Feature Photo Credit: Fanfare Label
Climate change and air pollution are heavily influenced by poor waste management practices. Ecosystems and species are also directly affected by this issue. Although landfills are generally a last resort in the waste hierarchy, they are still widely used due to the sheer volume of waste produced daily. As a result, waste from landfill creates the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas closely linked to climate change.
In previous articles, I have covered how to reduce waste at home through composting, and minimising your waste output. However, today I want to focus on unavoidable waste and how recycling it into fashion items can benefit the environment.
THE PROBLEM OF WASTE IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY
The fashion industry is responsible for overproduction and overconsumption, with the global industry producing over 100 billion garments annually, according to McKinsey & Company, 2020. Fashion in general, but more specifically, fast fashion, is wasteful with at least $500 billion worth of clothing thrown away every year. In the US alone, 17 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2018, with only 15.2% of this being recycled. Also, in the UK, an estimated £140million worth of clothing is sent to UK landfill each year according to the climate action NGO WRAP.
THE PROBLEM WITH FAST FASHION
Fast fashion depletes natural resources, using an enormous amount of water, energy, and raw materials. For example, it takes 2,700 litres of water to produce a single cotton t-shirt. Furthermore, the industry produces loads of toxic chemicals, including nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), which can cause harm to both humans and the environment. Because of all the chemicals present in these fashion items, fast fashion clothes have a shorter lifespan than more expensive, high-quality clothing. As a result, fast fashion feeds into the throw-away culture associated with the industry’s trend cycles.
According to Dr Preeti Arya, an assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the fibres, fabrics, and textiles used in the fashion industry contribute significantly to environmental damage. Consequently this represents up to 70% of the industry’s environmental impact. Raw materials, whether synthetic or natural, must be transformed into fibres and then fabrics using various processes before becoming clothes that are sold, shipped, and ultimately used by consumers.
TEXTILE RECYCLING
Despite the negative impact of these fabrics, they offer powerful capabilities. Consequently, recycling and proper waste management is a better option rather than disposing of them in landfills where they would stay for hundreds of years. Although recycling textiles is a complex process, it is still a more responsible solution than doing nothing at all.
THE BENEFITS OF UPCYCLING
In the fashion industry, pollution is a major issue caused by discarded items, dangerous materials, and poor-quality clothing. The solution? Upcycling. This method of recycling used materials is changing the game by transforming them into new and innovative pieces. Upcycling benefits everyone involved, from businesses to consumers and the environment and here’s why:
IT’S GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Upcycling reduces the demand for new raw materials and minimizes waste by giving new life to existing textiles. By repurposing and transforming old garments or fabrics, upcycling helps conserve resources, reduce energy consumption, and diverts textiles from landfills.
IT REDUCES THE CARBON FOOTPRINT
The fashion industry is known for its significant carbon footprint. By upcycling textiles, you can help reduce the environmental impact associated with the production, transportation, and disposal of new clothing items. Upcycling requires fewer resources and generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to producing entirely new garments.
IT LOWERS PRODUCTION COSTS
For fashion businesses, upcycling can help minimize production costs. By reusing materials, retailers can save money on production and reduce consumer costs. Eventually, this can also lead to increased profit margins.
IT SAVES NATURAL RESOURCES
Upcycling reduces the need for new materials and saves natural resources. By recycling old materials rather than using raw ones, businesses can reduce deforestation and the loss of natural fibres.
IT APPEALS TO CONSUMERS
Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and are willing to purchase eco-friendly products. Upcycling not only saves businesses money but also makes them money. Customers are more likely to purchase items that are eco-friendly and repurposed.
IT SUPPORTS LOCAL COMPANIES
Upcycling supports local industries and businesses, boosting the economy for communities. This helps brands form new relationships and partnerships while reducing the need to outsource to far-away factories hence reducing their overall carbon footprint.
IT FOSTERS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Upcycling promotes a shift towards sustainable consumption patterns. Instead of participating in the fast fashion cycle, where clothes are frequently discarded, upcycling encourages a more conscious and responsible approach to fashion. It encourages individuals to appreciate the value of existing materials and make the most of their resources.
IT ALLOWS FOR MORE CREATIVITY
Upcycled fashion allows for creative expression and customization. By repurposing textiles, you can create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect your personal style. Each upcycled item has its own history and story, making it distinct from mass-produced clothing.
Overall, upcycling textiles into new fashion items offers a range of benefits, including environmental conservation, unique style, cost-effectiveness, and the promotion of sustainable consumption. It’s one of the creative and sustainable approaches to fashion that can contribute to a more responsible and environmentally friendly industry.
Related – Re-Thinking Our Disposable Lifestyles
BRAND RECOMMENDATIONS
The tremendous surge in global waste production has prompted a growing interest in sustainable fashion. The trend involves the use of recycled materials, such as “rPET” (recycled polyethylene terephthalate). rPET is a form of polyester that is produced by recycling PET plastic bottles and transforming them into yarns and fabrics.
