There is a version of sustainable outerwear that is mostly branding. Recycled polyester, a green logo, a tag that says “conscious collection.” And then there is a version that is actually different — in how it is made, what it is made from, and what it becomes after the trend moves on. Knowing how to tell the two apart is the difference between buying something you will wear for three seasons and something you will wear for thirty years.
What Does Sustainable Outerwear Actually Mean?
Sustainable outerwear is not a certification or a product category. It is a set of choices made at every stage of production: the material, the making, the people involved, the end of life.
A jacket can claim sustainability credentials on any one of these dimensions while ignoring the others entirely. A coat made from recycled materials might still be manufactured in a facility with poor labour standards. An “ethically made” jacket might use virgin fabric dyed with harsh chemicals. True sustainable outerwear addresses the full picture — not just the most marketable part of it.
The most rigorous approach starts before production begins: using material that already exists.
Why Material Origin Matters More Than Material Type
Most sustainability conversations in fashion focus on fabric type — organic cotton, recycled polyester, Tencel. These are improvements over conventional alternatives, but they all require producing new material.
Upcycled outerwear — jackets and coats made from pre-existing textiles — avoids this upstream production cost entirely. No new fibre is grown or synthesised. No new dyeing. No new weaving. The environmental footprint starts from zero because the raw material already exists.
This is the foundation of I Was a Sari’s approach to outerwear. Every jacket begins as a pre-loved sari sourced from Mumbai’s resale markets — a garment that has already had a full lifecycle with another owner and would otherwise have had nowhere left to go.
The Case for Handmade Outerwear
Mass-produced jackets — even sustainable ones — are made at volume, to averaged sizes, cut to consistent patterns from consistent material. There is an efficiency logic to this. There is also a sameness.
Handmade outerwear works differently. Each piece begins with a specific section of a specific sari, chosen for its pattern, its weight, its integrity. The artisan works with the actual material in front of them — not a roll of uniform fabric. This means that every jacket produced is, by definition, slightly different from every other.
For buyers, this has a practical implication: a handmade jacket from I Was a Sari is not a product — it is a piece. It will not appear on another person at the same party. It cannot be re-ordered in the same colourway next season. The scarcity is genuine, not marketed.
What Makes I Was a Sari’s Jackets Different
Pre-Loved Sari Fabric
Every piece of outerwear in the I Was a Sari collection is cut from pre-loved saris sourced in Mumbai. The sari is one of the oldest continuously worn garments on earth — six continuous yards of uncut fabric, with no pattern waste in its traditional form. This material carries a history before it becomes a jacket.
Artisan-Made in Mumbai
The jackets are handmade by trained artisans — primarily disadvantaged women in Mumbai — employed at fair wages in flexible working conditions. I Was a Sari is a certified B Corporation and a World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) member, which means the social accountability behind the product is independently verified, not self-reported.
One-of-a-Kind by Design
Because each sari is unique — in colour, weave, border pattern and condition — no two jackets are identical. This applies especially to the embroidered outerwear pieces, where the decorative borders of the sari become an integral part of the garment’s design. What would be an off-cut in conventional production becomes the most distinctive detail of the piece.
Zero Waste Production Logic
The production process at I Was a Sari applies a multi-stage upcycling hierarchy: the best sections of each sari go into primary garments; borders and smaller clean pieces become scarves or pouches; the smallest scraps become jewellery or are donated to Goonj, an NGO that manufactures sanitary napkins for rural women. The jacket you buy is the top of this chain — the piece that captures the most material value.
How to Choose a Sustainable Jacket That Lasts
Does it use existing material? Virgin fabric — even organic or recycled — still requires production energy and water. Upcycled or pre-loved material has the lowest upstream footprint available.
Who made it, and how? A sustainable jacket made by poorly paid workers in difficult conditions is not sustainable in the full sense. Look for B Corp certification, WFTO membership, or supply chain transparency from the brand.
Is it genuinely unique, or just marketed as such? Limited edition runs and “one-of-a-kind” claims are common in fashion marketing. Genuinely unique pieces come from genuinely variable material — which means upcycled fabric, not a standardised production run with minor colour variations.
Will you still want to wear it in ten years? The most sustainable jacket is the one you keep. A piece with real character — unusual material, artisan detail, a story behind it — tends to hold its place in a wardrobe longer.
Sustainable Bomber Jackets: The IWAS Approach
The bomber jacket has moved from subcultural reference to mainstream wardrobe staple — and with that transition has come an enormous volume of fast-fashion bombers that wear out within a season.
A handmade bomber made from pre-loved sari fabric is the structural opposite of this. The sari’s natural weight and texture gives the jacket a different hand feel from synthetic alternatives. The pattern — whether a graphic weave, a block print, or an elaborate embroidered border — is not replicated anywhere else in production. The result is a bomber that becomes more individual the longer you own it, rather than less.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sustainable outerwear?
Sustainable outerwear refers to jackets and coats made with reduced environmental and social impact — through upcycled or responsibly sourced materials, fair labour practices, and production processes that minimise waste.
Are handmade jackets better quality?
Handmade jackets tend to be made with greater attention to the specific material used. I Was a Sari’s jackets use pre-loved sari fabric chosen for its condition and character, worked by artisans who construct each piece individually.
What is a unique bomber jacket?
A genuinely unique bomber cannot be replicated because the material is variable. I Was a Sari’s bombers are made from pre-loved saris, meaning no two share the same fabric pattern, colour combination or border detail.
How do I know if a jacket is ethically made?
Look for third-party certifications. B Corp certification and WFTO membership are two of the most rigorous frameworks for social and environmental accountability. I Was a Sari holds both.
Do sustainable jackets cost more?
Genuinely sustainable jackets do tend to cost more because the real cost of making them is not externalised onto workers or the environment. Viewed as cost-per-wear over a decade, they are usually less expensive than replacing trend-driven jackets repeatedly.
A jacket should be more than a layer. The best outerwear carries a story — the material it came from, the hands that made it, the decisions that went into it.
Explore the full jacket and coat collection →
Shop handmade bomber jackets →
Discover more outerwear styles →
Read about I Was a Sari’s sustainability approach →