Sustainability and Culture
The Legacy of Margins in Indian Clothing: A Journey in Sustainability
For centuries, Indian textiles and garments have been celebrated for their elegance, craftsmanship, and ingenuity. A unique aspect of traditional Indian clothing is the concept of “margins”—extra fabric added within the seams of a garment. This thoughtful feature allowed wearers to adjust the fit over time, whether due to growth, changes in size, or passing down garments to the next generation. In a world where clothing was cherished, repaired, and adjusted rather than discarded, margins embodied a sustainable approach to fashion long before sustainability became a global concern.
The Sustainable Wisdom of Margins
Sangham is proud to be the first international brand to bring this concept to Western-style clothing, combining cultural insight with contemporary needs and honoring our commitment to sustainability. By integrating margins into our designs, we offer customers both flexibility and peace of mind, especially when ordering online. This innovation allows for subtle size adjustments at home, making it easier for our customers to achieve the perfect fit without the hassle of returns.
Why Margins Matter to Sangham
Flexibility in Sizing for Online Confidence: Our pieces are crafted with the online shopper in mind. If you find you need a bit more room, you can simply release a stitch along the margin—no need to visit a tailor. This adjustability adds confidence to online shopping by making sizing more adaptable.
Easy At-Home Adjustments: The margin stitch can be released easily at home, giving you the freedom to adjust your garment as needed. To help, we’ll provide video tutorials that demonstrate how to do this with just a few simple steps.
Sustainable Wear with a Longer Lifespan: By allowing each piece to be adjusted over time, Sangham’s margin approach extends the life of your garment. This practice supports our small-batch production and aligns with our commitment to sustainable, waste-conscious fashion.
Flexibility in Every Design: In pieces where adding a margin isn’t feasible, we’ve thoughtfully incorporated other design elements to allow for subtle flexibility in sizing, ensuring every Sangham garment is versatile, enduring, and uniquely adaptable.
At Sangham, we believe that your clothing should adapt to you—not the other way around. By embracing the legacy of margins, we’re proud to offer timeless designs that bring together heritage, sustainability, and modern functionality.
Removing Margin with a Safety Pin:
- Identify the Margin: Locate the extra fabric along the seams on the inside of the dress.
- Loosen the Stitches: Carefully insert the safety pin under the stitch and gently pull up to loosen it.
- Continue Unpicking: Slowly work your way along the seam, using the pin to lift and loosen the stitches until the margin is released.
Removing Margin with a Seam Ripper (Recommended):
- Identify the Margin: Find the extra fabric along the seams inside the dress.
- Insert the Seam Ripper: Slide the pointed tip under the stitch.
- Cut the Stitches: Gently push the seam ripper forward to cut the stitches.
- Remove the Thread: Pull out the loose thread to reveal the margin.
Using a seam ripper is easier and quicker, and it’s an affordable tool—only around 8 AUD on Amazon. You can see it demonstrated in the below video for both a safety pin and seam ripper.