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The Observer An IIJNM publication
Over-dependence on technology leading to social isolation, anxiety among students | P 4
Vol. 21, Issue XI
Late dinners make it tough for NGOs to give it to needy
Thursday, Nov 11, 2021
Want AC? Cabbies say sorry, govt has ordered us not to switch it on By Chhavi Vohra
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30 percent of good quality food is thrown away in bins at marriage functions | Credit: Arshreet Singh pick up the leftovers.” Surekha Rai, a manager at the Tamarind Tree,a wedding venue, said: “The food wastage is around 30 percent. We normally toss it.” Asked why so much food is thrown, she shared: “Food is wasted because people are very much into starters. When the main course comes, people aren’t hungry anymore, so it goes to the bin,”he further added. Organizations like Hasiru Dala, Manav Charities, Robin Hood Army and NoFoodWaste collect food and distribute it among orphanages and old-age homes, and among the poor people. “Dinner is hard to distribute,” said Amit Shanbagh of Bangalore Caterers. “We call organizations who distribute food only for afternoon events. Events at night end late and the food goes bad by the next day, so we toss it.” As big events usually happen at night, leftovers have to be thrown away. R.B. Shivakumar has been working to solve the food
Changes brought by NEP hassle pupils, teachers, parents with transferable jobs
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Website: http://www. theweeklyobserver.in
We have issued no such order, says BBMP
By Arshreet Singh
tudents, teachers and parents with transferable jobs are unhappy with provisions of the New Education Policy, report Ayndrila Banerjee and Kashish Sharma. The system of bifurcating board examinations into two terms under NEP has created a problem for class 12 students and their teachers.They are finding it diffi-
Epaper: https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs
Rise in ear problems with overuse of earphones while people work from their homes | P 3
The rich waste loads of food as the poor starve t least a third of quality food is wasted in thousands of weddings in Bengaluru which could otherwise be used to feed the hungry. This is when India ranks 101 out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index. A study by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, says the city wastes 943 tonnes of food annually at weddings alone. This is enough to feed 26 million people with a decent meal day and night. “A wedding is the biggest event in a person’s life. People look forward to this day….How can you expect them to not splurge?” said Manu Kumar, who runs Sri Annapoorneshwari Caterers that serves all across the Bengaluru. Various caterersThe Observer contacted said a simple plate of food costs Rs 350 for a function.This can increase to thousands of rupees. The average food wasted at the end of a function ranges between 15 percent to 30 percent of the entire food. Assuming a guest list of 1,000, and a per-plate cost of Rs 350, the cost of food wasted can range from Rs 52,500 to Rs 1.05 lakh per gathering or event. Manu Kumar,when asked about what is done with the leftover food after parties, said: “We throw it away unless a representative from an old-age home comes to
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cult. Teachers are worried about their students not scoring decently under the new system. Parents in transferrable jobs are unhappy over NEP recommending the regional language as a medium of instruction. Some parents fear cultural displacement for their children, others think it is a good change. Details on Page 2
waste issue for over 25 years. He collects food from marriage functions and distributes it among the poor at railway and bus stations,and government hospitals and other places. Explaining why huge amounts of food are wasted at weddings, he said: “A person puts 1-2kg of food on their plate in a wedding. They eat 500 grams and throw away the rest. An average person does not need to eat more than 250 grams of food in one sitting.” He added: “People love to show off. They see a huge variety of food at other weddings, and try to outdo them. Some people have more than 30 dishes. Who eats 30 dishes in one meal? The amount of food wasted in India every weekend can feed everyone for five days. People who throw away food only account for 20 percent of the population. And the people who need to eat are the remaining80 percent,” he continued. NGO’s fail to distribute at night. Continued on Page 3
engaluru’s cab drivers refuse to turn the airconditioner on when asked to during rides. They cite an official order, but the government says it has issued no such directive on the issue. Sunil Awasthi, an Uber driver, informed The Observer: “The state government has forbidden us from using the AC. I ask my passengers to open the windows. This helps prevent Covid-19.” Ola drivers had a similar story. Rajesh Kumar, an Ola driver, said: “I have been informed by the government as well as my company to not switch on the AC. There is a plastic sheet between the front and back seats. Airconditioning wouldn’t be pragmatic.” The Karnataka government on June 10 eased lockdown restrictions in Bengaluru Urban and 19 other districts , allowing cabs to ferry two masked passengers at a time. In neither of the orders did the government debar cab drivers from using the airconditioners in the cabs. The transport department’s Covid-19 prevention guidelines on March 18, 2020, had no mention of the use of airconditioning in cabs. The BBMP has not issued any separate guidelines either . Manoj Shukla from the BBMP head office told The Ob-
