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Nature in Freefall: How Fashion Contributes to Biodiversity Loss

Today, WWF released the 2020 edition of their Living Planet Report which monitors the state of the planet - including biodiversity, ecosystems, and demand on natural resources - and what it means for humans and wildlife.

It is more urgent than ever that we tackle the global biodiversity and nature crisis. This report sounds the alarm for global biodiversity, showing globally an average 68% decline in the size of animal populations since 1970. ¹ Nature is in jeopardy and we need to take urgent action!

What is biodiversity?

Simply put, biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. Each individual of each species contributes to their local ecosystem, which in turn contributes to a wider ecosystem. Biodiversity is not just about the variety of species in an ecosystem, but also the genetic diversity which exists within each species. As species populations decline, this erodes genetic diversity, reducing the ability for a species to adapt to changes to its environment.

Why should we care?

Each ecosystem provides benefits to our planet, such as water purification, nutrient recycling, maintaining healthy soils, reducing pollution, absorbing carbon, regulation of floods and diseases, and much more. Biodiversity underpins the ecosystem, so when biodiversity is lost, we lose the ecosystems that humans rely upon to maintain our lives, such as the food we eat, the water we drink and the resources we use in our daily lives. Biodiversity is fundamental to human life on Earth and its loss will impact the health and wellbeing of people around the world, as well as deepening existing inequalities.

Humans are now overusing the Earth's biocapacity, the ability of our planet's ecosystems to regenerate, by at least 56% ¹. This is like living off 1.56 Earths. We desperately need to rethink our global resource-intensive systems and find nature-based solutions that preserve our ecosystems, improve biodiversity and species populations and improve global health and wellbeing.

So, what are the key findings of the Living Planet Report?¹

68% decrease in population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016.²

1 million species (500,000 animals and plants and 500,000 insects) are threatened with extinction.

Humans are now overusing the Earth's biocapacity by at least 56%.

The worst decline is occurring in the tropical subregions of the Americas where we are seeing an average of 94% decline in population sizes.²

What is causing this catastrophic loss?

Whilst this varies in different regions of the world, The Living Planet Report states the biggest threats to biodiversity are:

Changes in land and sea use (unsustainable agriculture, logging, transportation, urbanisation, energy production and mining) (43%-58%)³

Species overexploitation (unsustainable hunting and poaching, fishing or harvesting) (18%-36%)³

Invasive species and disease (11%-14%)³

Pollution (oil spills, agricultural run-off, air pollution or water pollution) (2%-11%)³

Climate Change (4%-13%)³

What's the fashion industry's role in this?

The fashion industry relies heavily on biodiversity, predominantly through the production and processing of all the different materials used to make our clothes, as well as the materials used for packaging. The fashion industry has a significant damaging impact on biodiversity, throughout the production process as well as during wear, care and disposal.

Changing land use

A large proportion of fashion's biodiversity impact occurs due to habitat change resulting from agriculture for producing cotton, viscose, wool, rubber, leather hides or any other natural fibre. For example, fashion is a significant contributor to global deforestation with around 150 million trees logged every year to be turned into cellulosic fabrics, such as viscose. ⁵ In the Amazon, cattle ranching is the largest driver of deforestation. Between 2006 and 2010, beef accounted for around two-thirds of the export value of Brazilian cattle products, whilst leather was responsible for over one-quarter of the export value.⁶

The impacts of raw materials on nature will only increase as global demand for clothing increases. The fashion industry is projected to use 35% more land for fibre production by 2030 - an extra 115 million hectares that could be left to preserve biodiversity.⁴

Pollution

Whilst the full extent of fashion's pollution impact is unknown, estimates have previously suggested that 20% of global freshwater pollution comes from the wet processing of the textile industry.⁷ Wet processing includes the scouring, bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing of raw textiles which are water and chemical intensive processes.

Although many companies are cleaning up their acts and investing in cleaner dyeing innovations and better wastewater treatment, many of the world's waterways are still being polluted. The Citarum River in Indonesia is home to around 2,000 textile factories where effluent from the dyeing and processing of fabrics has previously been dumped, with little or no regulation. This has caused extensive environmental and human health issues in the area.