The global sportswear brands Adidas and Nike have both introduced products made from recycled materials, such as shoes and activewear using rPET fabric. Furthermore, Reformation, a sustainable fashion brand known for its eco-friendly practices are also using rPET fabrics in some of their clothing items, contributing to their commitment to reduce environmental impact. Another brand – Rothy’s transforms plastic bottles into yarns to create comfortable and stylish footwear.
Other fashion brands known for incorporating upcycled materials into their collections include Eileen Fisher, who’s initiative called “Renew,” allows customers to bring back their old Eileen Fisher garments. Subsequently the brand upcycles them into new designs. The global brand Levi’s, have also partnered with other brands such as LA-based RE/DONE, transforming them into unique collectables. As a result, they claim to have diverted over 158,000 pairs of vintage Levi’s from landfills.
In addition, Stella McCartney has used upcycled cashmere and marine plastic in her collections and Timberland’s Earthkeepers collection®, is a collaboration with Christopher RÆBURN which incorporates 100% recycled cotton. The North Face, a popular outdoor clothing and equipment brand, created the Think Renewed collection, which acts as an online hub for the brand to sell refurbished products that are sourced from returned, damaged or defective apparel.
RÆBURN
RÆBURN specialises in fashion designs that promote circularity, having previously collaborated on designs with Timberland, surfing brand Finisterre and Chilly’s to create two multi-purpose bags to house a reusable bottle on the go. Each bottle bag includes a packaway sling bag that cleverly stows away in a zipped compartment in its base, making each product a real 2-in-1.
RÆBURN’s RÆMADE ethos in particular has pioneered the reworking of surplus fabrics and garments to create distinctive and functional pieces, and the North Face x RÆBURN collaboration of bags were crafted from recycled tent components and were all emblazoned with straps that read “REDUCED REUSED RECYCLED RÆBURN.
“The north face has been inspiring a global movement of exploration and conservation for over fifty years, and we couldn’t be prouder to be collaborating on this special project, applying our RÆMADE ethos to transform surplus tents into unique bags”.
christer RÆBURN
Patagonia
Patagonia is a leading outdoor apparel brand that incorporates recycled materials in its clothing, including recycled cashmere, nylon from discarded fishing nets, polyester, and wool. By using recycled polyester, Patagonia has saved over 86 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfills. Plus, they recently implemented a repair service on their website to help cut down on the consumption of new clothing.
Some of Patagonia’s sustainability initiatives include:
- bluesign® certification: Products with this certification meet rigorous standards for environmental sustainability and safety throughout the manufacturing process.
- FLA Workplace Code of Conduct: This code establishes guidelines for fair labour standards, safe working conditions, and environmental responsibility.
- Fair Trade USA: Patagonia’s products with this certification guarantee fair prices and safe working conditions for workers.
- Global Organic Textile Standard: This standard sets guidelines for organic fibres, ensuring sustainability throughout the supply chain, from harvesting to manufacturing to labelling.
Fjällräven
Fjällräven is a Swedish-based company, established in 1960, that specializes in outdoor clothing and equipment. The brand’s name, which translates to “Arctic fox” in Swedish, reflects the founder’s passion for nature and the great outdoors. Fjällräven products are not only practical and durable but also environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Recycling is a core principle of Fjällräven’s production process. The brand employs a range of recycled materials, including Eco-Shell, a waterproof and breathable fabric made from recycled polyester, pre-consumer recycled wool and G-1000 fabric made from a blend of organic cotton and recycled polyester.
Fjällräven is committed to sustainability, which is reflected in the following initiatives:
- Bluesign® certification, which verifies that the brand uses sustainable textile production methods
- Membership in the Swedish Chemicals Group, which promotes the responsible use of chemicals
- Affiliation with the Fair Labor Association, which ensures fair labour practices
- Adherence to the Organic Content Standard, which verifies the use of organic materials
- Compliance with the Responsible Down Standard, which guarantees the ethical treatment of animals.
Fanfare
Fanfare is an Award-Winning circular clothing brand launched in 2018, that’s leading the upcycling movement, transforming vintage pieces to unique contemporary designs, combining elements of vintage and surplus clothing by giving existing materials a new life through various textile techniques such as hand painting, embroidery and unique patchwork details.
Coalatree
Coalatree is a clothing company that focuses on sustainability and vegan clothing. They offer a variety of eco-friendly activewear, hoodies, and sweatshirts for people looking to make a positive impact on the environment.
Some of the sustainable fabrics used by Coalatree include recycled polyester, organic cotton, and a unique “Coffee Fabric” made from recycled coffee grounds.