Passengers pull down the windows to keep the air flowing | Credit: istockphoto.com server: “We don’t know anything about this. We haven’t issued any such order from above.” On May 19, 2020, Ola released new safety guidelines terminating the use of AC during rides. This came about at a time when the pandemic had just begun and there were few cases. The company said ACs should be switched off to avoid re-circulation of air, and windows should be kept open at all times. Ola has since repealed those guidelines. Vikash Thakur, an Ola customer support assistant, shared with The Observer: “We did release some guidelines in May 2020… for the entire country. The guidelines stand revoked since January 2021. We have no idea why it is happening.” Pankaj Sahni, an Uber customer support assistant, said : “We haven’t debarred the drivers from using the airconditioner during travel. We charge separately for the same, and want the journey to be as smooth as possible.” Continued on Page 3
News briefs Rain batters Chennai, toll mounts to 41
number of rain-related deaths rose to 41 on Thursday.
state, he would even move the Supreme Court.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin reviewed the situation as rain battered Chennai and other parts of the state. The Indian Meteorological Department forecast light to moderate rain in most affected areas. IMD has issued a red alert in northern Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpet, Ranipet, Villupuram and Cuddalore. The
The Punjab assembly passed a resolution against the Centre’s decision to extend the Border Security Force jurisdiction to a 50km belt along the international border in the state. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Channi said that for the protection of the
A terrorist was killed in an encounter between the security forces and militants in Chawalgam village of Jammu & Kashmir’s Kulgam on Thursday. The encounter began in the afternoon, the Kashmir Police said in a tweet this afternoon.
Punjab passes resolution on BSF jurisdiction
Terrorist killed in Kashmir encounter
2 EDUCATION NEP has students, teachers and some parents worried
Students: We lack enough time to prepare for term 1 boards
Bifurcation by NEP leaves teachers sore too By Ayndrila Banerjee
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he upcoming CBSE Term I board examinations scheduled for this month pose a challenge for students and teachers alike. Students say there is much to study and little time to prepare. Under the New Education Policy (NEP), class XII exams will be held in two terms. Term I examinations will be objective in nature, and term II papers will be subjective. Keeping the pandemic in mind, CBSE has bifurcated the board exam as recommended by the new policy. Classes have been conducted online for a year and a half due to the pandemic. Sana Duggal, a student who is about to appear for her board exams, informed The Observer: “CBSE is pressing on offline exams which might not work. I am more accustomed to online learning. We also don’t have much time to study for a multiple choice pattern exam.” Earlier, board examinations consisted of only one main exam that
Are bifurcated exams ideal for students | Credit: Ayndrila Banerjee was usually held in March every year.“In subjective-type exams, you need to understand the topic, after which you can write the exam in your own words. Now, I need to mug up everything that is in the chapter; nothing can be ignored,” Duggal added. Spending three months preparing for an objective exam, students feel they are losing on the practice of writing long answers. This will cause problems during the second term of the exam which will be held next year. Raghav Chopra said: “Even
though our syllabus has been divided, there’s not much time left for the second term. For this term, I have been studying for an objective-type paper only. So, I am anticipating an issue during my term II exams where I might not be able to manage my time while writing long answers.” The information regarding the change in pattern was passed down by the board only in July. This had kept the students and teachers confused about the course during the initial months. Smita Ghosh, an English teacher, said: “When we started teaching this year, we did not have any clue about the syllabus. We were expecting CBSE to provide us with a revised syllabus. Earlier, for class 12, we used to plan the entire syllabus beforehand because we knew that by the end of the session final examinations would be held and it didn’t matter which chapter was taken in which term.” An objective-type examination requires not only reading but also application of conceptual based learning. This is particularly burdensome as MCQs have four options out of which only one answer is correct. Sonali Jain, a history teacher, said: “It becomes difficult for students to score full marks in objective-type exams.
