycle, reuse or upcycle as much as possible. An outlook on the future market of textiles says that India is expected to grow around 3-5% in the area of disposals, sequentially that will increase such disposal in landfills.”
Every product has its own story
The brand’s stylish clothes were once scraps on the factory floor. Bunko Junko as a label is a blend of sustainable and innovative design. The brand designs, deconstructs and develops chic garments using industrial waste, dead stocks, and sustainable material. Every product has its own story and no two garments or products are the same.
“We try to adapt this thinking in our design process- where clothes are comfortable and utilitarian, made up with upcycled fabric. In our production process, where we try to work on a zero-waste policy. Everything from post-production is put back into use through various kinds of patchwork, knitting of back fabrics, making accessories, paper, etc,” informs Bhavini.
As for future plans, apart from exports she wants to open 250 stores by 2024 and in 2025 to list Bunko Junko on NSE as social enterprise and green bond.
