Embark on a thought-provoking expedition into sustainability within the fashion industry with our series Sustainability Strides. This week, IMAGES Business of Fashion explores the sustainability initiatives by Birla Cellulose – Liva, unveiling their innovative strides in reshaping the fashion industry.
Liva is a new-age fabric from the Aditya Birla Group. It was designed to transform the way one perceives fabric and fashion. At the time, the market lacked a fabric that was comfortable and also fashionable. Cotton is natural and skin-friendly while synthetic fabrics are fluid but are not skin-friendly. The need to fill this gap led to the genesis of Liva. It was launched to break the notion that fashion and style is uncomfortable and one has to choose style over comfort to be fashionable.
A cut above the rest, Liva is a soft, fluid fabric which falls and drapes well. It is neither boxy nor synthetic. It is designed keeping the new-age woman in mind and defies all norms of conventional fabrics. The fluid nature enables the wearer to move around freely without weighing them down. Liva is made from natural cellulosic fibres and is delivered through an accredited value chain. The fibres are produced from wood pulp, a natural renewable source. The trees used for the pulp are specifically grown for this purpose which means more trees are planted than cut. It ensures that the green cover is maintained, saves six to seven times more land in comparison to cotton and saves three to four times more water than usual.
What makes Livaeco by Birla Cellulose pro-planet?
- 100% Sustainable & responsible forestry: Maintains the forest cover; 6 times more efficient in conserving land as compared to competing natural fibres
- Low water consumption
- Low greenhouse gas emissions
- Fastest biodegradability: Biodegrades completely within 6 weeks.
- Traceability of source Molecular tracer helps in tracing garments to source at any stage
Sustainability Initiative: Livaeco
- Livaeco by Birla Cellulose is ‘Liva eco-enhanced’. In addition to draping the wearer effortlessly, Livaeco by Birla Cellulose is pro-planet.
- It saves water, increases forest cover, biodegrades fast and reduces CO2 emission.
- Sourced from certified sustainable forests, the journey of every Livaeco by Birla Cellulose tagged garment can be traced to its origin.
- Livaeco by Birla Cellulose is a step towards making the wearer conscious of their fashion choices while preserving the environment.
- True to their commitment to protecting the environment, their garment tags are plantable and hence completely eco-friendly too. One can simply sow the Livaeco by Birla Cellulose tag and watch their fashion choice bloom.
Brand Footprint Across Organised Retail:
Liva Journey
2015: Taking the First Step in the B2B2C Market
Grasim’s Pulp & Fibre business goes B2B2C from B2B and launches a consumer brand for viscose staple fibre with brand name Liva. With a proposition of natural fluid fashion, Liva is launched in the earshot of trade. At the same time, a consortium of value chain partners viz. fabricators and weavers called Liva Accredited Partner Forum (LAPF) are formed. With support from Grasim’s research and development team, these partners use Birla Cellulose fibres to develop high quality fabrics. This high quality fabric thus produced was christened Liva.
2016: The Year of Exponential Growth
Liva’s brand reach & footprint grows exponentially – from 1.8 million garments during its launch phase of spring-summer 2015 to 7 million in spring-summer 2016. The number of associated brands increases from 12 to 22 during the same period. The number of stores also increases from 941 to 1800.
2017: Making India Fashion Conscious
The brand gains further momentum in its distribution and reach and makes its presence felt across India. It takes a leadership stance and launches an aspirational TVC on national television featuring Kangana Ranaut which is further amplified with strong POP and digital advertising. The brand garners an encouraging brand equity score validating the favourable consumer response.
2018: The Year of Growing Partnerships
LAPF partnerships grow to 53 spinners, 235 fabricators and 180 processors thereby creating a string pool to meet the large demand of delivering quality fabrics. Liva also initiates intensive co marketing campaigns with top retail brands such as Allen Solly, BIBA, W, VH, Aurelia, Central & Pantaloons amongst others to jointly promote their seasonal fashion collections crafted with the Liva fabric.
2019: Echoing Eco
Birla Cellulose launches Livaeco–an eco-enhanced version of Liva to deliver a superior quality sustainable and environment friendly fabric. An innovative sowable tag is also introduced to create consciousness towards sustainability.
