If you have an older sibling, chances are you grew up wearing their hand-me-downs. While it may have felt unfair at times, there was also a certain thrill in inheriting clothes they had outgrown. Long before thrifting became trendy and sustainability turned into a buzzword, many Indian households were already practising conscious consumption in small, everyday ways.

That conversation around conscious consumption is now taking centrestage at SustainabilATTI, a day-long sustainable fashion festival set to take place at Quest, Besant Nagar, on May 30. Organised by Kalaki Collective and Noolu Collective in collaboration with India Wasted Foundation and Atti Culture, the event brings together panel discussions, visible mending workshops, thrift pop-ups and live rap performances under one roof.

“Fast fashion is one of the most urgent crises of our time, but these conversations rarely reach people in a way that feels accessible or engaging. Through SustainabilATTI, we wanted to bring slow fashion conversations down to street level,” says Dhavalya Sagar from Kalaki Collective. 

She says that the idea was not just to host another sustainability talk, but to create a space where people could actively participate. The event will feature Vaanga Peslam, a panel discussion on textile waste and conscious fashion practices, followed by KathriCool, a beginner-friendly visible mending workshop where participants can bring damaged garments to repair. There will also be the Fashion Katchi, a market showcasing homegrown sustainable brands and thrift pop-ups. The evening will conclude with performances by independent rappers from Atti Culture, a Chennai-based independent music label. 

For Pranati Vijay from Noolu Collective, the focus is equally on making sustainability feel practical rather than intimidating. “People don’t always recognise hyperconsumption and trend-based buying as an issue in the first place. We wanted to create something where people can walk in, learn a skill and leave feeling like sustainability is actually accessible,” she says. 

That idea comes alive most clearly through the visible mending workshop KathriCool, where attendees are encouraged to bring garments that need repair. Participants will first learn basic stitching techniques before moving on to Sashiko, a Japanese visible mending method that uses embroidery-style stitching to repair tears, holes and worn-out sections in clothing. “We wanted to make it engaging and creative, not feel like repair is a compromise,” adds Pranati.

The event will also feature a thrift stall curated by India Wasted Foundation alongside sustainable homegrown brands. The organisers believe this is important in reshaping the perception that conscious fashion is only for a niche audience.

“It’s exciting but also sad that this is being called Chennai’s first slow fashion event,” says Dhavalya. While sustainability-focussed events and conscious fashion communities have steadily grown in cities like Bengaluru, she feels that Chennai’s conversations around slow fashion has largely remained scattered across smaller circles. 

Through SustainabilATTI, she hopes to bring together designers, waste practitioners, artists, students and conscious consumers under one roof, while also spotlighting the region’s own rich textile traditions and homegrown sustainable brands. Even the food menu and packaging at the event, Dhavalya says, have been consciously curated to align with the festival’s larger values around mindful living.

SustainabilATTI will be hosted at Quest, Besant Nagar, on May 30 from 2pm to 8pm. Tickets are priced at ₹250. Log on to Instagram page @kalakicollective for details and bookings.