Only 20 percent of the paper has direct questions and the rest is application based.” Performance of students in the pre-board examinations wasn't as impressive as it used to be. Teachers like Jain say that even the brightest students weren’t able to score decently during the pre-board examinations that were held recently. But some schools are putting extra efforts to conduct mock exams before pre-boards. According to Ghosh, the mock exams were an eyeopener to most students. Child Counsellor Roly Tripathi said students are facing uncertainty and their preparation has been affected. “Questions that were asked in previous examinations were much easier to answer as they were direct. Students and teachers alike are finding it difficult to deal with this new pattern. All of this is culminating into a stressful experience for students.” The two-tier mode of exam has been adopted to reduce pressure. This will allow students to take board exams in two seperate occasions, one main examination and one for improvement. This, according to the policy, will give students an opportunity to improve their grades. ayndrila.b@iijnm.org
NEP’s new mandate on the language of instruction has some parents distressed Wonder how children will cope when they’re transferred every few yrs By Kashish Sharma
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abir Rana (name changed), who serves in the Air Force, wants to give his six-year-old child the best education. Always on the move with his family due to his transferable job, he is worried about the long-term impact of the New Education Policy (NEP), which recommends the use of regional language as the medium of instruction. “At times the postings happen every two years, which will make it impossible for him to gain proficiency in any language…. Such a system will make his confidence go down every time he changes schools,” Rana said of his son. Asked how the implementation of the policy will impact his decisions as a parent, he said: “My plan would be to leave my family at one station so that the child’s education doesn’t get disturbed. As parents, it is not emotionally easy for us to keep our children away in their early years.” The confusion around the medium of instruction in NEP has become a cause of worry for
Parents fear learning too many languages at the same time will cause cognitive burden to their child | Credit: Kashish Sharma parents with transferable jobs. Mani Sinha, a cabin crew chief with Air India, informed The Observer: “Such a system will demand sacrifice from mothers who are in transferable jobs as eventually they might have to compromise with their careers.There is no harm if they introduce a regional language as a subject but the medium of instruction must be a common language.” Contrary to this, Wing Commander P.K. Mishra said he feels
good about the policy as it will expose his child to different languages. “Learning a new language is like acquiring a new skill. For a child’s mind, it is not all burdensome to learn multiple languages at the same time.” Gp Capt. Kamal Singh Oberh (Retd) of Indian Air Force thinks the policy will never work out. “No matter what happens, the English language is not going anywhere,” he said. Kamava Bopana, headmistress
of DPS Whitefield, said: “We are still in the process of implementing NEP…. As teachers, we are not happy with this idea as teaching in a regional language is a far-fetched idea in a class which has so much linguistic diversity.” As per the NEP, the medium of instruction will be the home language/regional language, preferably till class 8 and beyond. Dr Koyal Biswas, head of the Hindi department at Mount Carmel College, said: “To me, the policy looks good. It pains me to see how Indian languages are dying. This policy will help us retain our identity.” In an interview published by the Hindustan Times, Dhir Jhingran, founder director of the Language and Learning Foundation and former IAS officer, said the draft policy is flawed as it fails to distinguish between language acquisition and language learning. There is no evidence to show that young children can learn unfamiliar languages in school through textbooks and teacherled instructions. kashish.s@iijnm.org
The Observer Thursday, November 11, 2021
Citizen’s Voice Observing jayanti of Onake Obavva is good The Karnataka government has decided to observe Onake Obavva Jayanti on November 11 across Karnataka. This is a good decision, as people would come to know about a woman who bravely fought against the soldiers of Hyder Ali. The decision will bring awareness among people about a great warrior, and the youth will get inspiration from her. Nitika K
Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar inspires many women Falguni Nayar, the Nykaa founder, has become India’s wealthiest self-made female billionaire. She is a source of inspiration for so many women out there who are working hard to build their careers. Women, when given a chance, can do wonders and achieve the best. Anushka Sharma
Festivals are a time to spend time together Festivals are something that reminds one of home. Right now, the festival of Chhath Puja reminds me of the traditions and rituals. The best thing is that you meet all your friends and relatives and spend time together preparing for the festival. Apeksha Priya
Across the city Bangalore Video Speed Dating - Filter Off, LOL Speed Dating, House number 46, Third House, Domlus, Bengaluru, November 12, 8-9 pm Karnataka Gracious Fashion Week, The Chancery Pavilion, 135, Residency Rd, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, November 11 Resin Art and Craft Workshop By Pooja D Gupta, House of Hiranandani-Villas, Prasannahalli Village, Devanahalli,Bengaluru, Nov 13, 11 pm onwards e-Waste Program, Banashankari Stage II, Bengaluru, November 14, 10 am to 5 pm
Quiz 1. What is the capital city of Australia? 2. Which US state was Donald Trump born in? 3. If you completed the Three Peaks challenge, which three UK mountains would you have climbed? 4. Which UK city is situated further west – Bristol or Edinburgh? 5. How many countries are there in the region of Europe? (Recognised by the United Nations) 6. What is the capital of the Scandanavian country Finland? 7. What is the currency of Vietnam? 8. What language is spoken in Brazil? 9. What do the French call the English Channel? 10. How many permanent members are there on the UN security council?
