Indian Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Fashion: Alternatives to Fast Fashion and Consumerism

Abstract

Fast fashion’s rapid production and consumerism-driven culture exacerbate environmental degradation, labor exploitation and resource depletion. In contrast, fashion practices rooted in the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) offers a paradigm of “slow fashion” aligned with sustainability. This study employs thematic content analysis of three documentaries—Buy Now (2024), The Minimalists: Less Is Now (2021), and Sweatshops (2014–15)—to explore consumer psychology, socio-economic impacts, and ecological costs of fast fashion. Key scenes, such as bloggers witnessing sweatshop conditions in Sweatshops and marketing tactics exposed in Buy Now, reveal how fast fashion manipulates consumer behavior and perpetuates unethical practices. Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), rooted in principles like Ṛta (cosmic harmony) and Dharma (ethical duty), offer sustainable alternatives through practices such as Khadi production, natural dyeing, and indigenous crafts like Chikankari and Kantha. These traditions promote slow fashion, ethical labor, and circular economies, countering fast fashion’s excesses. By integrating IKS, the fashion industry can adopt locally rooted, environmentally sustainable, and socially equitable models, providing scalable solutions to global fast fashion challenges.