Additionally, pesticides used for the production of our raw materials have been shown to reduce the populations of important species, whilst also eroding soil biodiversity. Although the cultivated area of cotton covers only 3% of the planet's agricultural land, it uses 16% of all insecticides and 7% of all pesticides.⁸ Some have been banned and replaced, but many insecticides continue to kill or harm a broad spectrum of insects, including those that pollinate crops. ⁸

Climate Change

From raw material to disposal, the entire lifecycle of our clothing impacts our climate. It has been estimated that the fashion industry emitted around 2.1 billion tonnes of GHG emissions in 2018, equating to 4% of the global total. ⁹ Overall 52% of fashion's GHG emissions come from raw material production and fabric and yarn preparation.⁹ This is driven by fashion's obsession for synthetic oil-based materials such as polyester, which account for around 60% of the clothes we produce.¹⁰

We know that even just a small increase in global temperatures will have a devastating affect on nature. Fashion needs to wake up and take steps to decarbonise and move towards carbon neutrality.

What can the fashion industry do?

Globally, patterns of overproduction and consumption are indirect drivers of biodiversity loss as they underlie land-use change and habitat loss, the overexploitation of natural resources, pollution and climate change which are the drivers of biodiversity loss. We need to rethink current clothing consumption models and buy less, buy better, wear our clothes longer and figure out how to successfully recycle them in a circular manner.

In term's of fashion's impact on land, we need to be looking at regenerative agriculture which aims to rehabilitate and enhance the natural ecosystems. Currently , farmers producing fibres used by Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, Burberry and Kering Group (who owns Gucci, Saint Laurent and other major brands) are beginning to use regenerative farming methods in order to improve biodiversity and capture carbon, helping to lower CO ₂ levels. This method is now being used to produce raw materials used for fashion such as hemp, flax, bamboo and cotton and to raise cattle, goats and sheep.

Facing a climate emergency, fashion brands must also focus their recovery on breaking away from fossil fuels in their supply chain. A recent report by Stand.Earth outlines the steps fashion brands must take to reduce their emissions rapidly, including setting ambitious climate commitments with full transparency, focussing on renewable energy in supply chains, sourcing lower carbon and longer lasting materials, and reducing the climate impacts of shipping.¹¹

Whilst we all have a role to play to help nature recover locally and globally, businesses and policymakers need to take drastic action to ensure that nature is protected and restored. We still have a chance to put things right but we need change fast - we need it now.

Finally, the best way to motivate industry and governments to take action is by using your voice to demand action. This year we launched #WhatsInMyClothes? with the aim to encourage brands to tell us more about the materials, chemicals and environmental impacts of the clothes we wear. We deserve to know if our clothing is contributing to biodiversity loss or environmental degradation, so use your voice and ask your favourite brands #WhatsInMyClothes?

References

1. WWF, Living Planet Report, 2020, https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-gb/

2. This is the average decline in population sizes between 1970 and 2016, to calculate this, the Living Planet Index tracks the abundance of almost 21,000 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians around the world.

3. The proportion of threats which vary regionally. For more information please see pages 18 - 21 in the Living Planet Report.

4. Boger S. et al., Pulse of the Fashion Industry. Global Fashion Agenda, 2017, http://globalfashionagenda.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pulse-of-the-Fashion-Industry_2017.pdf

5. Canopy, CANOPY STYLE 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY REPORT, 2018, https://canopyplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CanopyStyle-5th-Anniversary-Report.pdf

6. Walker et al., From Amazon Pasture to the High Street: Deforestation and the Brazilian Cattle Product Supply Chain, Tropical Conservation Science, 2013 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/194008291300600309

7. Maxwell, McAndrew and Ryan, The state of the apparel sector: water, 2015, https://www.textilepact.net/pdf/publications/reports-and-award/glasa_2015_stateofapparelsector_specialreport_water.pdf

8. Pesticide Action Network UK, Is cotton conquering its chemical addiction?, 2017, http://www.pan-uk.org/cottons-chemical-addiction/

9. McKinsey and the Global Fashion Agenda, Fashion on Climate, 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Retail/Our%20Insights/Fashion%20on%20climate/Fashion-on-climate-Full-report.pdf

10. Kirchain et al., Sustainable Apparel Materials, 2015 https://matteroftrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SustainableApparelMaterials.pdf

11. Stand.Earth, FASHION FORWARD: A Roadmap to Fossil Free Fashion, 2020, https://www.stand.earth/sites/stand/files/standearth-fashionforward-roadmaptofossilfreefashion.pdf

Written by Sienna Somers, Global Policy and Research Coordinator.
Lessons we learned from Fashion Open Studio 2020

