World Environment Day 2021: Action and awareness, two important steps towards sustainability

New Delhi [India], June 4 : World Environment Day, which is celebrated annually on June 5, offers a global platform for inspiring positive change in the environment. It pushes individuals to think about what they consume from the ecosystem and gives them a chance to build a greener future.
This year's theme is 'Ecosystem Restoration' which means to prevent, halt, and reverse the damage caused by human activities and finally healing nature. Humanity is standing at a strange juncture in time.
Two years ago, if anyone said that a pandemic was about to change the way the global population lives and acts, many would have dismissed the idea. Even at the peak of the pandemic, the indifference of a segment of people was noted, who refused to wear life-saving masks. People's attitude towards the climate crisis is also dangerously similar.
The apparel industry is counted as one of the most polluting industries in the world. Fabric worth USD 450 billion is wasted by the industry every year, while 79 trillion litres of water is consumed.
Mr Abhishek Sharma, COO and Co-Founder at Fashinza, an eco-conscious manufacturing platform said, "We strive to make our actions as sustainable as possible. To that end, we are trying to increase accessibility to organic/ recycled fabrics and natural dyes, encouraging brands to switch to these eco-friendly alternatives."
To reduce plastic use within the industry, they have started to offer cardboard and paper packaging options to their partner brands. They are motivating their manufacturers to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices, including the use of energy-efficient machines and dry dyeing methods.
Speaking further about the measures taken by Fashinza to curb pollution, Abhishek continued, "We also promote closed-loop production procedures. At the same time, our digitized platform enables brands to oversee live production from the factory floors without the need to travel. This effectively reduces the carbon footprints produced by the brands."
Ninety per cent of their manufacturers are India-based. The company enables Indian brands to produce locally without having to export, which again reduces carbon footprints and helps us to support the 'Made in India' initiative at the same time.
Abhishek concluded by saying that with collective efforts, the industry can become more sustainable, "We regularly publish and distribute informative articles among our associate brands and manufacturers. We not only inform them about the latest sustainable practices within the industry but also stress the urgency to adopt them. We believe that with collective efforts, our industry can definitely become more conscious and sustainable in the future."
The gradual degradation of air and water quality, biodiversity degeneration is not something that has happened overnight. The reasons too have been many. Among a host of reasons, modern farming techniques involving the usage of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers have depleted much of the natural resources causing insurmountable damage to the ecosystem.
When Raj Seelam, the founder of 24 Mantra Organic, the brand under which Sresta Natural Bioproducts sells its range of organic foods, set out on a journey in 2004 his vision was to create a sustainable livelihood for farmers, provide consumers with safe and healthy food products and create a sustainable environment.
Keeping this in mind, the community of farmers engaged with 24 Mantra Organic has been at the forefront of doing away with harmful chemicals and fertilizers on their farmland.
Beyond just encouraging farmers to shift to organic farming, 24 Mantra Organic has been innovatively engaging with the farmers by enhancing their knowledge and skills in organic farming, a reflection of the Government's Green Skill Development Programme which aims to create a sustainable future.
Ahead of its time, 24 Mantra Organic impressed upon the farmers the urgent need to do away with harmful pesticides and chemicals and work towards improving the environment, conservation of energy, encourage biodiversity and conservation of water.
World Environment Day is observed across the world to respect and acknowledge everything that the environment has given mankind and to take the pledge that to protect it.
The main concept behind observing World Environment Day is to focus on the importance of the environment and to remind everyone that the environment should not be taken for granted.