Our design and production process and inspo: Nature inspired, handmade, block print, herbal dyes, one size that fits perfect to different body types, reuse of scraps for accessories, etc.
Our journey to building a sustainable, inclusive fashion label
When we founded Baliza back in 2012, sustainability in fashion wasn’t trending like it is now. We launched our label with a humble mission: to use fashion as a vehicle to drive meaningful change. We do this through our collaboration with Ladli, a vocational training centre based in Jaipur that empowers disadvantaged adults and children with artisanal skills and education. In short, we set out to create clothing collections that gave back to communities.
What we didn’t know back then was that while our brand awareness would grow throughout Singapore and Asia, so would the fashion industries effects on our planet. Although we had always produced using natural materials like cotton, we soon came to realise that it also had a hidden impact on the environment. Traditional cotton is often grown using toxic chemicals and pesticides, which can affect soil quality and the health of farmers.
Going Organic
For this reason, in 2016 we set out to find a more sustainable alternative. Eventually we settled on organic cotton, the perfect material choice for our breezy kaftans, tops and dresses which we continue to produce with today. We partnered with Aura Herbal Textiles, an organisation producing ecologically grown cotton through a low impact method. They are careful to use production systems that replenish and maintain soil health using natural methods, giving back to the environment as much as possible. We also made the permanent switch to herbal dyes extracted from plants like turmeric and madder root. They create incredible, vibrant colours for our block print patterns, while ensuring chemicals don’t run out into wastewater.
Creating Less Waste
Our next focus has been finding ways to reduce textile waste. While we’ve always created our collections to be inclusive, in a free size to fit multiple body shapes, we wanted to go one step further. In 2018, we began creating accessories from fabric scraps, like headbands and scrunchies. As a fashion brand, these complement our ethical clothing collections and we love seeing all the different ways our community styles them! Our next big step? To look into eliminating plastic in our supply chain. More on that in a future post.
What’s Next?
Sustainability is a journey for any brand, but we’re here to be accountable and committed. We believe every better decision makes a difference and we’re glad to have you with us on our journey to create a better world, one garment at a time.
Discover our premium organic designs here.