The six Indian fashion brands to join Canopy are Doodlage, Lovebirds, Ka-Sha, Paiwand Studio, Sonam Khetan, and Urvashi Kaur. These are now part of a larger cohort that includes domestic sustainability pioneers Flipkart and Anita Dongre, as well as over 950 global companies across Canopy's global network.
Under the Canopy Policy, the fashion brands have committed to:
- Collaborate with suppliers to protect remaining ancient forests
- Reduce paper use and prioritise reuse strategies
- Transition to fabrics that have less environmental impact
- Enhance the ecological quality of paper products by incorporating agricultural fibres and recycled content
- Ensure all forest-sourced materials come from responsibly managed forests with FSC certification
- Uphold human rights as well as those of Indigenous Peoples and rural communities
- Minimise greenhouse gas emissions
- Protect water sources and critical ecosystems
- Advocate best practices in processing and procurement
- Encourage leadership within the industry toward sustainable practices.
The six new additions bring the total number of brand partners in the CanopyStyle initiative to 560 worldwide.
These partnerships represent a combined annual revenue of over $1trn. By working with viscose producers recognised for their eco-friendly practices in Canopy's Hot Button Report, these brands can reduce their impact on ancient forests immediately.
Furthermore, Canopy's Pack4Good initiative has attracted 432 brands committed to eliminating virgin forest fibre usage in paper packaging and represent over $240bn in annual revenues.
These collaborations serve as a testament to how fashion can contribute to environmental stewardship. By embracing circular approaches that utilise agricultural waste and recycle textile scraps into new products, these Indian brands demonstrate that innovation can coexist with environmental responsibility.
Canopy founder and executive director Nicole Rycroft said: “These brands reflect the soul and future of Indian fashion — craftsmanship, innovation, and being on the leading edge of the sustainability transition. India has a remarkable opportunity to not only protect its rich biodiversity but also become a global leader in low-impact Next Gen textiles that mitigate climate change and air pollution whilst spurring community advancement. We are thrilled to partner with these trailblazing brands to turn India’s opportunity into reality.”
The collaboration was announced in the wake of Canopy's "Fashion for Forests" gathering in New Delhi, which brought together progressive Indian fashion brands and thought leaders.
The dialogue at this event centred on diminishing the fashion sector's reliance on vulnerable forest areas and scaling up the use of Next Gen materials.
These materials are derived from recycled textiles and agricultural by-products instead of wood pulp, offering a more sustainable alternative for fabric and packaging manufacturing.
India is strategically positioned to spearhead the adoption of these Next Gen Solutions due to its substantial agricultural waste output.
With approximately 500m tonnes of crop residues like wheat and rice straw typically burned each year, contributing to global warming and air pollution, there is an opportunity for India to pivot these by-products into valuable textile and packaging resources.
Such an initiative could potentially increase Next Gen material production by millions of tonnes annually, positioning India as a leader in sustainable materials while also addressing environmental concerns and fostering economic growth within agricultural and urban sectors.
Ka-Sha founder Karishma Shahani Khan said: “Working with Canopy will help us join forces to achieve mutually aligned goals and support our existing circular system in a more effective way. Their policies will initiate a solid structure, which will enable us to evaluate what we do in a more impactful way and build our network of conscious makers. Their innovation with Next Gen Materials will give us the chance to explore newer materials and expand the possibilities of what our work could look like in the future."
