Making the big splash in sustainable fashion

dubai — Did you know that the fashion industry is the second-largest polluter in the world? Neither did Raza Beig, the CEO of Splash, the Middle East’s biggest socially- and environmentally-responsible fashion brand, until he entered into a presentation in Amsterdam 10 years ago — a presentation on how denims contaminate rivers that shook him to the core. An industry that he was so closely associated with for 20 years was destroying the planet, and this was something he would not stand for.

As such, the fashion designer turned into an eco-warrior. Today, under Beig’s leadership, Splash sources eco denims that use 85 per cent less water. ‘Love the Planet’ is not a statement for the CEO, but his sole mission and vision to protect the Earth and our future generations.

Splash features clothes made with eco-friendly fabrics such as Tencel, 100 per cent organic cotton and Lenzing Viscose, as well as recycled polyester, produced from discarded plastic bottles, across several of its fashion lines, which is now more than 90 per cent sustainable. The eco-conscious effort continues to pay off and Beig spearheaded Splash to win four notable awards: A gold award each for “sustainable business model” in the region, “environmental sustainable programmes” for a large company and for “overall winner”; and a silver award for “innovation in sustainable technologies” for large companies.

Today, Splash is the only homegrown brand in the Middle East that is a member of the San Francisco-based Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) that adopts and promotes sustainable practices in the fashion industry worldwide.

Beig says that it has taken Splash a decade to come to where the brand is today. “I was asked by one of my directors to start making a noise about sustainability because of the work that I have been putting in. That’s how we started going big on sustainability campaigns. But, it is not a recent effort.”

He also credited the pandemic in bringing about a huge awareness for sustainability, and the need to think about the planet.

“We were very ignorant about sustainability. Ten years ago, at an event in Amsterdam, I was shocked to learn that the fashion industry is the second-largest polluter of carbon emissions. I came out of the presentation dazed and immediately wanted to tap into sustainability. My team and I sat down for research, and one of the first things we did was to get associated with the SAC and Better Cotton Initiative [BCI]. Both handheld us through the whole 360-degree approach to sustainable ethos.”

“For me, a decade ago, sustainability was about the raw materials,” he added. “But when we deep-dived into sustainability, we realised that there is a lot more, from the perspective of welfare and the health of those employed in the industry... we have built and walked out of business relationships to keep up with our sustainable business model.”

Splash has won many awards for its marketing campaigns, but Beig dislikes the fact that sustainability should be marketed. “Sustainability should not be a marketing strategy — it is a reality. Over the last 50 years, with the Industrial Revolution, we have been very destructive towards the planet and our environment. No one realises that the eventual victims will be the human beings and the generations that follow. It is something we should sit up and think about.”

Sustainability should not be a marketing strategy; it is a reality...we have been very destructive [and] no one realises that the eventual victims will be humans and the generations that follow. It is something we should sit up and think about

Raza beig, CEO of Splash