MAGAZINE’S LIKE HARPERS Bazaar and Women’s Health love to run features on celebs, often with a gallery of shots of ‘A-listers’ in ‘athleisure wear’, and especially in yoga leggings. If you had a figure like J.Lo, you wouldn’t protest too much as the paps shoot off a reel of you strutting out of your local yoga studio!
The global athleisure market was expected to reach USD 306.62 billion in 2021, and the revenue of the yoga apparel market was valued at around 32.6 U.S. dollars worldwide in 2019. This figure was forecast to increase to approximately 42 billion U.S. dollars by 2025, a 28.8 percent increase. Almost 65 percent of consumers report that they wear sports clothes (such as leggings) in their day to day lives.
What is very much glossed over is how much of the yoga clothing available is actually ethical and/or sustainable. We are all supposed to love brands like Sweaty Betty and Lululemon but you have to ask whether they are just paying lip service to the growing sustainability drive, with statements such as:
- We’re committed to making products that are better in every way—for people and the planet.
- We’re working toward a carbon-neutral future,
- We want to make waste a thing of the past. Packaging is a current reality of our industry
- We know that a sustainable future is the only future…
Yes, the intention is there but it doesn’t quite cut it when you look at the facts. Apparel production releases 4 million tons of carbon emissions each year, contributing to over 8% of all greenhouse gases worldwide. Textile production produces 1.2 billion tons of carbon (think of yoga mats, bolsters, blocks etc too). Sadly 85% of all clothing produced is dumped into landfill rather than recycled.
However, there are plenty of companies out there, especially in the yoga sector, that are championing the sustainability cause and they are doing this in a number of innovative ways. Companies such as Bamboo Clothing and Piyoga use 100% natural fibres; bamboo and rayon respectively, proving that natural fabrics can still hold their own against polyester (plastic-based) fibres.
The use of smart fabrics in fashion and entertainment is estimated to grow by 31.25 percent by 2023. Developments in fields such as nanotechnology, polymer development and low-power sensors are transforming clothing itself.
Cucumber clothing has developed a line of clothing using “37.5” fabric which is made from natural material, mixed with polyester. They then add in a volcanic mineral, in a process requiring no chemicals, to produce garments with thermoregulating technology. Mixing fabrics and elements, such as silver, into fabrics is not new, but is it being used more commonly, and – due to its anti-bacterial properties – it results in low odour and therefore less laundered clothing.
Other companies, such as Girlfriend Collective and Planet Warrior use certified recycled plastic (RPET) fabrics, 100% sourced from recycling anything from water bottles to fishing nets.
Bamboo Clothing Company pride themselves on their whole operation having a net zero carbon footprint. More and more companies are using biodegradable and recycled materials for their packaging and sourcing materials locally to work towards being carbon neutral.
It is strange to think that before yoga spread outside of India in the 1960s, it was practiced by men in their ‘dhotis’ and women in their saris. Once Western fashion started to influence the clothing, it was the traditionalist teachers who started to dictate its direction but clothing was all about concealing the body and increasing focus on the asanas, in line with Indian culture and tradition. Under B S Iyengar, men went shirtless and women wore full-body leotards. He wanted to see the body to make sure no one was getting injured, but he never let students get away with sloppy apparel. And wearing black was forbidden.
Now, modern yoga gurus are still quite traditionalist. One said, “Modern yoga attire is a catastrophe”, mostly due to the popularity of dark colours. “Dark clothing is the opposite of what yoga is about,” he argued. “I enjoy light, bright, happy colours to bring more joy through yoga.”
Others like to stick to simple, loose cotton clothing, even in the face of a growing yoga fashion industry. “I don’t want to look at shiny patterns. I want to see your body,” says one. “I’m fine with form-fitted, but it’s about what you’re doing and aligning your body, not about showing off,” says another.
As a teacher or student, new technology, good design, sustainability and comfort of yoga clothing just means that it is easier to bend and stretch, and for the form to be seen. Whatever you wear to the class is ultimately your choice, and your statement, but it should never take attention away from your practice.
