Sustainability and Ethical Fashion in India

Abstract

Step into any Indian neighborhood, and you’ll find a tailor’s tiny shop, stacked with colorful fabrics and buzzing with the sound of a sewing machine. A bride-to-be walks in with a picture of her dream dress, and after days of intricate stitching and finishing, the tailor hands her the final product. His payment? ₹5,000. Meanwhile, just a few kilometers away, in a high-end boutique, another bride chooses a similar dress from a luxury designer. The price? ₹1,00,000 or more.

This enormous wage gap between tailors and top designers isn’t just about craftsmanship. It’s about branding, consumer perception, and the legal and economic systems that reward prestige over skill. This paper explores the deep-rooted causes of this disparity, examining how intellectual property laws, consumer psychology, and economic structures have shaped an industry where the name on the label often matters more than the hands that made the garment. Using real-life examples and key legal cases, it also proposes ways to create a fairer fashion industry—one where craftsmanship is valued, no matter whose hands create it.

Introduction

Imagine two dresses, almost identical in fabric, stitching, and embroidery. One is made in a tailor’s shop in Old Delhi, the other in the Mumbai studio of a famous designer. Why does one cost twenty times more than the other? The answer isn’t skill—because both required hours of meticulous craftsmanship. It’s the name on the tag.

In India, fashion is not just about clothes—it’s about status. A designer label doesn’t just sell a garment; it sells an experience, exclusivity, and a story. The tailor’s dress is seen as a necessity, the designer’s as a luxury. And this perception translates into massive differences in earnings. But is this system fair? What does it say about how we value labor? And how do legal frameworks and consumer behavior fuel this inequality?

This paper dives into the reality of wage disparities in the Indian fashion industry, blending legal analysis, economic insight, and human stories. It uncovers why the artisans who sustain India’s rich textile heritage remain underpaid while luxury designers reap the benefits of their craft.

Branding vs. Craftsmanship: Why the Name Matters More Than the Work

The core reason behind this wage gap is brand perception. A tailor sells his skill; a designer sells a dream. This difference in positioning changes everything.

Luxury designers invest in branding, marketing, and exclusivity. When you buy a Sabyasachi or Manish Malhotra lehenga, you’re not just paying for the fabric—you’re paying for the prestige of owning something few others can. This concept, known as the Veblen effect, suggests that consumers value expensive goods because they are expensive. Price itself becomes a mark of status.

A perfect example of this was the outrage over Sabyasachi’s ₹80,000 sarees. While handloom weavers in Banaras produce similar work for a fraction of the price, customers willingly pay a premium for the designer label. The weaver’s craftsmanship is the same, but without branding, it remains undervalued.

The Legal Blind Spot: Labor Protections and Intellectual Property

India has labor laws designed to protect workers, including the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, which ensures fair compensation. But these laws often fail in the informal sector, where most tailors work. Unlike designers, who have structured contracts and financial backing, tailors rely on word-of-mouth business and lack bargaining power.

A landmark case in labor rights, People’s Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (1982), reaffirmed that fair wages are a constitutional right under Article 23. However, in practice, enforcement remains weak, and local artisans struggle to make a living.

Intellectual property (IP) laws also favor luxury designers. The Copyright Act, 1957 allows high-end designers to protect their designs from being copied. In Ritu Kumar v. Biba Apparels (2016), the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of Ritu Kumar, preventing a competitor from copying her designs. While this protects designers, it also creates a monopoly on cultural aesthetics. Traditional artisans, who have passed down their skills for generations, cannot claim legal ownership over their craft, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

The Invisible Hands Behind Designer Labels

The truth is, many luxury brands rely on the same tailors and artisans they overshadow. Embroidery, beadwork, and handloom weaving—elements that define high fashion—are often outsourced to independent workers, many of whom are paid a fraction of what the final garment sells for.

A classic example is the Tirupur textile hub in Tamil Nadu. It produces clothing for both luxury brands and fast fashion, yet its workers remain among the lowest-paid in the industry. The environmental case Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India (1996) brought attention to pollution caused by textile factories but failed to address the workers’ living conditions. The legal system acknowledged environmental damage but remained silent on the exploitation of laborers who sustain the industry.

Cultural Appropriation and the Monetization of Tradition

Another major issue is how traditional textile art forms are repackaged by luxury designers without crediting or compensating the original artisans. India’s rich textile heritage—Phulkari, Bandhani, and Chikankari—is often used in high-end collections, yet the communities that created these crafts remain economically marginalized.

