By Sarah Zinn
“There is a stigma against secondhand goods in much of the world – one that we’re hoping to change, said” Lallitara rep Cartier Stennis.
Over the past decade, the Indian economy has grown; trade has increased, making it much cheaper for women to buy brand new saris. This has made it nearly impossible for informal recyclers — women and men who go door-to-door collecting saris — to make a living.
Lallitara, a company with a mission to reuse old sari materials in a more unconventional way, transforms the used fabric into fashionable wristlets, bow ties and other accessories. The company essentially finds a home for beautiful saris that would have otherwise been thrown out.
“We don’t believe fashion has to go away for society to achieve sustainability, so we’re trying to create a system that promotes both sustainability and fashion,” says Stennis. “Honestly, some of these patterns and fabrics are so beautiful that it would be a shame for them to end up in a landfill, forever forgotten though they’re still perfectly usable.”
In fall of 2009, Bijal Shah was living a comfortable and content life in San Francisco when a family tragedy prompted her to rethink her career. She decided that she was wasting time not doing what she loved and decided to pursue a passion: “doing good and giving back to the world.” Shortly after, Shah moved to India as an American India Foundation Clinton Fellow. There, she worked in slum development with SAATH, helping underprivileged communities get access to basic services like water and electricity. It was at SAATH that she was introduced to the informal recyclers and the vision for Lallitara was born.
Today, Lallitara is improving the lives of informal recyclers, who sort and clean the used fabric, by paying theses workers three times the market rate for their services, a living wage that can ultimately help the recyclers and their families rise above poverty..
“This community [informal recyclers] provides such a noble service that we think it’s our moral obligation to honor and respect what these men and women do by paying them a living wage,” Stennis said. “In the past, many of these recyclers were able to sustain reasonable lifestyles on the incomes they made, but today it’s become a struggle with many recyclers failing to make even a dollar a day”.
Once the abandoned saris are collected by the recyclers, the material is cleaned and prepped for upcycling and the fabrics are shipped to the U.S. to domestic cut and sew facilities where beautiful new products are made. The Lallitara line has become popular among men and women who enjoy colorful fashion with a hint of bohemian whimsy.
“Our fabrics are pretty much unique, so people are able to find colors and styles that really suit them without worrying that someone else will have one exactly alike,” Stennis said.
Passionate about fighting against poverty, Lallitara also gives 5-10 percent of the proceeds of every item sold to non-governmental organizations like SAATH, a development organization that works directly within these communities.
“Through our NGO partners, we’re able to help provide additional services like financial education and healthcare to really help pull families out of the poverty cycle longterm,” Stennis said.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Sarah Zinn is currently a student at Indiana University studying Journalism. She’s a creative, passionate writer and with a compulsion for wit. In her free time she enjoys venturing outdoors, eating ethnic food, painting and on the rare occasion, sleeping. She is very interested in civil rights, the environment, public policy, and the arts. She has a curiosity for most things, excluding only finite math and stressfully dramatic shows such as CSI and 90210. She is a diehard fan of Seinfeld and most girl bands of the indie rock persuasion. The daughter of an expat, Sarah has called the state of Indiana, Athens GR, and London England home within the 19 years of her life. Sarah writes for her university’s newspaper the Indiana Daily Student, and has been published in Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @sarah_zinn.
