The Green Fashion Conference of the Consortium of Green Fashion (CGF) will take place for the sixth time in India on October 5th and 6th, 2018. The CGF was founded in 2012 to strengthen ecological and social awareness in the fashion and textile industry and to create a platform for exchange, education, and change. Such initiatives are essential, especially for India – the world's second-largest textile and fiber producer – as problematic working conditions and environmental pollution continue to plague large parts of the industry.

The CGF was initiated by the School of Fashion Technology (SOFT) Pune, an educational institution that has been specifically supporting young women since 1998 and preparing them for leadership roles in the textile industry. Sustainability, fair business practices, and upcycling are integral parts of the curriculum. In particular, the nationwide fashion shows featuring exclusively sustainable materials have significantly raised the profile of green fashion in India in recent years.

India also plays a central role in handcrafted textiles: Over 80% of all handmade fabrics worldwide originate here, and around 100 million people make a living from traditional spinning, weaving, and embroidery. A key symbol of this culture is Khadi – hand-spun and hand-woven cotton that became a political symbol during the independence struggle under Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's vision was a local, self-governing textile economy in which added value remained in the villages. To this day, even the Indian national flag may only be made from Khadi.

With the opening of markets since the 1990s, Western consumption patterns and global fashion chains have significantly changed the country. Nevertheless, traditional textiles have never disappeared – they are being reinterpreted. In recent years, khadi and handloom weaving have experienced a marked revival. Designers are reviving historical techniques and translating them into contemporary designs, while government initiatives such as the India Handloom Brand promote the preservation of know-how and jobs.

This is precisely where the Green Fashion Conference comes in: It poses the question of how traditional textile culture, contemporary design and ecological responsibility can come together – and what a fashion industry can look like that is locally rooted and acts responsibly on a global scale.