The latter has natural odour-fighting, moisture-wicking, and quick-drying properties, making it an ideal choice for activewear and outdoor clothing.
In addition to using sustainable materials, Coalatree has taken initiatives to improve its sustainability: They have received the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, which ensures that their materials are free from harmful substances and chemicals.
Outerknown
Outerknown is a sports apparel brand that was co-founded by Kelly Slater, a World Surf League champion, and designer John Moore. The company prides itself on using recycled polyester from plastic bottles, Econyl nylon, which is made from recycled fishing nets and other discarded materials and organic cotton to create eco-friendly hoodies, joggers, sweatshirts, and swimwear.
In addition to using recycled materials, Outerknown also takes measures to promote sustainability:
- Being a member of the Fair Labor Association, which ensures that factory workers receive fair wages and working conditions.
- Being Fair Trade Certified.
- Using regenerative organic certified farming practices.
Inflatable Amnesty
It’s not just big brands doing their bit by recycling old materials into textiles, but smaller brands as well. Georgia and Steve, founders of Inflatable Amnesty, have been salvaging broken inflatables and repurposing them into handbags since 2010.
In 2017 they started the business so that the public could send in their broken inflatables for them to recycle, instead of landfill.
So far, they’ve swerved and recycled over 700 tonnes of broken paddling pools, airbeds and countless other forms of inflatables, and made stylish bags out of it.
The production is local as well (Isle of Wight, UK), which means there’s very little carbon footprint associated with this brand.
Each and every bag is a totally unique design and I absolutely love mine!
Wyatt & Jack Junior
Meet the sister company of Inflatable Amnesty, Wyatt and Jack Junior: a sustainable brand that creates bags and accessories using unwanted materials. Since its establishment in 2014, they have been committed to recycling and reusing fabrics and materials, which has prevented tonnes of plastic from ending up in landfills. Their unique products are made from former deck chairs, bouncy castles, and other inflatables that would have otherwise gone to waste.
What sets Wyatt and Jack apart from its sister brand is that they specialise in designing bags and rucksacks for children. This opens up endless possibilities for creativity and repurposing when it comes to designing for kids!
Roka London
Roka London is committed to using recycled materials in their products. Their bags and backpacks are made using recycled polyethene terephthalate (RPET) for the canvas-like material, giving a new lease of life to plastic that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill or the ocean. In addition, the nylon bags are created using pre-consumer fabric waste, like scraps, rejects, offcuts, and trimmings, which are spun into new material. This recycling process produces durable nylon and reduces waste. Both nylon and canvas materials are water-resistant and coated with C0 water-repellent. The coating follows EU laws and does not contain PFOS or PFOA.
ROKA London is now a B Corp Certified company, receiving a high score for their commitment to sustainability. They also announced their business goal of becoming Carbon Zero within the next five years. To achieve this, they will need to use carbon offsetting. For example, in 2022, they contributed to non-profit organizations that planted over 10,000 trees.
Additionally, they continue to support the well-being of communities, the environment, and the outdoors by donating a portion of their profits.
Thousand Fell
Thousand Fell is a brand dedicated to transforming old shoes into new ones and has created the world’s first zero-waste, closed-loop, and recyclable sneaker. Their vegan, water-resistant, and stain-proof sustainable sneakers are made of recycled materials, and Thousand Fell encourages recycling by offering a discount on the next purchase to customers who return their old shoes to the brand. The company then refurbishes and donates usable shoes and upcycles any unusable materials.
The brand’s ethical and sustainable practices are demonstrated in their use of recycled bottles to create leather-like uppers, recycled rubber for outsoles, and eco-friendly materials like castor beans, coconut husk, sugar cane, and palm leaf fibres for midsoles and insoles.
Thousand Fell also offsets its carbon and water usage and delivers orders in organic tote bags and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) -certified shoe boxes.
Peterson Stoop
Peterson Stoop was founded by Jelske Peterson and Jarah Stoop and is the largest footwear re-design company offering custom re-designs and limited edition drops.
Whilst working for the well-known cobbler Nils Kalf in Amsterdam, Peterson realised that sneakers were essentially a disposable product, because they were not designed for repair, unlike the other shoes they were repairing, such as Church’s, Alden and Santoni. This gave her the inspiration to invent a unique technique to give unrepairable shoes a new sole, thus a new soul. Their trademarked technique is called a Circle Welt ™, where a strip of leather (a welt) is wrapped (in a circle) around the upper of the shoe and attached by sewing it to the midsole.
Currently Peterson Stoop not only re-designs existing shoes with a Circle Welt ™, they also deconstruct worn shoes and rebuild them and make patchwork mules, using the iconic footbed developed by Birkenstock.
SUZSTAINABLE sometimes uses affiliate links, whereby if you purchase an item using a link from this site, I earn a small percentage. For more information on affiliate links please see my affiliate policy.