A striking example was the backlash against Christian Dior in 2018 for using Indian embroidery styles without acknowledging their origins. While Western brands are often criticized for this, Indian designers are guilty too. They market traditional techniques as their “signature style,” gaining commercial success while the original artisans struggle for survival.

Consumer Choices and Ethical Fashion

Consumers hold enormous power in shaping industry standards. In an era dominated by fast fashion and brand obsession, ethical consumerism remains a niche concept. Most buyers prioritize labels over labor ethics, reinforcing the system that underpays artisans.

However, initiatives like Craft-mark and Fair Trade India are attempting to change this by certifying ethically sourced products. Greater consumer awareness and demand for transparency could push brands toward fair pricing models that compensate all workers fairly.

Lessons from the Global Market

In the UK, the Modern Slavery Act, 2015 mandates that companies disclose their supply chain practices to prevent labor exploitation. If India were to adopt similar measures, luxury brands would be forced to reveal how much they actually pay their artisans.

Bridging the Gap: Policy and Legal Reforms, to address this wage disparity, India must take decisive action:

• Fair Wage Enforcement: Strengthening labor laws to ensure tailors and artisans receive fair wages, especially in the informal sector.
• Intellectual Property Reform: Expanding IP protections to recognize the collective ownership of traditional crafts, ensuring artisans benefit financially.
• Supply Chain Transparency: Mandating disclosure of labor wages by fashion brands to prevent worker exploitation.
• Artisan Empowerment Programs: Expanding government-backed initiatives like KVIC to support traditional artisans through direct funding and marketing assistance.

Conclusion

The massive pay gap between local tailors and luxury designers is more than just a reflection of economic inequality—it is a statement about what society values. Skill and craftsmanship alone are not enough; branding, perception, and legal protections shape an artisan’s earning potential.

To create a more just fashion industry, we must acknowledge the invisible labor behind designer garments and ensure fair compensation. The solution lies in stronger laws, ethical consumer choices, and a fundamental shift in how we value craftsmanship. Because at the end of the day, a dress is only as good as the hands that made it—and those hands deserve to be paid fairly.

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References

Cases:

1. People’s Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 1473 (India).
2. Ritu Kumar v. Biba Apparels, CS (OS) 197/2016 (Delhi HC) (India).
3. Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India, AIR 1996 SC 2715 (India).
4. Gramophone Company of India Ltd. v. Super Cassette Industries Ltd., (1996) 4 SCC 499 (India).
5. Star India Pvt. Ltd. v. Leo Burnett, (2003) 5 Bom CR 1 (India).

Statutes:

1. The Minimum Wages Act, No. 11 of 1948, INDIA CODE (1948).
2. The Copyright Act, No. 14 of 1957, INDIA CODE (1957).
3. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, No. 48 of 1999, INDIA CODE (1999).
4. The Companies Act, No. 18 of 2013, INDIA CODE (2013).
5. INDIA CONST. art. 23.

Books:

1. Kate Fletcher, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys (Earthscan, 2008).
2. Karen Brown, Ethical Fashion: A Guide to Fair Trade Clothing, Eco-friendly Style, and Sustainable Wardrobes (Earthscan, 2010).
3. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future (2017).
4. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, The Branding of Fashion: How Luxury Labels Drive Consumer Perception (Oxford University Press, 2020).
5. Praveen Bajpai, Labour Laws in India: A Critical Analysis of Wage Protection (Eastern Book Company, 2015).

Reports and Articles:

1. International Labour Organization (ILO), Wages and Working Conditions in the Textiles Sector (2021).
2. World Bank, The Environmental and Labor Impact of the Textile and Apparel Industries (2019).
3. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain (2019).
4. UK Home Office, Transparency in Supply Chains: A Practical Guide (2020).
5. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Green Guides: Preventing Misleading Environmental Claims in Fashion (2020).
6. TerraChoice, The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition (2010).
7. Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Annual Report on the State of the Textile Industry (2022).

Online Sources:

1. How Branding Inflates the Price of Luxury Fashion, BUSINESS STANDARD (July 10, 2023), available at www.business-standard.com.
2. Indian Handloom Sector Struggles Despite Global Demand, THE ECONOMIC TIMES (June 5, 2023), available at www.economictimes.indiatimes.com.
3. The Artisan’s Plight: Why Traditional Weavers Are Paid Less Than Designers, THE HINDU (April 15, 2023), available at www.thehindu.com.
4. The Unfair Economics of Fashion: Why Indian Artisans Earn Less Than High-End Designers, FINANCIAL EXPRESS (March 20, 2023), available at www.financialexpress.com.

This article has been written by Krupa Gangar. For any other queries, reach out to us at: queries.ylcc@gmail.com