Reliance partners with UN for ‘Fashion for Earth’ initiative

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Nov 14, 2018

​Reliance Industries Limited has joined hands with the United Nations for the ‘Fashion for Earth’ initiative under which it will start the ‘Circular Design Challenge’ for fashion designers and textiles industry.

The design challenge announcement was made during the Winter Festive 2018 edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) and will be open to all fashion and accessory designers, and entrepreneurs in India.
 
The registration for the challenge is open till December 5. The winners of the challenge will get an opportunity to showcase their collections on the Sustainable Fashion Day at LFW Summer Resort 2019.

Commenting on the initiative, Vipul Shah, COO, Reliance Industries Ltd, in a statement said, "We are confident that the Circular Design Challenge will provide enormous opportunities for budding concept creators, fashion designers and the entire textile value chain to exhibit their innovative ideas, designs with a focus on circularity and sustainability. The initiative will help the entire Indian textile value chain to become a global leader in ingraining circularity in their business strategy and operations."
 
Yuri Afanasiev, a UN Resident Coordinator in India, added “The design challenge is an opportunity for innovative young designers to combine sustainable design practices with new circular business models. I am confident that this platform will encourage more design-led research to reduce textile waste and environmental impacts, helping accelerate the shift to circular fashion."
 
The designers participating in the challenge are free to use any material for their collection, as long as it is up-cycled from diverse waste sources, including plastics.