Being one of the most polluting industries in the world, textile industry is the third-largest source of municipal solid waste in India. Estimates suggest that around 25% of fabric is lost during cutting and making of a garment. A large textile in India is estimated to produce a daily cloth waste of up to 45,000 meters.

Another critical problem in the Indian textile sector is the increasing unemployment among the handloom weavers with prevalence of modern factory-made garments. Once known globally for their handloom skills, today India's traditional weavers haven't been able to keep up.

Paiwand studio address both these problems by focusing on repurposing bits of cloth waste into new fabric through traditional Indian handloom.

The company derives its name from the Persian word Paiwand which means ‘to connect’. Paiwand studio collaborates with design houses to collect their textile waste from which, after jointly deciding on the design and aesthetic, new fabrics are created for the designers.

After receiving the waste in their workshop, it is then assorted according to color, washed and ironed, cut into small strips, and joined together as per a specific design, ultimately sent for weaving.

For making the fabric, they collaborate with small scale industries and local artisans. The upcycling is done using techniques like handloom weaving, patchwork, knitting and felting. 

In its 3 years of existence, Paiwand studio has collaborated with 35 designers. They have produced 3000 meters of upcycled fabric, hence saving 3 million liters of water in the process.

They are also providing employment to local weavers, some of who had shifted to other odd jobs for better wages in the past years. Now the studio with its participatory approach is bringing their traditional handloom craft to a larger audience.

Photo by Svitlana on Unsplash