CITY
Ear problems increase with the use of earphones during WFH Working people, students are the worst affected By Anwesha Singh
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ork from home, online classes and the rise in the number of people spending time on OTT platforms have led to an increase in the use of headphones or earphones causing ear problems. Srishti Gaurav, an employee of a private company, shared: “I work from home from 9 am to 7 pm. I get a break of one-hour only. For the rest of the time, I am on my earphone. I have started feeling a pain in my ears, but I cannot avoid using them. They have become a part of my life." The increase in cases of ear pain can also be attributed to the pandemic-induced online classes. A school teacher, Sarita K, informed The Observer: “Online classes made me conduct classes continuously. This led to an increase in the duration of using earphones. Earlier, everything was fine; but, gradually, I felt pain in my ears. I discovered that I had an ear infection and there used to be a wax-like discharge from my ears. The doctor advised me to stop using earphones.” A lot of people experienced simi-
Long exposure to earphones causes strain to the ears and gives rise to various ear problems| Credit: Anwesha Singh lar problems due to the overuse of this while I used headphones earphones. The time spent on so- which irritated me but I felt that cial media and OTT platforms, headphones are a much better and working on phones and lap- choice than earphones.” tops, increased, leading to overDespite knowing the possible use of earphones. side-effects of the prolonged use of For some, headphones became a earphones and headphones, peonecessity and then a habit. ple still use them citing reasons of Ishika Reddy, an undergraduate work and leisure. student, shared: “Apart from at“Since the beginning of the pantending online classes, I started demic, we have seen an increase watching series on Netflix. For in the sales of headphones," said online classes, I started using Sumit Bhatla, owner of Sri Sai headphones for five to six hours. Electronics. “Most of our cusAnd then I watched shows. All tomers are professionals working
There’s no law against extravagent weddings
Passengers face brunt of the situation Continued from page 1 rashant Mahajan, a resident of Bengaluru, shared: “Travelling in a cab has become a painful task. I often feel nauseous while riding one. When I tell drivers to switch on the AC, they simply say, sorry we are constrained by government orders. So I avoid using cabs and take an auto instead. Why to spend more money when the service offered is almost the same.” His mother, Preeti, , said: “It is a huge trouble for commuters. How can a student travel longdistance on summer day under these circumstances?” A post on the website of Medanta, a chain of multi-specialty medical institutes, says there should be limited use of airconditioners during the pandemic. Covid-19 can spread through droplets suspended in the air. These can then be circulated by the airconditioning system operating in closed spaces. World Health Organisation’s----website states that Covid-19 can be prevented with good ventilation and letting in sunlight through open spaces. chhavi.v@iijnm.org
from home and students attending online classes. Sales have increased by about 70 percent.” According to Research and Markets, a market research store, the Indian headset market is projected to grow at a Compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent during 2021-2027. Dr Rohit Kumar, a hearing and speech therapist, agrees that using headphones for a long time can cause serious health issues. “In recent times, cases of ear problems have increased. Schoolchildren faced issues like ear pain, discharge from ears, infections etc. The problems arose after things (education and work) went online,” he said. “With advanced technology, people spend much of their time on screens, resulting in greater usage of earphones. They cause ear problems, headaches and can have a bad effect on the brain,”he added. On asked how one can minimize the risk of ear problems, he advised using good-quality headphones, and for short durations. According to a World Health Organization’s report, nearly 50 percent of people aged 12-35 years or 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud sounds, including music they listen to through their personal audio devices like mobile phones, laptops and other similar devices. anwesha.s@iijnm.org
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Continued from page 1 n 2015, the Karnataka State Marriages (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2015, was introduced in the hope of imposing a tax on extravagant weddings. In 2018, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur expressed concern over the wastage of food and mis-utilization of water at weddings. Manav of Manav Charities, an organization that started out by providing nutritious meals to children, said: “The issue is that people invite 3,000 guests and only 1,500 come. RSPVs are not used. What is needed is a law that mandates a freezer in every single banquet hall or kalyana mandapas, which stores leftover food from night functions to be distributed the next day.” In the absence of laws — NGOs distributing food to the deprived, catering staff over buffet and the option of taking home packaged food for guests will prove to be rather substantive. arshreet.s@iijnm.org
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DRIZZLY DEMONSTRATION: Students of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences(RGUHS) protest against Examination Attempt Rule under the Indian Medicine Central Council Amendment Regulations, 2016. The students had also protested back in December,2019 where two students attempted suicide| Credit: Arunima Bharadwaj
3 This Day, That Year On this day in 1918, World War I came to an end. An armistice was signed between Germany and the Allied Powers in Compiègne, France at 5.45 am for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. It is celebrated as Armistice Day to honor the 20 million who died during the war.
