Is your sequinned dress slowly, unintentionally destroying the planet?

Given the environmental damage non-biodegradable petroleum-based microplastic sequins cause, how pressing is it for fashion designers to look for alternatives?

When Taylor Swift performs  “I’ll shine for you,” she definitely means it. During her blockbuster Eras tour last year, America’s sweetheart donned nearly 40 outfits over a course of 66 shows, each more bejewelled and bedazzled than the next, right down to her shiny Christian Louboutin boots. As if basking in her reflected glory, Swifties soon followed suit, driving up sales of sequinned dresses in the United States of America, according to a CNN report.   

What is it about the tiny diskettes of reflective polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that have made them the post-pandemic world’s sartorial weapon of choice to combat all blues? Call it a Y2K style hangover, but one only had to look at red carpet fashion across the world to see celebrities shimmer their way on to Best Dressed lists, making it clear that sequins were more than just a trend in 2023. In fact, a report by Business Research Insights states that the global sequins apparel market is projected to reach US$ 27,089.32 million by 2031.

If you wore a sassy sequinned number for your year-end celebrations too, consider this: The shimmer that may have lasted a few champagne-fuelled hours and gained several likes on Instagram is likely to outlast you in the landfill, where the non-biodegradable petroleum-based microplastic sequins will continue to sparkle in a post-apocalyptic discotheque. Too morbid? Picture this: A report by Oxfam published in 2019 stated that during an eight-week Christmas and New Year festive season in the United Kingdom, 33 million new sequined garments were purchased and 1.7 million were dumped in a landfill after only five wears.

Alternative spark

Essentially, sequins are the plastic straws of the embellishment world. In 2021, British brand Boden announced that it would remove all sequins and glitter from its womenswear range out of concern for microplastic fibre emissions. In March 2023, Stella McCartney debuted the world’s first BioSequin jumpsuit—modelled by Cara Delevingne for Vogue—created in collaboration with innovator Elissa Brunato of Radiant Matter. Brunato’s 100 per cent renewable cellulose sequin, which is made from trees and is compostable, is still in its developmental stages, but it does bode well for designers looking for alternatives.

On a similar quest is British textile designer Rachel Clowes who first experimented with dissolvable bioplastic during her studies at the London College of Fashion, and produced a speculative dress with sequins, which would disappear after a few wears/ washes. In 2017, Clowes founded The Sustainable Sequin Company (TSSC), which currently makes sequins from recycled polyethylene terephthalate or rPET—or more specifically, 20 per cent recycled PET and 80 per cent virgin polyester. While not completely ideal, it contains no PVC, a known carcinogenic component found in most sequins otherwise. “It just seemed sensible to replace virgin plastic with recycled plastic as an initial step towards more sustainable sequins,” she adds.

In her endeavour to “produce commercially viable biodegradable sequins,” Clowes has further developed a prototype sequin which is “glossy, flexible, durable, washable and biodegradable,” in a Future Fashion Factory funded project with the University of Leeds and the Royal College of Art. While this prototype awaits funding to go into commercial production, her rPET sequins cost almost double of that of conventional sequins. Clowes hopes an increase in demand will spur production and make cost more competitive in the long run.       

The bling brigade

But how do you debate commercial versus environmental costs in a country like India where the ‘tiki’ is as ubiquitous as chicken tikka, and where every bridal outfit is weighed down with hundreds of sequins? For instance, recently, actor Alia Bhatt donned an artisanal custom Ajrakh block-print sari by couturiers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla at the Joy Awards in Riyadh, but not before it was bathed in sequins.

However, if you’re David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore, you try to find a solution. The duo behind clothing label Abraham & Thakore first created sequins out of x-ray sheets, plastic folders and camera film back in 2015. “We challenged ourselves to design a whole collection using waste and factory offcuts. To add an evening component, we thought of using plastic materials that could be recycled to add shimmer,” says Abraham. And while they have revisited these x-ray and recycled plastic sequins in collections as recent as the ones in 2022, it’s not a practice they have managed to sustain yet, given the limitations of the medium. “The sequins are generally black, grey or clear in colour, so it restricts the palette,” he adds.   

On the bright side

Ironically, while most established fashion houses in India don’t seem to be too preoccupied with the perils of using PVC sequins, it’s younger, pandemic-born labels that are experimenting with alternatives. For Ashray Gujral of Dash & Dot, research into recycled PET started even before he launched the label in 2020. “Having come from an export house background, I understood how harmful sequins can be. I also knew how many clothes end up in landfills; some never actually make it to shops. We took a call to undertake small-batch production or on-order manufacturing,” he says. Working with recycled polyester wherever necessary and doing surface ornamentation with rPET sequins was part of this mindful process, though Gujral now hopes to develop a biodegradable version that is more planet-friendly.

For her eponymous four-year-old label, Kolkata-based designer Kavya Singh Kundu hopes to shift the narrative away from fast fashion to create timeless garments that appeal to a wider audience. This meant that when she sourced rPET sequins from Clowes’ TSSC, she employed them in creating quality clothing that someone wouldn’t discard after wearing it to once. “Design should marry the product use. You can use all the right materials and correct processes, but if your design is not sustainable and long-lasting, then it defeats the purpose,” says Singh Kundu.  

Taking a shine

While the European Union has officially banned the sale of loose plastic glitter as of 2021, and even fast fashion giant H&M has used rPET sequins for their Rabanne X H&M collaboration and their Innovation Stories collection in 2023, is it a case of too-little-too-late? There’s no hiding from the fact that these recycled sequins might be a marginally better alternative; they will leach microplastics into our waterways and eventually end up as fish food. It’s a predicament that Gujral hopes to find a solution to. “It’s still a work in progress, but the long-term plan is to work with our suppliers to create biodegradable sequins. And in the short term, we are using lamé and fabric-based sequins in our collections,” he says.

While a Google search throws up names of manufacturers claiming to make “sustainable” sequins in India, in absence of credible certifications, it’s a contentious concept many haven’t taken a shine to yet. “When the layperson will become aware and shop mindfully, the makers and creators will get an impetus,” believes Singh Kundu. Even as Swifties ready for yet another season of Eras tour this year, preparing to sing “You shine brighter than the sun,” perhaps it’s time to shine some light on sustainability too.

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