Covid-19 was not going to come in the way of Fashion Open Studio 2020 and its audience. If anything, the pandemic gave this year's designers a greater audience than ever. The studio tours, workshops and conversations were pivoted to a digital format, allowing us to #StayHome while also staying connected with the creative community making use of this time to rethink systems, supply chains and resources.
Sustainability means many things
We celebrated the work of 53 designers across 14 countries including Iran, New Zealand, Vietnam, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Switzerland and Germany. There was so much to learn from the designers who took part, each one with solutions to the challenges most pressing to them. At Fashion Open Studio we understand that sustainability means many things (and sometimes, nothing at all). Every designer taking part in this programme is finding solutions that will help to move their own business forward without over stretching the planet's resources and with respect for artisans and garment workers who craft and stitch their collections. The purpose of Fashion Open Studio is to share these stories and help them to reach the audiences they deserve.

From Fashion Revolution's incredible global network there were so many eloquent voices, with as many different perspectives on how clothing should be made and valued. From Zimbabwe, Fashion Revolution's country coordinator Rudo Nondo talked to Julian Tamuka about his brand Guyllelujah. Julian had previously not considered ideas about sustainability until he was introduced to Fashion Revolution through Fashion Open Studio and realised his use of limited resources - deadstock materials and off cuts - and his philosophy of making staple items of clothing because as he says "it's a staple for a reason, it's more likely to be of value and stick around longer," is the way he works out of necessity.

I recommend everyone watches his short video, The New Philosophy of Fashion as there is so much to learn from his approach.

Likewise, from Harare, Haus of Stone presented Therapy of Fashion, which combined mediation and making one session of mindfulness and creativity. The brand's founder, Danayi, led us through a fusion of yoga; traditional mbira music and hand sewing. Participants are invited to send the roses they make in the workshop to become part of a collective scarf called 'Hope'.

In Switzerland in collaboration with Mode Suisse, Rafael Kouto asked "What is Upcycling? And what is waste?" Rafael showed how to 'pimp' your garments with an introduction on his upcycling practice and so much information and advice on rethinking and valuing the contents of your own wardrobe. It's a really wonderful and informative session.

From Pune in India, Karishma Shahani Khan invited small groups into a virtual studio each day to learn quilting, embroidery and hand sewing techniques in a series of sewing circles with the team from Ka Sha and the artisans they work with. They wanted to share the inherent social setting of storytelling and conversations that they witness within their everyday working environment with guests.

Also in India, in Jaipura in Rajasthan, Iro-Iro showed their practice around implementing zero-waste for their MoonWash collection, focusing on New Heroes with illustrations and readings celebrating women throughout history who have been independent thinkers and doers.

If you missed these remarkable stories, they are still available as a series of readings of letters to women from Cleopatra to the spy princess Noor Inayat Khan, and there is a collection of clothes inspired by each of them.

Vietnamese brand Tamay & Me introduced Mien artisan and co-founder Tamay from Ta Phin village in Sapa,

with a special film screening followed by a Q&A with her co-founder Hannah Cowie to explain how they work together and the heritage of the unique craftsmanship that goes into every garment.
Creativity in lockdown thrived
While the world was in lockdown, many designers still had access to their studios, either because they live in the same space, or because they were using them to continue working at a safe social distance in the essential work of making PPE and hospital scrubs as many of the Fashion Open Studio network were doing. Phoebe English talked to us from her Deptford Creek studio in south London, explaining how to quilt with waste using her paper templates.

As she spoke, the scrubs she had been making were being counted and packed up ready to be delivered to hospitals in need as part of the Emergency Designer Network with fellow FOS designer Bethany Williams. Elliss Solomon, founder of Elliss, took time out from her work for Scrub Up for the NHS to talk us through her workshop on collage - a key part of her creative development when she is designing a collection. Many others taking part in the week were playing their part in making masks, scrubs and PPE and of course, the week's events were a great way for people to spread the word, stay connected, and share the challenges of trying to keep business going.
Collaboration makes sense
While there are designers who are still fledgling brands, this is a particularly difficult time for those newly graduated. Among the thousands of fashion graduates unable to even show their final collections as part of a degree show, we showcased the work of two emerging talents who had shown their collections as part of the Central Saint Martins MA show in March, just a week before the lockdown. The portfolio visits traditionally held for industry experts to head hunt talent, were cancelled, with future job prospects on hold for many. Matthew Needham, who temporarily joined the Fashion Revolution team for the week to help on production and Zoom management, talked us through his final collection ØYEBLIKK / 2020 'IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE'.

