As a major cotton producer and exporter for Western brands, Pakistan plays a central role in the global supply chain, driven by economic pressures to offer low production costs and lax regulations. In 2023, Pakistan produced approximately 887,000 tons of pre-consumer textile waste and imported over 800,000 tons of second-hand clothing, much of it ending up in landfills or informal recycling streams. The textile sector accounts for roughly 9.5% of Pakistan’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

In agriculturally vital regions like Punjab, textile production significantly impacts land and water resources, with the production of cotton and denim being extremely water and energy-intensive. Weaving, bleaching and dyeing release harmful chemicals and untreated effluents into the environment, leading to marine ecotoxicity, soil degradation and serious health risks for local communities. Rivers such as the Ravi, once vital to farming, are now heavily contaminated by industrial runoff linked to the textile industry. The production of just one pair of jeans can require up to 7,500 litres of water, an alarming burden for water-scarce countries, including Pakistan.  Meanwhile, farmers face worsening challenges from land degradation and water scarcity, further accelerating the loss of fertile land and deepening environmental crises. The unsustainable use of natural resources highlights the urgent need to consider local environmental conditions in global fashion supply chains. 

Pakistan’s Informal Recycling Sector and Greenwashing

In cities such as Satiana and Karachi, the informal recycling sector depends heavily on low-paid, unprotected female labour, who sort chemically treated waste without proper safety measures. With 350 to 450 small-scale recycling units operating without regulation, traceability and compliance are nearly impossible. Meanwhile, less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments – a stark case of greenwashing. Without Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, brands face no obligation to manage their waste, leaving countries like Pakistan to shoulder the cost of a system built on exploitation.

Zille Huma – Sustainable Fashion Production in the Global South

In a fashion system that thrives on overproduction and disposability, Zille Huma stands out as a designer rooted in resistance. Born in a small agricultural village in Punjab, Zille Huma’s work, particularly for her slow fashion brand Xile, is inseparable from the land she comes from – a land now rapidly vanishing under the pressures of industrialization and climate change. Zille has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of urban expansion in Pakistan: fast fashion labour exploitation, agricultural land replaced by factories, and rivers run dry and polluted. Her work is an urgent response to these transformations.

Zille was the first in her village to pursue a creative career, studying design at PIFD (Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design) – where she now teaches – and later becoming the first Pakistani woman from her region to receive a full scholarship to Parsons School of Design in New York, where she completed her MFA in fashion. Her time abroad, surrounded by the concrete skyline of Manhattan, only deepened her attachment to the green landscapes of home. Her debut collection,  rich in traditional hand embroidery, deadstock textiles, and reclaimed materials,  bridges the tension between the industrial and the natural, the East and West.  Zille displays her rare dual perspective: the deep-rooted connection to the land and a first-hand awareness of the modern challenges facing the fashion industry. For her, sustainability is a personal and political responsibility.

As a designer, Zille Huma sees the environmental impact of textile waste in Pakistan as urgent. “Water pollution from untreated dye and chemical runoff, massive landfill accumulation from synthetic fabrics, and excessive resource use in production,” she explains, are among the most pressing challenges.

These issues, she notes, are worsened by poor infrastructure and low public awareness, underscoring the need for sustainable design to become not just a choice but a necessity.

In her Lahore studio, Zille centres her work around waste-conscious design, upcycling, and the revival of indigenous craft. “Every scrap has a story,” she says. “I don’t see waste – I see possibility.” Her practice is grounded in using what already exists – deadstock fabrics, recycled textiles, and traditional handwoven materials like khaddar and organic cotton, while employing natural dyes and avoiding polluting chemical processes. These materials, she explains, are essential for reducing fashion’s reliance on synthetic fibres and chemically intensive processes, which are often responsible for high water consumption and environmental pollution.

By sourcing locally and avoiding industrial production lines, Zille also minimizes her carbon footprint and supports Pakistan’s struggling agricultural and artisanal economies. “Using handwoven and locally produced fabrics is not just environmentally responsible – it’s a way of keeping our heritage alive,” she says. Her collections, some of which take up to six months to produce, are built with this philosophy, favouring slow, intentional design over trend-driven turnover. 

Across the ocean, Hawa Patel is building a parallel solution rooted in community, faith, and circular fashion. With Apis Closet, a U.S.-based South Asian outfit rental platform set to launch in Summer 2025, she directly challenges the linear model of “buy, wear, discard” that dominates diaspora weddings and celebrations. Instead of importing expensive, one-wear garments, Apis Closet offers a system to a circular model of “rent, party, repeat”, reducing demand for new materials and extending the life of traditional outfits. By making South Asian fashion more accessible, inclusive, and reusable, Apis Closet brings cultural pride into the heart of the sustainability conversation. 

Api’s Closet tackles the environmental and financial costs of traditional occasionwear. “Many South Asian outfits are imported, worn once, and forgotten,” Hawa explains. This issue is especially pronounced in South Asian weddings, which often span multiple days and events, creating pressure for attendees to wear a different, often brand-new outfit for each function.

