India, Nov. 18 -- In the era of trends and purchases just a tap away, fashion's relationship with sustainability has become increasingly fractured. According to earth.org, a non-profit environmental news organisation, today's fashion industry emits more greenhouse gases than international flights and shipping combined, and uses one-fifth of the world's wastewater through dyeing alone. The growing slow fashion movement, however, is beginning to mend that bond, thread by thread.

When art explorer Simeen Kaleem recently shared on instagram that she spent 100 hours in Lucknow learning authentic chikankari, one comment summed up what many were thinking: "It must be amazing to learn all of this from the source." The post got over 11K shares, c...