While Needham is an advocate of waste management - a master of using trash as a precious resource in his collections - he is also becoming expert in collaboration, and is sure that this is the way forward. For his session, he brought together his co-collaborators Sneaker artist Helen Kirkum, Biotech materials researcher Alice Potts and experimental milliner Jo Miller. Together they explained some of their processes and how working collectively is a great way to consolidate sustainable thinking, encourage innovation and help lift each other's practice and find new audiences.
Somerset House x Young Creatives
Fellow CSM MA graduate Paolo Carzana moved back to his hometown in Cardiff, Wales, the week he was supposed to be showing his final collection to the world. Paolo was chosen as the finale to the degree show, with The Boy Who Came Back to Life, a collection packed with details, extraordinary materials, botanical dyes, Pinatex textiles, and layers of story-telling, autobiographical notes, and months' worth of research.

For his session which was part of the afternoon of events in partnership with Somerset House and its Young Creatives programme, Carzana talked from the balcony of his flat overlooking the Cardiff stadium which was at the time, being turned into a Nightingale hospital. He had made a special film, A Self Isolation Waltz for the event showing his collection against the backdrop of the building site below, and talked through his sketches, fabric swatches and references. He also talked about his plans to make a capsule collection for the planned digital London Fashion Week in June, re-using pieces from his previous work. The pandemic has forced him to rethink how he is going to work and sell - and be even more resourceful creative and sustainable as a business going forward.

Also taking part in the Somerset House programme were Bethany Williams, Katie Jones and Congregation Design. Bethany was part of a week-long series of events to celebrate the anniversary of Earth Day, planned with Somerset House long before the pandemic took hold. You can watch highlights of the day here.

There is so much to learn from the 2020 Fashion Open Studio designers. We are still absorbing and catching up with so many incredible and diverse sessions. The digital programme allowed these small, intimate studio conversations and workshops to be viewed by a global audience creating conversations that reverberated between designers and communities that hadn't previously connected.

We are starting to plan for Fashion Open Studio 2021 and will be announcing how to apply to take part in the coming months. Until then, do spend some time watching the videos on our YouTube playlist and share the knowledge and the work of these change maker designers far and wide.

To stay up to date with Fashion Open Studio, subscribe to the Fashion Revolution youtube channel and follow Fashion Open Studio on instagram, twitter and facebook.

Our clothes shed microfibres - here's what we can do...
During the month of February, we've been exploring fashion's impact on water and looking at how we can practice water stewardship through our wardrobes. So far, we've discussed the consequences of industrial dyes misconceptions around water consumption, better laundry habits to conserve water. Now, we're taking a look at how our wardrobes affect our oceans when they release microfibres.
What are microfibres?

Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces that are less than <5 mm in length. Textiles are the largest source of primary microplastics (specifically manufactured to be smaller than 5mm), accounting for 34.8% of global microplastic pollution [1]. Microfibres are a type of microplastic released when we wash synthetic clothing - clothing made from plastic such as polyester and acrylic. These fibres detach from our clothes during washing and go into the wastewater. The wastewater then goes to sewage treatment facilities. As the fibres are so small, many pass through filtration processes and make their way into our rivers and seas.

Around 50% of our clothing is made from plastic [2] and up to 700,000 fibres can come off our synthetic clothes in a typical wash [3]. As a result, if the fashion industry continues as it is, between the years 2015 and 2050, 22 million tonnes of microfibres will enter our oceans [4].

What impact do microfibres have on the environment and on human health?

Due to the tiny size of microplastics, they can be ingested by marine animals which can have catastrophic effects on the species and the entire marine ecosystem.

Microfibres can absorb chemicals present in the water or sewage sludge, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and carcinogenic Persistent Organic Pollutants (PoPs). They can also contain chemical additives, from the manufacturing phase of the materials, such as plasticisers (a substance added to improve plasticity and flexibility of a material), flame retardants and antimicrobial agents (a chemical that kills or stops the growth of microorganisms like bacteria). These chemicals can leach from the plastic into the oceans or even go straight into the bloodstream of animals that ingest the microfibres. Once ingested, microfibres can cause gut blockage, physical injury, changes to oxygen levels in cells in the body, altered feeding behaviour and reduced energy levels, which impacts growth and reproduction [5][6]. Due to this, the balance of whole ecosystems can be affected, with the impacts travelling up the food chain and sometimes making their way into the food we eat! It has been suggested that people that eat European bivalves (such as mussels, clams and oysters) can ingest over 11,000 microplastic particles per year [7].

What can fashion brands do?