Not only is that wasteful, “it is disrespectful to those who work so hard to make the pieces.” By participating in the circular economy, Apis Closet aims to reduce demand for virgin materials and keep garments out of landfills, offering a practical, low-waste solution especially relevant to Muslim and South Asian communities. 

The environmental stakes are clear. “Renting vs. buying new is taking a step to break away from the single-use consumption and waste models that are the norm for society today,” she says. In many diaspora communities, traditional outfits are imported at high costs and worn only once. “By renting, the average consumer is reducing their waste contribution. Renting reduces the constant need to buy new fashion, thus reducing overconsumption.” 

Hawa’s approach is shaped deeply by her faith and cultural identity. “ I believe it is my duty as a Muslim to not be a part of the degradation of the planet and society, at the hands of what I work and love the most- fashion.” For her, sustainability is a moral and spiritual commitment: “I have been blessed with life and I cannot justify using it to overconsume and rot the planet.”Her critique extends beyond personal consumption to the structural injustices in global supply chains. She emphasizes the need for ethical sourcing, traceability, and fair production for regions in the Global South that bear the brunt of fast fashion’s costs. Apis Closet’s sourcing partnerships prioritize small-batch artisan designers and responsible production, moving from mass manufacturing to intentional, value-driven fashion. Social sustainability, she says, is about championing artisans and giving their work the longevity and appreciation it deserves.

While she acknowledges that some parts of the fashion industry are making progress, particularly through ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies adopted by retailers regardless of local law requirements, she is clear that deeper, systemic change is still needed. “Large-scale change will need to come from within because governments, especially in fashion-producing countries, historically have not passed legislation which protects the environment or garment workers.”

A just fashion future requires global accountability through stronger regulation and reparative justice, alongside local innovation such as the work of Zille Huma and Hawa Patel. Their efforts show how Muslim and South Asian communities can lead the way in building a fashion system rooted in cultural integrity, sustainability, and care.

The post Resisting Fast Fashion: Voices from Pakistan and Diaspora appeared first on Muslim Climate Watch.

1. Yasmeen Lari

As Pakistan’s first female architect, Yasmeen Lari’s prolific career, remarkable accolades, and unwavering commitment to humanitarian work earn her a rightful place as one of the foremost environmentalists of our time. Born in Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan, in 1941, she spent her initial years in Lahore before moving to London with her family, where she graduated from the Oxford Brooks School of Architecture. She returned to Pakistan at the age of 23 with her husband and established her architecture firm, Lari Associates. For 36 years, she worked on prestigious corporate and state-commissioned projects, from Karachi’s finance and trade center to hotels. 

Image Credit: BBC News

She retired in 2000 to focus on writing and founded the Heritage Foundation. The devastating earthquake of 2005 and the recurring floods that plague the country every few years, resulting from climate change, profoundly impacted her. This experience sparked a deep sense of urgency to aid those in need. 

Lari moved on to work closely with displaced families, helping them rebuild their homes with materials like mud, stone, lime, and wood salvaged from the surrounding debris. Working with volunteers, she trained local people on how to use locally sourced materials to rebuild, following the principles of low cost, zero carbon, and zero waste. She criticizes the ‘international colonial charity model’ and believes that making people co-creators of their homes and lives after a disaster is both healing and economical. 

She has built more than 45,000 zero-carbon shelters in areas affected by natural disasters, developed ‘barefoot social architecture’ for impoverished communities in Sindh province, trained the craftsmen and women of Makli in Sindh, and built over 60,000 uniquely designed chulahs, smokeless earthen ovens for the community. She has numerous accolades to her name, from the Jane Drew Prize to the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, but not at the cost of her conscientiousness. Just this March, she rejected the Israeli Wolf Foundation Prize in Architecture with its $100,000 prize money, citing the genocide in Gaza, stating: “I’ve spent much of my life helping refugees, albeit climate migrants, and Gaza is unfortunately now one of the worst situations in terms of displacement.”

2. Sumaira Abdulali

With India’s rich biodiversity and legacy of environmental stewardship under threat from climate change and capitalism, many Indians are actively fighting to protect it. Hailing from a family of environmentalists and anti-colonial activists, Sumaira Abdulali stands as one of the foremost of these activists. Born in 1961 in Mumbai, Sumaira chose to learn from her life experiences instead of a typical college experience. It was the issue of noise pollution that first ignited her passion. 

Dubbed the ‘Minister of Noise’, Sumaira founded the Awaaz Foundation and raised awareness about the damaging effects of the ever-increasing urban noise pollution. She lobbied for the demarcation of silence zones, control of noise from vehicles, and stricter enforcement of Noise Pollution Rules. 

Image Credit: Sachinvenga via Wikimedia Commons

Her relentless fight against illegal sand mining made her stand out as a fearless justice-driven advocate. Sand, often seen as an abundant resource, is one of the most extracted natural materials after water. Yet, for years, its extraction went unchecked, particularly along the coastal areas of Maharashtra, where powerful sand mafias operated with impunity. 