Quote of the day “Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.” ― Jawaharlal Nehru
Weather Maximum temperature: 21°C Minimum temperature: 18 °C Precipitation: 60% Humidity: 86% Wind Speed:18km/hr Forecast:The maximum temperature would be 23 °C and the minimum temperature would be 18 °C. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over South Interior Karnataka.
Quiz answers 1)Canberra 2)New York 3)Ben Nevis, Snowdon, Scafell Pike 4)Edinburgh 5)44 6)Helsinki 7)Vietnamese dong 8)Portuguese 9)la Manche 10)Five: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States
The Observer Thursday, November 11, 2021
Team Observer Editor: Anwesha Singh Reporters: Anwesha Singh, Arshreet Singh, Ayndrila Banerjee, Chhavi Vohra, Kashish Sharma Copy Editors: Anwesha Singh, Arshreet Singh, Ayndrila Banerjee, Chhavi Vohra, Kashish Sharma Photo Editors: Arshreet Singh, Ayndrila Banerjee, Chhavi Vohra Supplements: Arshiya Agarwal, Saumyangi Yadav
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The Observer Thursday, November 11, 2021
SUPPLEMENT
An app a day? Don’t keep the doc away Do self-care apps care for your well-being? Think twice before you use them next time, writes Arshiya Agarwal
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n today’s world, where we go and what we do, boils down to what technology is nudging us to do. While technology has many advantages, over dependence is leading to anxiety, depression, stress and panic. So much so that the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), one of the premier mental health institutions in the country, started its SHUT clinic in 2014. SHUT stands for Services for Healthy Use of Technology. An international study on internet use by students, conducted by three mental health experts – one of who, Manoj Kumar Sharma, heads SHUT clinic -- showed that 75% of students reported depressive symptoms, 57% showed anxiety symptoms, 60% showed obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms and 66% displayed hostility and aggression. On being asked about the study, Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma said, “Many are using internet for improving self-esteem. There is another group where stress is there. They don’t have a healthy coping mechanism to manage stress or low mood states so they spend on online platforms and activities to feel good and content which further leads to more issues”.
Youngsters are treating the self-help apps as their new companion I Credit: pexels.com Neha Singhal, a rehabilitation psychologist, Bengaluru, who works for informal assessments tool for websites, school of counseling and IAM mindful said, “Internet addiction highly affects a child’s attention span,. They cannot sit for long hours. Internet addiction also leads to factors like anxiety, stress and panic.”
One particular addiction in recent times, among many others on the internet, is for self-care apps. There are self-care apps that remind you to drink water, go for a walk, counting your steps, meditate and even eat food. There are many apps that lend professional help on issues such as mental health too.
