How ‘One Less’ attempts to rethink fashion’s impact on workers and land

In a world increasingly waking up to the environmental cost of consumerism, fashion remains one of the biggest offenders—a $60-$110 million industry in India that’s also among the leading polluters. But amidst this tangled supply chain, young Indian entrepreneur Hansika Chhabria is running a brand intentionally focussed on creating circular, environmentally responsible wardrobe essentials using natural, certified fabrics and ethical production methods. 

Founded in 2021, Chhabria’s Pune-based brand ‘One Less’ began as a passionate enquiry into what a detour from mainstream fashion’s environmental and labour damages would look like.

“I’ve loved fashion since I was a kid—clothes, accessories, the whole world of it,” Chhabria tells SocialStory. “But as I studied more about it, especially in college, I began to understand the inequality embedded in it. India and the Global South shoulder the burden of the water pollution, the labour exploitation, while the Global North reaps the aesthetic and commercial benefits.”

Building from the ground up

One Less operates on a deceptively simple premise: to produce wardrobe essentials using processes that do the least harm. “For me, sustainability means making sure everything — from fabric to packaging — is as clean as possible,” Chhabria says. “We use only natural fabrics, nothing synthetic. And they’re always GOTS or OEKO-TEX certified.” 

The brand exclusively uses natural, certified fabrics, including GOTS-certified organic cotton sourced from KPR Mills, and compostable TENCEL from Austria’s Lenzing Group, which is known for its lower environmental footprints, biodegradability, and high social welfare standards. 

From fabric cutting methods designed to minimise wastage to a closed-loop dyeing system where used water is treated via reverse osmosis and reused on-site, most decisions at One Less are designed keeping circularity in mind. “There’s no dyed water going into rivers or soil,” she says. “That was a non-negotiable for us.”

Its packaging is plastic‑free and biodegradable—sourced from EnvoPAP, an innovator in agro-waste-based materials, which helps reduce reliance on virgin wood pulp and limits landfill waste.

Despite its rigorous standards, the brand does not claim to be perfectly circular, at least not yet. “Honestly, I don’t believe anything can be 100% circular. But the idea is to get as close to it as possible.”

One of the biggest hurdles, Chhabria says, is fabric recycling. “We produce so little waste ourselves that it’s not enough to run a recycling plant. And collecting post-consumer waste, like say one old T-shirt at a time, would create more environmental impact just through the logistics involved.”

With only a handful of textile recycling facilities in India and little infrastructure for scalable collection, Chhabria says collaboration could be a game changer. “If 20 or 30 brands came together to pool resources, we could hit the required volume. But people don’t always want to cooperate. But everyone seems like they want to hit their own sustainability targets, in isolation.”

Building with the community

But Chhabria’s vision for sustainable fashion doesn’t end with clothing. Her brand’s ‘One Purchase One Tree’ campaign has, to date, planted over 1,500 fruit-bearing trees in Panavi village, Maharashtra, creating a secondary income stream for over 170 local families.

“We started by addressing water scarcity,” she says. “We worked with the Science and Technology Park in Pune and the Mukul Madhav Foundation to set up borewells, and then we moved on to solar panels. Only after that did we begin planting trees.”

The trees, including varieties of mango, guava, and jamun, are tracked every six months for their health and yield, according to Chhabria. “Each tree feeds or earns for a household. Some families consume the fruits, others sell them,” she says. “We’re not doing this to offset our carbon footprint, but rather for biodiversity, food security, and community wellbeing.”

One Less also collaborates with women artisans and farmers—including a widowed women’s collective in Agra that creates the brand’s signature Rafa line,  hand-crocheted from raffia—a plant-based straw—to produce high-quality, durable accessories and garments. 

“These women work from home and only come into the workshop once a week to collect materials. It allows them to earn without leaving their families,” Chhabria says.

In Panavi, she adds, the women who plant trees perform pujas for them—offering rice, haldi, and kumkum. “That’s how emotionally invested they are. It’s not just a task; it’s care work.”

Ethical fashion still costs more

But all this intention comes at a price. “The truth is, sustainability is more expensive right now,” Chhabria says. “Organic cotton itself costs 50-60% more than conventional cotton. Add to that the cost of ethical labour, eco-friendly packaging, and better infrastructure, and of course, your product costs more.”

Their packaging, for instance, is sourced from EnvoPAP, a certified supplier in India and the UK that makes biodegradable packaging from agricultural waste. “We could’ve gone with plastic and saved 50% of our packaging cost. But then what’s the point?”

Despite pricing challenges, One Less has grown over 60% since its launch. Its audience—working professionals in the 24–45 age group—appreciates both the clean aesthetic and the clean conscience, says Chhabria. “They come from Tier I and Tier II cities, and they’re increasingly asking about sustainability. That wasn’t the case four years ago.”

Holding growth to a higher standard

The brand’s bootstrapped nature has been key to maintaining its values. “We have no external investors. So there’s no pressure to double collections or chase explosive growth. That freedom has helped me stay true to the core mission,” says Chhabria.

When asked how she prevents the business side of things from overriding her ideals, she is straightforward: “There’s no growth unless it’s sustainable. That’s always been clear to me.”