Tula hosts pop up shops in Bengaluru, rolls out eco-friendly innovations

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 3, 2017

After spending four days hosting pop up shops in Chennai, the sustainable fashion collective Tula has headed to Bengaluru to take part in several sustainable fashion events and show off new eco-friendly fabric dyeing procedures.

Tula is currently taking part in Bengaluru’s Swaraj Discovery Week and had a pop up shop at the Bhoomi Utsav event on October 2 where they sold their sustainable, organic cotton garments. The brand is also at the Radio Active event from October 3 to 5 where V R Ananthoo, one of the brand’s founders, will give a talk about sustainable fashion at every step of the production process.

Tula is constantly innovating new eco-friendly production methods and materials. Founder V R Ananthoo said about their latest eco-friendly fabric dye: “Our latest is the blue extracted from Aparajitha flowers (Sangupushpam).”

All of the fabric dyes are chemical-free with natural products used in the process including turmeric, pomegranate, and vembadam. Buttons are made from coconut shells and the idea is that, even when the garment is too old and is discarded, it will break down naturally and not hard the environment. An increasing number of brands in India are working towards sustainability as consciousness about the harmful effects of the garment industry become clearer. Tula is pioneering an approach where it is sustainability that drives their design and the effect of every step of the manufacturing process on the environment is considered.

Tula began its operations in 2013 in Madurai with an investment of only 15 lakh rupees. The brand is not intended to make a profit but to promote the production of organic, desi cotton. The brand is another arm of OFM, an eco-friendly food market, and much of the work is done by volunteers.