Bandana Tewari
Bandana Tewari @behavebandana, is a renowned fashion and lifestyle journalist who promotes handmade and craft economies around the world, while advocating for sustainable practices in the fashion industry. Her passion for sustainability extends to spirituality and the interconnectedness of our micro and macro worlds, driving her to serve as a spokesperson and advisor to various boards such as Nest, Fashinnovation, Redress, and Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative.
IRK: Tell us your “Why”
I worked in Vogue India amidst the flamboyance of high fashion and consumption for 13 years. As much as I loved my job, I consciously and organically pivoted to a place where my engagement with the fashion industry resulted in my advocacy as a writer and public speaker towards conscious consumption and mindfulness. What drives me everyday is the exemplary work already done by philosophers, visionaries, spiritual seers and radical environmentalists whose ideas and teachings i bring to my advocacy.
IRK: What are you most passionate about with respect to taking care of people and the planet?
I believe deeply in the power of personal change, in grass-root activism that is based on a fundamental idea that it’s the individuals that make a collective. And individual ‘change of heart’ cannot be underestimated. We cannot afford to look at ourselves as an amorphous mass of unthinking, unfeeling people. We are each a sacred individual, capable of extreme kindness, conviction and fortitude to care for the people and the planet. To paraphrase Vandana Shiva: trees do not grow from leaves, they grow from individual roots embedded in a fertile earth.
IRK: What are some conscious actions you implement in your daily life?
I am on a ‘shopping diet’ and only buy once in 6-8 months, if at all. Everything I purchase, has value in terms of the provenance, non-disposability and monetary respect for the makers of the purchased item. At any given opportunity I give pro-bono talks on sustainability to students all over the world. I do not buy fur and leather or use plastic or polyester. I do not own a car or motorbike. I use shared economy vehicles. I buy local and support local industries of food and craft. My religion is nature and every day I have my rituals that pay homage and deep gratitude to Mother Nature.
IRK: What’s your hope for the future of the planet?
My hope is that there is a colossal shift in consciousness, so that all stakeholders of our planet become custodians of our environment- governments, institutions, industries, schools and individuals.
What Sustainable Development Goal do you align with the most? https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Whilst all goals are crucial, SDGs 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, 15: Life on Land, and 17: Partnerships for the Goal are closest to my heart.
