HONOURING WITH COTTON SCARVES
Image: Prayer flags, Sikkim. Image courtesy of Kailash Pradhan
Written by Brinda Gill
“Impermanence is one of the fundamental messages of Lord Buddha. He spoke of all that exists as transient. Yet, when I travel across Sikkim I came across polyester khadas - our traditional scarves, that are discarded after being worn or when worn out. Sadly, they do not disintegrate. Their sight had me thinking if it would be possible to produce cotton khadas to preserve the precious ecology of the Himalayas”, says Sonam Tashi Gyaltsen, a product designer and entrepreneur, based in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.
Want to read more?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. Your support has allowed us to publish interviews, reviews, “what's on” information and long-read articles that we have shared freely online for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, in recent months, we have faced 30% increases in shipping and printing costs and rather than passing these on to our loyal subscribers, we have made the difficult decision to request that you subscribe to access our online content.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT
We know our readership is passionate about textiles and so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories and histories that cloth tells.
*Please note that we send the password to access the Selvedge online content by email with the publication of each issue. You will also find it on the envelope containing your magazine. Please note the password changes every issue.*
Written by Brinda Gill
“Impermanence is one of the fundamental messages of Lord Buddha. He spoke of all that exists as transient. Yet, when I travel across Sikkim I came across polyester khadas - our traditional scarves, that are discarded after being worn or when worn out. Sadly, they do not disintegrate. Their sight had me thinking if it would be possible to produce cotton khadas to preserve the precious ecology of the Himalayas”, says Sonam Tashi Gyaltsen, a product designer and entrepreneur, based in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.
Want to read more?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. Your support has allowed us to publish interviews, reviews, “what's on” information and long-read articles that we have shared freely online for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, in recent months, we have faced 30% increases in shipping and printing costs and rather than passing these on to our loyal subscribers, we have made the difficult decision to request that you subscribe to access our online content.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT
We know our readership is passionate about textiles and so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories and histories that cloth tells.
*Please note that we send the password to access the Selvedge online content by email with the publication of each issue. You will also find it on the envelope containing your magazine. Please note the password changes every issue.*