Waste and Recycling Fabrics made from recycled items are now becoming more commonplace with recycled polyester made from recycled drinks bottles now being made by any leading brands. Contents 1. Introduction2. Benefits of recycling3. 1. It is estimated that more than 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year in the UK alone. 2. Recovery and recycling provide important environmental benefits. Textile recovery: Reduces the need for landfill space. If everyone in the UK bought one reclaimed woollen garment each year, it would save an average of 371 million gallons of water (the average UK reservoir holds about 300 million gallons) and 480 tonnes of chemical dyestuffs. 3. Many fashion businesses are choosing to incorporate recycled fibres, fabrics or clothes in their collections. 371 million gallons of water saved if everyone in UK bought one recycled garment each year There are three ways of recycling fashion: 4. Armani jeans have been incorporating eco fabrics and design since the mid 90’s. 5. 6. 7.
New Gen spotlight: Brandy Easter SOURCE contributor Rebecca Damm meets with recent fashion grad and exciting new design talent, Brandy Easter, who upcycles old garments into fresh, fun and forward-thinking designs for the new generation. We spoke to Brandy Easter, a recent graduate from the acclaimed ‘CSM’ BA womenswear course, on the use of reclaimed materials in her award-winning graduate collection and her ‘no-need’ attitude of over-consumption in the fashion industry. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona Brandy learnt about reducing waste from an early age, this has fed its way into her graduation collection, shown earlier this year and landing her a job as a designer for the up-cycling giants From Somewhere. Why did you re-use fabrics for your final collection? I felt that using organic and fair trade materials, although great, would go against my beliefs about over consumption. What importance do you see in reducing waste and sustainable fashion? What are some tips you have for working with reclaimed materials?
Fashion & Textiles: Measuring Environmental Profit and Loss Gregor Pecnik, Sustainability Consultant at Best Foot Forward, introduces SOURCE readers to Environmental Profit & Loss accounts and the benefits of using this method for companies across the fashion and textiles sector. Image: Fellowship 500 brand, Nurmi Nature provides a number of natural resources that the fashion industry relies upon, in particular natural fibres and water. Fashion and sustainability can be interwoven, especially by measuring wider environmental impacts through an Environmental Profit and Loss account (EP&L). Currently, many natural resources are overexploited because their full costs are not accounted for. Environmental Profit & Loss Accounts – What are they? One of the emerging ways which can help companies account for environmental impact is EP&L. EP&L assigns monetary values to environmental impacts. This approach can help the textile industry in a number of ways. Environmental P&Ls support better business About Best Foot Forward:
Design Factory - Welcome upcycling fashion | From Somewhere- Upcycling