According to a study by Frontiers in Psychiatry, of the e-mental health apps on Google Play Store and Apple Store, less than one-third (30.38%) claim to have developed the app with input from various mental health experts and that two-third of the apps for treating depression or/and anxiety were developed without any professional input. The study showed that just over 3.41% of these apps had research to justify their claims. The reason why people could be opting expert advice from apps could boil down to access, privacy and societal stigma. According to the study by Frontier, 74.06% of these apps are free of cost, which makes them easier to use. Gia Nath (name changed), who is a regular user of such apps said, “I did try therapy, but I have never met someone with whom I can discuss openly about my feelings. So I can guess why people would go to these apps because I do the same thing. It does not have the same impact as therapy for me, but I think it is fine.” A survey in Bengaluru showed that 79.1% of people have used or still use self-care apps. Out of 43 respondents, 86% believed that self-care apps do affect one’s mental health in one way or other if
used for a long period of time. Although people are drawn to these apps for reasons of privacy, in the survey 65.1% believed that these apps are an invasion of their privacy. As much as 86% said they are taking control of their lives in some form. Aakansha Makan said, “I use apps like ‘To do list’, ‘Water Reminder’. I have a habit of forgetting things so these apps help me to an extent and since it is a technology it sometimes stop working so I just start panicking as to when it will start working.” While anything in excess can be counterproductive, when used in moderation, self-care apps can also be very helpful, others argue. Narsimhan Dwarkanath, counseling psychologist at Infinity Health care & Diagnostics, based in Bengaluru, said that self-care apps are helpful only to an extent. If one gets addicted to them, it can become difficult to come out of the habit. If a problem is too serious, psychiatric help is required. Self-care apps cannot work alone, he added. Technology, no doubt, has become a need of the hour. But the danger it poses far outweighs the benefits. It can be harmful when not employed in moderation. arshiya.a@iijnm.org
To be vogue or to be woke? A new wave of slow and sustainable fashion in the country, writes Saumyangi Yadav
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emember when sweater vests were something that only grandpas wore? Now in 2021, sweater vests with skater skirts and platform boots is a fashion statement. Remember when a couple of years ago skinny jeans were the only acceptable pair of pants? Presently, wide-legged and flared denims have taken over. Yet again,. Skinny jeans are passe. Slender stilettos to chunky sneakers, fashion trends change at the blink of an eye. Every year, trendsetters like Vogue and Glamour release the next big thing. And every year, fast fashion giants like H&M and Zara discard their entire collections and follow suit. Wardrobes of the fashion-conscious transform likewise, without any consideration of its detrimental effects on the environment. A 2020 article by Kirsi Niinimäki and others, estimates that the fast fashion industry produces over 92 million tonnes of waste and consumes 79 trillion litres of water almost every year. There are reports of big brands
profiting off the underpaid or even unpaid labourers. Among those named guilty are the various global fashion brands like Shein, Mango, Zara, H&M, Kylie Cosmetics and several others. Fast fashion industry is a huge market with a massive customer base. Young people choose fast fashion brands like Shein because they are usually more affordable for them. Aditi Sehgal, who is a student, explained, “I shop from these brands because they cater to my style and are usually affordable for me, though I will not call them cheap.” The pandemic appears to have turned at least some youngsters towards slow and sustainable fashion. Prerana Singh, one such consumer, shared her experience. “Last year I did some research and found out that most of the common brands I have heard about are unethical and harmful to the environment. What was more shocking is that these were no small-functioning brands, rather the ones operating in the global market. The wake up call for me was when I realised that
Youngsters are now more inclined towards eco-friendly and sustainable clothing | Courtesy: pexels.com 90% of my wardrobe was filled with these brand names. A piece of clothing bought in a sale means an underpaid labourer and a starving family. Hence, I have been trying my best to be sustain-
able. However it is a very privileged decision with a very limited amount of options available.” The options, at present, might be few but there are many small labels that are starting a wave of
slow and sustainable fashion in India. One such business is Musthavesbyridu, which markets through instagram. It uses excess, leftover material from manufacturing industries or processed material that get rejected by mass producing fashion brands, and turns them into trendy clothing items. “We turn what could be mindlessly lost in the industrial process into capsule collections of limited, creative pieces. This not only makes our brand versatile and refreshing, but also sustainable. Rejected and discarded fabric is the baseline where we start the process to give you a finished product that exudes quality and standard. From the start, it has always been important to us that the brand is sustainable, and although this initiative is a tiring and long process, it will never not be worth it. We are massively proud of our little steps towards reducing wastage in manufacturing and look forward towards being more environment friendly,” said Ridu, the owner of the business. saumyangi.y@iijnm.org