The fashion industry needs to take responsibility for minimising future microfibre releases. Brands can have the most impact if they take microfibre release into consideration at the design and manufacturing stages. Designers should consider several criteria in order to minimise the environmental impact of a synthetic garment [3]:

1. Use textiles which have been tested to ensure minimal release of synthetic microfibres into the environment.

2. Ensure the product is durable so it remains out of landfill as long as possible

3. Consider how the garment and textile waste could be recycled, to achieve a circular system.

During manufacture, there are several methods that can be applied to reduce microfibre shedding such as brushing the material, using laser and ultrasound cutting [4], coatings and pre-washing garments [1]. The length of the yarn, type of weave, and method for finishing seams may all be factors affecting shedding rates. However, much more research from brands needs to occur in order to determine best practices in reducing microfibres and create industry-wide solutions.

Waste-water treatment...

Waste-water treatment plants (where all our used water gets filtered and treated) are currently between 65-90% efficient at filtering microfibres [6]. Research and innovations into improving the efficiency of capturing microfibres in wastewater treatment plants is essential to prevent them escaping into our environment.

Washing machine filters...

Improving and developing commercial washing machine filters that can capture microfibres may allow for an additional level of filtration, whilst also educating consumers and businesses [8]. However, current filters which need to be fitted by the user, such as that developed by Wexco, are currently expensive and reportedly difficult to install. They also place a financial burden upon the consumers, rather than pressurising brands to commit to change. To tackle this, we need more industry research and legislation to ensure all new washing machines are fitted with effective filters to capture the maximum amount of microfibres possible. However, we then have the issue of what to do with the microfibres once we have caught them - an area which requires more research and industry collaboration.

Collaboration is key

Collaboration across multiple industries is required if we are to tackle microfibre pollution. In addition to material research, waste management and washing machine research and development, there is a role for other sectors such as detergent manufacturers and the recycling industry to come together to help reduce microfibre pollution. Cross-industrial agreements could help promote collaboration between industry bodies and promote sharing of resources and knowledge.

A major issue has been a lack of a standardised measure of measuring microfibre release. However, a cross-industry group, The Microfibre Consortium recently announced the first microfibre test method. The launch will enable its members (including brands, detergent manufacturers and research bodies) to accelerate research that leads to product development change and a reduction in microfibre shedding in the fashion, sport, outdoor and home textiles industries. The Microfibre Consortium also works to develop practical solutions for the textile industry to minimise microfibre release to the environment from textile manufacturing and product life cycles.

The need for microfibre legislation

Comprehensive legislative action is needed to send a strong message and force the brands to address microfibre releases from their textiles. This is a complicated issue that will require policymakers to tackle this issue on many different levels and sectors. Currently, there are no EU regulations that address microfibre release by textiles, nor are they included in the Water Framework Directive.

However, there have been several developments in microfibre legislation in the past few years:

As of February 2020, Brune Poirson, French Secretary of State for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, is the first politician in the world to pass microfibre legislation. As of January 2025, all new washing machines in France will have to include a filter to stop synthetic clothes from polluting our waterways. This makes France the first country in the world to take legislative steps in the fight against plastic microfibre pollution. The measure is included in the anti-waste law for a circular economy.

In 2018, US states of California and Connecticut proposed legislation which would see polyester garments legally required to bear warning labels regarding their potential to shed microfibres during domestic washing cycles. However, this legislation is yet to be passed.

In 2019, the EAC urged the UK government to accelerate research into the relative environmental performance of different materials, particularly with respect to measures to reduce microfibre pollution, as part of an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. However, the UK government rejected the proposal stating that current voluntary measures are sufficient.

What can you do?

Write to your policymaker

It is vital that policy is put into place to tackle microfibres, such as the new French washing machine filter legislation. If you are concerned about microfibres, we encourage you to write to your policy representative and urge your government to take action on microfibre pollution. Now that France has enacted the microfibre legislation, it raises the bar for other governments to also take action, but they will only do so with enough pressure from the people they represent - you!

Changing your washing practices

The easiest thing you can do to minimise microfibres releasing from your clothing is to simply wash your clothes less. Given that up to 700,000 microfibres can detach in a single wash [3] ask yourself if that item really needs to be washed or can it be worn once or twice more before you do?

While some research suggested using a liquid detergent, lower washing machine temperatures, gentler washing machine settings [3] and using a front-loading washing machine [9] can reduce microfibre shedding. Researcher Imogen Napper stated they found that there was no clear evidence suggesting that changing the washing conditions gave any meaningful effect in reducing microfibre release.

