How a fabric with a hoary history was rediscovered by fashion designers

Ramie is a fabric made from the nettles that grow wild in rainfall-rich states like Meghalaya

When it comes to eco-friendly fabrics, most people would expect cotton to top the list. But they’d be wrong. “The plant that’s easiest to cultivate is not necessarily the best — a kilo of cotton requires around a kilo of pesticides and other chemicals to grow. It’s a terrible polluter,” says designer Hemant Sagar. “But we’ve built cotton into our consciousness because we associate it with the national movement.

Now consider ramie, a fabric made from the nettles that grow wild in rainfall-rich states like Meghalaya in northeast India. Ramie’s main requirement is water, which is freely available in the region.