These Goans repurpose fabric to create fab designs

Fast fashion sure gives people the chance to experiment with their style, but it is also a major contributor to ecological issues, as most of these use-and-throw clothing items end up in landfills. In mid- to high-income societies like Goa, people often buy, discard, and replace clothing items in keeping with what’s in season, thus creating more fabric waste than ever before. However, a few conscious artists, fashion designers and organisations have now found ways to reuse waste fabric and convert old clothes into fabulous outerwear, bags, décor and other products.


We convert all the unused “waste” pieces of fabric and old clothes to make something new under the Revamp Project, contributing towards our minimal waste policy. We make new garments and accessories like bags, hair accessories, trinkets, interior decorations. I was brought up with the practice of clothes swapping and upcycling since I was little. Hence, it’s a part of my lifestyle. Recycling and repurposing clothes help divert textiles from landfills, reducing the environmental impact of fashion waste. It may not be a major mode of contribution to sustainability, but it does play an important part in the broader efforts toward a more sustainable and circular fashion industry.

- Alexandra Faye Vaz


"We realised that there were a lot of small bits and pieces of fabric that were wasted when we would cut materials for our outfits. So we decided to use them to create a new collection. We call it the Zero-waste Project, where we make one-of-a-kind pieces solely by putting together the remnant pieces of fabric and thread from our older collections. We embellish them with hand-made embroidery. We now have accessories such as bags, necklaces and earrings, and home furnishings such as cushion covers and table runners too under this collection."

- Ninoshkha Alvares Delaney








While sewing and upcycling started as a leisure activity, it slowly turned into a side hustle and now it's my full-time business; I even quit my pharmacist job. Upcycling old jeans is not only a creative way of getting rid of old bulky expensive jeans but also sustainable, considering the large amount of resources that go into manufacturing them. I also upcycle leather, hardware from damaged bags, old shirts, jute bags etc. Basically anything and everything that I find useful and interesting.

- Joscia Coutinho







We started the initiative during COVID, in collaboration with the Goa waste management, where we take old saris and convert them into various items using the kantha stitch. We make runners, cushion covers, bags, and have recently started making folders. This initiative is a two-pronged one as it helps the environment, with waste recycling, and gives employment to the women who have faced sexual violence. We have a kiosk in the Vasco fish market where we collect the saris and people get a free bag in return

-Julliana, on behalf of ARZ

Inputs by Janice Rodrigues