Sumaira was the first to recognize the environmental and social dangers posed by illegal sand mining and campaigned to end it. It was a brutal physical assault by the sand miners, resulting in her hospitalization, that became her turning point. With a stronger resolve, she founded the Movement against Intimidation, Threat and Revenge against Activists (MITRA) to protect activists against unchecked violence. She continued gathering evidence against the wealthy capitalists and politicians who controlled the sand-mining companies, eventually filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the Bombay High Court, resulting in the first-ever court order against sand mining in the region. 

Her opponents retaliated by attempting to drive her car down a cliff, an assassination attempt she miraculously survived. Her tireless work bore fruition when she successfully brought this issue on the UNEP’s radar through the 2012 Conference of Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, and contributed to the production of Sand Wars, a documentary film on the global sand crisis, which won numerous awards and inspired the UNEP to to publish a Global Environmental Alert in March 2014 titled “Sand: Rarer Than One Thinks.” 

Sumaira herself has been awarded the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice and the Olive Crown Award. She is also an Ashoka Fellow, alongside serving in different capacities with various organizations.

3. Syeda Rizwana Hasan

As the Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and the advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, Rizwana Hasan has had an extraordinary career which has earned her recognition as Bangladesh’s environmental champion. Born in 1968 in Habiganj, modern-day Bangladesh, Rizwana graduated from the University of Dhaka, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law. Dedicated to environmental and societal justice, she rose to prominence by spearheading a legal battle against the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh. 

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons

She filed a case against the import of toxin-laden ships, mostly from developed countries, destined to be broken down for parts in Bangladesh — an industry that exploits its workers through low pay and hazardous conditions and poisons the surroundings. This resulted in government regulation of the industry and marked the first time that a polluting company was fined in Bangladesh. 

Apart from the ship-breaking industry, Rizwana has continued to tackle other sectors that exploit their workers and the environment, filing lawsuits against organizations responsible for filling lakes to construct real estate, misusing polythene, cutting hills, deforestation, shrimp farming, and illegal construction. 

She joined the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) in 1993, eventually serving as Chief Executive, leading it to win the Global 500 Roll of Honor in 2003 from the United Nations Environment Program. She has been awarded many honors and recognitions, including the Goldman Environmental Prize 2009 and the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2012.

4. Afia Salam

Image Credit: TEDx

Afia Salam is a Pakistani journalist, notable for being the country’s first female cricket journalist and an outspoken proponent of women’s rights and climate activism. She graduated with a master’s degree in Geography from the University of Karachi in 1982 and went on to have a prolific career spanning four decades of experience in print, electronic, and web journalism. She joined the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pakistan in 2008, which impressed on her the gravity of the environmental challenges that Pakistan faced. 

She has played an instrumental role in the designation of Marine Protected Areas along Pakistan’s coasts, including Astola Island, which is now the country’s first such area. This initiative has been crucial in safeguarding marine biodiversity in a region that is vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change. 

Beyond this, Afia’s leadership extends to her work with the Indus Earth Trust, where she serves as President of the Board. The organization focuses on ‘green construction,’ water replenishment, wastewater treatment, and sustainable energy solutions. 

She also serves as the current elected President of the Executive Committee of Baanhn Beli, an NGO dedicated to striving for a gender equitable education and women empowerment. She works to deliver water through wells, reservoirs, and dams, along with educational programmes in the destitute district of Tharparkar. Afia is also a member of the working group formed by the National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning to draft climate change and security recommendations.

5. Fawzia Tarannum

A dedicated force in the fight for water sustainability and climate action in India, Dr. Fawzia Tarannum exemplifies the power of education and research in driving environmental activism. With over 24 years of experience, her work spans research, education, and direct community engagement. 

Having held diverse roles, including Assistant Professor at TERI School of Advanced Studies and General Manager-Sales at Cleantec Infra Private Limited, Dr. Fawzia’s experience extends across academia and industry. As the National Coordinator for Water at The Climate Reality Project, India, she has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and build solutions around India’s water challenges. 

Her efforts have reached thousands of people through delivering over 5,000 training programs on water governance, climate change, and gender equality. A Fulbright Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, Dr. Fawzia’s global perspective on water issues has shaped her impactful work at the WforW Foundation, where she co-founded a platform for people to come together to address water concerns. 

Image Credit: TERI University

She is also the founder of her own company, Earthwise Environment and Sustainability Solutions. Honored as one of the 17 SDG Women Changemakers by Sayfty Trust and Twitter India, Dr. Fawzia’s work is a testament to the power of perseverance and passion. 

In a world often overshadowed by the grim realities of climate change, the stories of these women offer much hope. As we draw inspiration from their collective commitment that transcends borders, we must recognize that climate justice is a responsibility shared by individuals and communities alike. Many women in climate-vulnerable nations are courageously leading the way in the fight for climate justice.

The post 5 Trailblazing Muslim Women Fighting For Climate Justice In South Asia appeared first on Muslim Climate Watch.