He Preached Slow Fashion. Then He Collaborated With Fast Fashion Icon H&M.

This week, a hyped-up collaboration between Indian couturier Sabyasachi and fast fashion brand H&M dropped amid much media frenzy. But even as the Instagram feeds of influencers and celebrities were splashed with outfits from the new drop, a section of social media users called out the collaboration for one glaring reason. 

They asked why a designer like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, whose brand is synonymous with slow fashion and worker ethics, would collaborate with a fast fashion brand that has been accused of exploiting its workers and harming the environment for years. 

“Sabyasachi has always been about craftsmanship and empowering authentic Indian textiles through karigars (artisans),” Sanjana Rishi, a content creator and sustainability advocate whose Instagram story calling out the collaboration went viral, told VICE World News. “So it’s disappointing when he collaborates with a brand like H&M, which is known to have so much mismanagement in its supply chain.”

Activists and environmental advocates have accused H&M of violating labour policies, exploiting its garment workers and polluting the environment. 

Research published by the Clean Clothes Campaign in July 2021 found that H&M was one of the brands that “used” the COVID-19 crisis to cut workers’ wages, pushing them further into poverty during the global pandemic. 

Investigations by ​​Global Labour Justice in 2018 also found that many garment workers employed by H&M faced unchecked gender-based violence and sexual abuse at their factories. Although H&M pledged to provide fair wages to its labourers, who work excessive hours to meet deadlines, civic society groups found that it did not honour its pledge. 

“Sabyasachi banks on slow fashion and built his brand using handlooms that can be passed down generations,” Aikum Bhatti, an entrepreneur who runs a sustainable fashion platform, told VICE World News. “But this collection seems like a greenwashing [attempt], and is hypocritical because it’s not sustainable or empowering artisans in India in any way.” Greenwashing is a term used when companies deliberately inflate their environmental and ethical values. 

"I for one always do clothes which are more timeless, that people can wear again and again, rather than doing mindless fast fashion that gets dated very quickly,” Sabyasachi Mukherjee said discussing how sustainable his collaboration was in an interview with Elle. “The whole collection is very well made and a lot of it is done in cotton. Hopefully, these clothes will become wardrobe staples in a lot of peoples’ lives for years to come.”

Sabyasachi employs more than 3,000 traditional Indian artisans across the country, and grew as a cult brand based on the values of sustainability and ethical fashion. The brand also created a fund to help garment workers overcome the COVID-19 crisis last year. 

“I would buy a Sabyasachi product because of the work that goes into it and what it represents,” added Rishi. “But the H&M collaboration doesn’t bring out the traditions rooted in craftsmanship, and could potentially even harm the karigars.” 

In response to the backlash, many social media users said this tandem was important as it was the first time an Indian designer was roped into a collaboration with H&M, which has previously launched lines with brands like Balmain, Versace, and Karl Lagerfeld. But many still feel that even after teaming up with a fast fashion retailer, the clothes remain inaccessible to the masses.

In fact, a saree from the collection even sparked a flurry of memes after social media users pointed out that the design was similar to what many women in India already owned, yet cost more than the masses could afford. 

“Sabyasachi wanted to bring textile culture to a global audience,” said Rishi. “But he could have done that in a way that uplifted and empowered the workers of the brand instead of collaborating with a brand that mass produces clothes in a potentially mismanaged factory.”

Sabyasachi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from VICE World News.

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