You can also use a Cora Ball, a guppy bag or a self-installed washing machine filter to capture microfibres from your clothing. The CoraBall and Lint LUV-R (an install yourself washing machine filter) have been shown to reduce the number of microfibres in wastewater by an average of 26% and 87%, respectively [10]. Although these can't solve the problem, we still want to divert as many microplastics as we can from entering our waterways.
The impacts of microfibres on the environment can be mitigated, but only with systematic and meaningful change supported by policymakers, brands, industry, NGOs and citizens all working together.
Should we all switch from synthetic fibres?

While many people's first instinct is to switch from synthetic materials to natural materials to minimise microfibre release, this is not always a simple choice as there are other sustainability aspects involved. The UK's Environmental Audit Committee in their report states 'A kneejerk switch from synthetic to natural fibres in response to the problem of ocean microfibre pollution would result in greater pressures on land and water use - given current consumption rates' [11].

Demand brands to do more to take action on microfibres

"Ultimate responsibility for stopping this pollution, however, must lie with the companies making the products that are shedding the fibres." states the Environmental Audit Committee [11], but there are still too many major fashion brands not taking responsibility for what happens in their supply chains and in the life cycle of their products. As well as demanding action from your policymaker, we should also ask brands what they are doing to minimize the microfibre release from their products. It is clear that there is still a lot of work to do, and as their customers, we have a lot of power in influencing the impacts of the brands we buy.

References

[1] Boucher, J. and Friot, D. (2017). Primary Microplastics in the Oceans: A Global Evaluation of Sources. Available at: https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002-En.pdf

[2] Textile Exchange (2019). Preferred Fiber and Material Market Report. Available at: https://store.textileexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2019/11/Textile-Exchange_Preferred-Fiber-Material-Market-Report_2019.pdf

[4] Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017). A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion's future. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Full-Report_Updated_1-12-17.pdf

[6] Henry, B., Laitala, K. and Grimstad Klepp, I. (2018). Microplastic pollution from textiles: A literature review. Consumption Research Norway SIFO. Available at: https://www.hioa.no/eng/About-HiOA/Centre-for-Welfare-and-Labour-Research/SIFO/Publications-from-SIFO/Microplastic-pollution-from-textiles-A-literature-review

[7] Van Cauwenberghe, L. and Janssen, C. (2014). Microplastics in bivalves cultured for human consumption. Environmental Pollution. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749114002425

[11] Environmental Audit Committee (2019). Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability. House of Commons. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf

Research and writing by Sienna Somers, Policy and Research Co-ordinator at Fashion Revolution

Fashion Question Time at the V&A 2019

Tomorrowland: how innovation and sustainability will change the fashion panorama.

On Wednesday, 24 th April 2019, Fashion Revolution hosted our fifth annual Fashion Question Time, a powerful platform to debate the future of the fashion industry during Fashion Revolution Week. This year Fashion Question Time was hosted for the first time at the V&A museum and opening the event up to the public for the first time. The theme this year was Tomorrowland: how innovation and sustainability will change the fashion panorama.

Chaired by Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey, this year's panel brought together leading figures across government and the fashion industry to discuss the future of the fashion industry.

Attendees included high-level fashion industry representatives from across the sector, global brands, retailers, press, MPs, influencers, and NGOs. Panelists included Mary Creagh, MP and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee; Laura Balmond, Project Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation; Mark Sumner, Lecturer in Sustainability, Fashion & Retail, University of Leeds, and Hendrik Alpen, Sustainability Engagement Manager, H&M Group.

After a welcoming speech from Tim Peeve, an opening speech was made by Sarah Ditty, Policy Director for Fashion Revolution:

"There is an ocean of truth lying undiscovered before us when it comes to the fashion industry of tomorrow. We urgently need to focus on innovation and we need sustainability to be scaled up."

Below we have selected some questions and answers that were discussed over the 1 hour ½ debate during Fashion Question Time 2019 at the V&A:

Olivia Shaw, Campaign Support Officer for #LoveNotLand fill and London Waste & Recycling Board asked:"In a world with finite resources, why does the fashion industry waste around three quarters of what it creates and how are we going change this model to create a fair system for all?"

Laura Balmond, Project Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation: It's not possible to continue as we go on... The amount of clothes produced is rapidly increasing - and we are using clothes 40% less. Less than 1% of materials are going back into fashion we make... We need a huge systemic rethink .. I believe that the circular economy will be business-led. We need businesses to get behind this common vision... The current system doesn't work. The leaders will continue to push ahead - will the others exist in 5 years time?

