From milkweed to wool in Auroville
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Gowri Shankar is taking the vegan cashmere substitute Weganool to manufacturers like Louis Vuitton and Hugo Boss. And he’s roping in farmers for its manufacturing
Earlier this week, the world’s first Vegan Fashion Library was unveiled in Los Angeles. Featuring an array of designer attire and equipment in plant-derived wool, vegan silk and vegan leather-based, the launch proves but once more that the hunt for options to animal-derived materials goes robust. Earlier this yr, Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato’s outing on the Paris Fashion Week featured boots embroidered with recycled silk yarn and beautiful ‘unit’ clothes with material processed from plant-derived Brewed Protein. Meanwhile, on house turf, wasteland shrubs are getting used to make vegan wool.
Developed by Faborg, headquartered close to Auroville, Weganool is silently making inroads in the style trade. “The pandemic actually did well for us; we’ve seen nearly 400% rise in enquiries,” says entrepreneur Gowri Shankar, who sees this intervention (derived from the wild flowering shrub calotropis) as a approach to ease the trade’s over-dependence on unsustainable practices. Promising a chemical-free and sustainable start-to-finish course of and “no greenwashing”, he provides that individuals wanted this break day in isolation to rethink their way of life selections.
Weganool’s first business outing comes in German vegan kidswear model Infantium Victoria’s fall/winter 2021 assortment — additionally showcased at Future Fabrics Expo in London this yr — that options delicate cape clothes and hoodies.
Like inexperienced cashmere?
Shankar has over 15 years of expertise in the style trade. He has labored with high-end manufacturers like Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton, courtesy his affiliation as a contract merchandiser for Chennai-based embroidery atelier, Vastrakala. A profile he gave up in 2015 to begin Faborg. “The first thing I did was research different plants and their uses,” says the 35-year-old, who got here throughout Calotropis Gigantea and Calotropis Procera — ayurvedic crops that develop in circumstances in any other case thought-about too barren for agriculture. Shankar, who arrange his first Weganool processing unit in 2017 after two years of analysis, says that slightly than looking for certifications for natural farming, it made sense for him to alter present-day practices and make them sustainable. “I maintain complete transparency. I send them samples to test, photographs from an electron microscope [to show the hollowness of the fibres], etc,” he says, including that he additionally encourages manufacturing unit visits for first-hand verification.
A snapshot from Infantium Victoria’s fall/winter 2021 assortment
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Additionally, hailing from a household of weavers belonging to the Devanga group, Shankar has seen age-old weaving strategies being changed by means of dangerous chemical compounds. Which is why he went on to co-found Natural Dye House in Tirupur in 2018. He can be engaged on his model of pure repellent, Arka (comprised of a byproduct of Weganool manufacturing), and has satisfied shut to 70 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to make the swap from chemical pesticides.
“A lot of farmer communities in Brazil, for example, have shown interest in collaborating with us [for Weganool and Arka]. The model can be replicated anywhere along the equatorial belt, where you have ample sunlight,” he elaborates. “The final product is insulative and anti-microbial, and uses a blend of 70% organic cotton and 30% Weganool.” Shankar is now in talks with manufacturers like H&M, Marc O’Polo, Hugo Boss and Louis Vuitton to develop collections. While this combine is the present favorite, the corporate is taking a look at experimenting with blends and spinning methods. What units calotropis fibres other than different vegan options akin to coconut or hemp is that it’s hole inside, comparable to alpaca wool protein fibres. “This makes it as good as cashmere,” he says, including that the yarn may be spun on available cotton spinning tools.
Something for the farmer
- Fibre extraction from calotropis leaves behind a concentrated liquid that’s packaged (with different plant extracts) and branded as Arka. “The solution sticks to the leaves of crops, which drives away pests instead of killing them,” explains Shankar, who’s now focussed on advertising Arka (Faborg plans to produce practically 10,000 litres inside the subsequent three months).
- A litre of Arka, priced at ₹60 for the farmers (and ₹910 for 5 litres commercially), is adequate for an acre of rice. “Every season, chemical pesticides used to cost us anywhere between ₹2-₹2.5 lakh. With Arka, it is about ₹50,000,” says Arasu, an Auroville-based mango and cashew nut farmer, who started utilizing the model this March.
Collabs for the long run
As of at present, areas like Europe, Australia and the Americas make for the utmost enquiries fielded at Faborg. “There is growing interest in Europe, Italy in particular, to find natural alternatives. The customer is more conscious today,” says Michele Vencato of Isan Ai Mirai. The Italy-based textile agent — who represents a variety of world fibre and yarn producers and hyperlinks them to potential patrons — linked with Faborg final yr. Eager to discover cashmere and alpaca wool substitutes, Vencato has taken Weganool to a variety of manufacturers in Europe to incorporate the fabric in their sustainable collections.
The drive to experiment and increase — from knitted sneakers to bringing extra farmlands underneath calotropis cultivation — can be on Shankar’s radar. He has already wrapped up a marketing campaign with cashew farmers in and round Auroville and, with shut to 30 acres devoted to elevating the plant round Auroville, he plans to introduce multi-crop farming. “Most farmers don’t work in the summer. Instead of sitting idle, they could grow calotropis along with their primary crops, and get busy with the collection and processing of fibres,” he says, including that rising the plant alongside the peripheries might perform as a pure fence for his or her fields.
As far as elevating funds, collaborating with others and potential buyers go, Shankar would slightly fly solo till he will get the proper match. “Such investments usually come with riders but for us it is about how we can take our knowledge to everybody. We’ve patented our processes so that big companies can’t take advantage of it,” he says, sharing that at finest, Faborg will go for crowdfunding. “The priority isn’t just about looking for someone to help us, but placing more faith in the farmers to support the project.”
With the calotropis plant obtainable in lots, Shankar sees no motive why this mannequin shouldn’t decide up tempo, particularly when it comes to cultivating barren land. But will a system overhaul take time? “Not more than 10 years,” he concludes.
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