Protecting Rivers, Celebrating Life

Rivers have always been the veins of our planet, carrying life, culture, and history along their banks. From nourishing crops to providing drinking water, they sustain billions of people every day. Yet, in 2025, their story is increasingly one of strain and survival.

2.2 billion people worldwide still lack access to safe drinking water, much of it tied to degraded river systems. In India alone, over 70% of surface water is polluted by sewage and industrial waste. Globally, rivers carry up to 2.41 million tons of plastic waste into oceans each year, turning once lifelines into carriers of toxins.

The picture is even starker when you consider water consumption. Agriculture alone uses 70% of the worlds freshwater, often draining rivers like the Indus and Colorado faster than they can replenish. Even fashion plays a role a single pair of jeans requires about 7,500 liters of water to produce. That includes cotton farming, dyeing, and finishing. To put it in perspective, that is enough water for one person to drink for nearly 10 years. Every time we throw away clothes thoughtlessly, we also waste the hidden rivers that made them possible.

Another hidden culprit is animal-based leather production, which heavily pollutes rivers. Tanning processes involve toxic chemicals such as chromium and other salts that often end up discharged into waterways, harming aquatic life and contaminating water supplies for communities. Choosing plant-based leather alternatives, like the ones Vyakti India creates, drastically reduces this impact, protecting rivers while offering stylish, conscious accessories.

But here’s the hopeful side restoring river systems works. Studies show wetlands and rivers, when revived, can boost biodiversity by up to 35% and strengthen resilience against floods and droughts. In other words, rivers can heal if only we give them the chance. 

That’s why River Day isn’t just about awareness it’s about rethinking how our choices ripple outward. Supporting sustainable living, reducing plastic waste, conserving water, and choosing eco-friendly products all help ease the burden on rivers.

At Vyakti India, this principle drives us. Just as rivers remind us that small streams create mighty flows, every conscious purchase adds up to real change. Choosing slow fashion and non-animal-based leather accessories isn’t just a style statement it’s a way to ensure the rivers that sustain us continue to flow for generations. Happy Rivers Day! Let’s protect the waters that protect us, and act to keep them flowing clean and alive.