Several fashion, retail and consumer industry leaders, led by members of Association of NIFT Alumni (NIFTA), have pledged to fight against plastic – one of the biggest, most persistent and most visible forms of pollution introduced by humans in the last few decades.
Celebrating World Environment Day the real way, NIFTA decided to take the initiate by encouraging alumni, their colleagues and associates, to cut plastic usage in their fashion businesses.
Signatories to the pledge include more than 125 professionals across the spectrum, from business, design, manufacturing, sourcing, technology, services and others. They either head or work at companies as diverse as Levi Strauss, Aditya Birla Group, Arvind Fashions, Shoppers Stop, Third Eyesight, Adidas, ITC Limited, Triburg, Bestseller Group, Landmark Group, Hermes Otto, C&A, Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Matrix Clothing, Nagarro and others.
The signatories have pledged to personally work to eliminate the single-use plastics, from their product design to consumption as a critical first step to beat plastic pollution, reduce and remove plastic waste, actively support research into and adoption of sustainable plastics and biodegradable materials, and to encourage their customers (both trade and consumers) to stop using non-biodegradable plastics in products that they buy from their companies.
Devangshu Dutta, Chief Executive of consulting firm Third Eyesight, and a founding member of NIFTA said, “Fashion, consumer products and retail sectors are opinion-leaders and trendsetters worldwide. To beat plastic pollution, we need to entirely rethink our approach to plastic products and components, from design, to production and usage, including raw materials, trims, accessories and packaging.”
Anoop Nautiyal, also a NIFTA Founding Member, who leads Gati Foundation said, “The crusade against plastic is an extremely personal one for me. I belong to the hill state of Uttarakhand which has, in front my eyes, gone from being a pristine haven to an increasingly polluted space, choking on plastic. It is time that we start taking responsibility for the mess we’ve made. It is my hope that our resolve against single use plastic will be a small step in that direction, resulting in greater change that will make our nation and our world clean and green, again.”
The Association of NIFT Alumni operates as a member-driven organisation, with chapters in various cities. Alumni of the National Institute of Fashion Technology work in industry-leading organisations around the world, in sectors including retail, textiles and apparel.
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