WASTE NOT -
Only 15 percent of textile waste is donated or recycled in the United States. About 21 billion pounds of clothing, footwear, towels, bedding, drapery, and other textiles end up in American landfills every year, which adds up to more than 5 percent of the country’s municipal solid waste. At the same time, textile recyclers claim that up to 95 percent of textiles can be reused or recycled.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Athletics brand adidas will end the use of microbeads in its body care products by January 1, 2016. With the help of its license partner Coty, adidas has outpaced body care industry giants in eliminating the plastic beads from their products.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Around the world, more and more action is being taken to create a more sustainable clothing industry. In the U.K., waste reduction charity WRAP is seeing significant progress on its Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP). Meanwhile, two U.S.-based Kickstarter campaigns are offering sustainable, certified organic options: men’s denim made in America; and temperature-regulating base layers that use nanofibers from Austria.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced today that H&M has become its latest Global Partner accelerating the transition to the circular economy.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A synthetic spider silk parka, luxury knitwear made from deadstock yarns, and one-of-a-kind pieces from unwanted locally sourced materials are the latest sustainable clothing options.
WASTE NOT -
Levi Strauss & Co. claims its consumer care recommendations could have saved California 35 billion liters of water over the past four years — the amount of time that the state has been experiencing a severe drought.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
If washing and drying clothes is a major culprit in the environmental waste wars, what if there were more natural fabrics that repelled stains, resulting in fewer washings? One such solution, introduced by Kelby & Co. at the Fashion Tech Lab demo day this summer, is being rolled out in the market next month.
WASTE NOT -
UK waste-reduction charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has announced a three-year commitment to reducing clothing waste through a new €3.6 million pilot project. Funded by EU LIFE, the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP) aims to divert over 90,000 tonnes per year of clothing waste from landfill and incineration across Europe by March 2019.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
How do video games and virtual reality play into climate change action? Ask Grammy award-winning producer and musician Pharrell Williams and Oscar-winning actor and singer Jared Leto, who are trying to engage people and raise awareness through virtual media.
LEADERSHIP -
Today, a group of some of the world’s biggest brands, retailers, NGOs and industry groups launch a Social and Labor Convergence Project, with the aim of improving working conditions in apparel manufacturing across the world.The group says the project seeks to achieve real, sustainable change through the collective development of an industry-wide, standardized methodology for social and labor performance assessment in apparel and footwear supply chains. Through this, the industry believes that it will be able to significantly reduce the amount of money that it spends on duplicated auditing and invest the money saved in improving social welfare for millions of people employed in apparel manufacturing around the world.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Earlier this month, H&M was accused of being “dramatically behind schedule” in meeting the requirements of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh in a joint report from the Clean Clothes Campaign, International Labor Rights Forum, Maquila Solidarity Network, and Worker Rights Consortium.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Levi Strauss & Co. has led the charge in dramatically reducing the environmental impact of its garments by improving the efficiency of its processes: As the company announced in March, it has saved more than 1 billion liters of water since the inception of its Water<Less™ process in 2011.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The sustainability challenges facing the clothing industry today are immense. In 2013 the Danish fashion institute estimated it to be the second-most damaging industry in the world, with 25 percent of the world’s pesticides used to grow cotton alone, and one-fifth of industrial water pollution stemming from the dyeing and treatment of fabric. The U.S.
COLLABORATION -
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post, "What's Working: Sustainable Development Goals," in conjunction with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The proposed set of goals was the subject of discussion at the UN General Assembly meeting on Sept. 25-27, 2015 in New York; they cover 17 key areas of development — including poverty, hunger, health, education, and gender equality, among many others.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Today, adidas announced Sport Infinity, the sportswear giant’s plan for a new breed of sporting goods that will never be thrown away. Instead, football (soccer) players will be able to constantly reimagine and recycle their dream products using an inexhaustible 3-D “super-material.” Every gram of sportswear, including the boots of Argentine soccer star Leo Messi, will be broken down to be remolded again in a waste-free, adhesive-free process that gives consumers more scope for personalization than ever before.
COLLABORATION -
Award-winning British designer Christopher Raeburn showcased his new Spring/Summer 2016 SARAWAK collection on Tuesday at London Fashion Week. Raeburn worked closely with apparel branding, labeling, packaging and embellishments company Avery Dennison RBIS (Retail Branding and Information Solutions) to explore sustainability throughout the design process, from mood board to the runway.
PRESS RELEASE -
Who: Avery Dennison RBIS, a global leader in apparel branding, labeling, packaging, embellishments and RFID solutions, collaborated with award-winning designer Christopher Raeburn at London Fashion Week.
What: RBIS builds on four seasons of successful collaborations with Christopher Raeburn, providing creative and sustainable embellishments and branding solutions for the Spring/Summer 2016 ‘SARAWAK’ collection. This standout collection features flock designs and studs, which were heat applied to the garments. Additionally, the entire collection incorporates sustainable branding, including high-definition woven labels made from recycled yarns.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Sustainable Angle is a UK-based not-for-profit organization that initiates and supports projects that help minimize the environmental impact of industry and society. Its principal project, The Future Fabrics Expo, now in its fifth year, focuses on the fashion industry and how its egregious environmental impacts can be reduced through innovation in textiles, and novel ideas to transform the fashion system and design practice.We recently spoke with Researcher and Project Manager Charlotte Turner about the impetus for the organization and its impacts to date.
COLLABORATION -
Today, C&A Foundation and Ashoka Changemakers launch Fabric of Change: Innovating for a Sustainable Apparel Industry, an online challenge that seeks innovations for building a fair and sustainable apparel industry. Winners will receive prizes totaling more than €100,000 to support their solutions.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
H&M has released an inspiring film emphasizing that there is only one rule in fashion – to recycle your clothes! Starring and narrated by icon Iggy Pop, and featuring appearances by blogger Pardeep Singh Bahra, emerging designer Loza Maleombho and artist Daniel Lismore, the piece supports H&M's Close the Loop collection and Global Recycling initiative, which to date, has recycled more than 260 billion pounds of unwanted clothing.