Mark Sumner, Lecturer in Sustainability, Fashion & Retail, University of Leeds: Technically there are lots of solutions but there's no motivation... We have the opportunity to change this and legislation plays an important role. The fashion industry has been around for thousands of years. It plays an important role in self-esteem and identity, plays an important part in our lives. But we can't stick with the model we have at the moment, we need to change. The Modern Slavery Bill is a good starting point but we need more legislation. More innovative structures in place to penalise businesses - the responsibility needs to be across the whole system.

Mary Creagh, MP and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee: The current fashion industry model promotes over consumption and under utilisation. My concern is that the policy space in this country, which has historically been a leader on these issues, has been crowded out by the Brexit psychodrama and the space for creative and necessary responses to this is being handed to us. We're in a unique situation where the public is dragging the Government. We debated the environment twice in Parliament twice yesterday so things are changing but we all need to think about our overconsumption... We also need to strengthen regulation to require greater executive level accountability for tackling modern slavery and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in business and supply chains.
Mary Creagh, MP and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee:
Hendrik Alpen, Sustainability Engagement Manager, H&M Group: Moving to a circular model makes business sense. Right now, H&M operates one of the biggest global take-back schemes.

Sarah Ditty, Fashion Revolution, Policy Director on behalf of Labour behind the Label asked: The one safety initiative that came out of the Rana Plaza collapse, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, is at risk of being expelled from the country at the moment, putting all the progress made in the last six years at risk. At the moment over 50% of the factories still lack adequate fire alarm and detection systems and 40% are still completing structural renovations, these life-saving remediations need to be overseen by the Accord. With the Accord under threat, how can innovations in transparency create a better future for garment workers?
Laura Balmond, Project Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Mark Sumner, Lecturer in Sustainability, Fashion & Retail, University of Leeds:
Laura Balmond, Project Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation: With innovations around transparency, relies purely on the information that is inputted at the very beginning. So, this then raises the question of how do we verify that and how do we ensure the information you are receiving is correct? Therefore, what are the financial incentives to improve the system? We must incentivise accurate data inputting.
Mary Creagh, MP and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee:
Hendrik Alpen, Sustainability Engagement Manager, H&M Group: The Accord is a very well working mechanism. So, we as a brand, and other brands hope it will continue. Last year 98% of our suppliers were compliant with the Accord's requirements, and this year, it will be 100% compliance. You talk about incentives, so that's a sort of incentive we can create to get something back for the work we are investing, besides, you know, it's the right thing to do. This can also create a level playing field between brands and this is very crucial to make informed choices.

The real costs of what goes into those clothes are not truly priced. We will only have change if we price clothing based on the material, the labour, and carbon emissions. Those costs are currently passed onto the countries of production... Currently, it's down to little NGOs to police big brands. Footlocker doesn't provide an anti-slavery statement on their website, for example... We must make accountants and CEOs accountable for slavery and emissions. Anyone with a pension fund can buy shares in a business, and as a shareholder, you can go to AGMs and to put pressure on these brands.
Dr Mark Sumner, Lecturer in Sustainability, Fashion & Retail, University of Leeds:
Sara Arnold of Extinction Rebellion asked: To have a chance of avoiding the worst effects of the climate and ecological collapse, we must get to net zero carbon by 2025 and halt the loss of biodiversity. The mobilisation we need is unprecedented and as an industry, we should be declaring climate and ecological emergency and acting as so. If this was treated as the emergency that it is, would there be any place for fast fashion? Would there be a place for fashion at all?

Hendrik Alpen, Sustainability Engagement Manager, H&M Group: Obviously, it is hard to say we shouldn't exist! But I can relate to the thoughts. So, our job is to reduce the impact of what we do. So that's why we set the goal to be climate positive by 2040, that may be too late, but we are discussing timelines. We have made changes across our stores, and office to be powered by renewable electricity. So, the challenge we have is how do we bring that into the supply chain? And our first goal is to have a climate neutral supply chain by 2030. That's a huge challenge, we don't know how to do that, but that's the challenge we are taking on and we have to take on. Then the question is how can we continue to operate with such a business model which still brings fashion to the people but how do we do that in a better way? Our business model is based on selling products and it still will be for a while and on the other hand, that means jobs for people, joy for people but we need to find a different way.

Think of the global population, what do people want, what do people need. Firstly, we need clothes, but then we have a prospect of fashion. Fashion is creative and meets a variety of needs of the people. So you've got on the one hand, Instagram bloggers who wear many different outfits and that's how they've learnt to operate. And that's okay, we don't want to stifle creativity or fun. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you've got the guy that's had his pair of Levi's and loves them and doesn't want them to ever wear out and he's set for life. So how can the fashion industry rise to the challenge of meeting both these needs and still continue to exist? This can lead to interesting things coming out of this, for instance, an organisation that curates a digital wardrobe, so why do they necessarily need to own clothes at all...This is the end where rental models, swapping will be the way to keep clothes in use for as long as possible, just not with the same person. Then, on the other hand, we need to create well made, durable and repairable clothing. And that's the challenge for the fashion industry: how can it rise to better meet the needs of the consumers?
The other questions asked were: Antonio Roade, Senior CSR Manager, New Look asked: Technology will be vital to transition towards a circular economy; and we keep on seeing big companies investing millions collaborating with different research institutions; in different areas and often with no clear outputs. How do we coordinate different initiatives and who should be taking the lead on this (research institutions, governments or brands)? Elle L, Artist, Expert Advisor in Fashion and Media to United Nations Environment Programme asked: As we know, fast fashion uses a lot of synthetics which we in the room and the government now know to be highly toxic and damaging to the environment - do you think that a tax can and should be implemented to minimise or how do we phase out the amount of synthetics produced? Julie Hill, Chair of WRAP asked: What are the best tools to drive resource efficiency and transparency in the fashion supply chain? Jennifer Eweh, Designer and Entrepreneur, Eden Diodati asked: What are the opportunities and challenges involved with automation, blockchain, and artificial intelligence being used within the fashion supply chain? Siobhan Wilson, Owner, The Fair Shop asked: Small business and organisations have been driving change in communities across the country and beyond in making, repairing, reinventing and reusing. How can these businesses be nurtured and supported more here in the UK, so they can flourish at a greater scale and gain further exposure to a mainstream fashion audience? Jasmine Hemsley, Cook, Author and wellness expert, asked: What will our future look like without sustainable fashion being commonplace?
We've got 11 years to solve climate change, and I suspect it's going to be less than that. So I agree, that it's not fast enough. But I think you need to understand that its systemic part of culture and the part that the fashion industry plays in it. Fashion plays a really important role in our lives, for self-esteem, identity, it's about projecting our position in society. It a really important part of our lives... I think it's really interesting when people talk about fast and slow fashion, I go around fabric mills and garment factories, you can see excellent best practice happening in fast fashion supply chain and at the same time, around the corner you see absolutely diabolical conditions in factories supplying to luxury brands, sometimes run by the mafia. So, to think that luxury, fast fashion and slow fashion are different concepts is false. I think what we need to be looking at is brands and retailers that are doing good things, H&M, for example, are trying lots of different models, they haven't got the answers yet but at least they are trying. Some brands out there don't even know they have to ask the question about climate change, it's not on their agenda at all. Those organisations are the ones we really need to metaphorically give them a kick. Different business models need to be developed but that does require significant change, so it's also about changing the way we behave.
All images Copyright Rachel Manns / www.rachelmanns.com / @rachel_manns / Rachel Manns is an internationally commissioned freelance photographer based in London, UK. She has spent the last decade shooting for a range of clients all over the world. She has a strong passion for sustainability and human rights. With fierce ethical values and a beautiful visual style, Rachel's work perfectly intertwines the two. Her aim is to use her camera to aid positive change globally, whether that's politically or commercially, whilst never compromising on aesthetic. Get in contact for rates.
Thank you [to Extinction Rebellion] for creating the operating space for MP's like me, who have always been a bit of a lonely voice, to become normalised.

But also, while there is a climate emergency, there's also a social emergency on hand. And we need to tackle both of these things together. And switching to a low-carbon economy, we have to make it adjust transitionally, we have to make sure we don't create winners and losers, so that fashion shouldn't just become something for rich people to enjoy. So, when we look at how we are going to transition, we have got problems with our transport, in agriculture and the way we fuel our homes. So those are the three policy challenges for government. Had we moved from our over-consuming society very quickly, we aren't going to get to net zero by 2025. The science will tell us what to do to get to net zero by 2050, and then in five years' time to 2040 and then we'll aim to get there for 2035. We have wasted the last 10 years, we've had no new policy in this country to change behaviour and we've done some policy mistakes along the way. I think fashion needs to set out it's roadmap to net zero. It needs to say how we get to net zero and the target needs to be legally enforceable and not just voluntary.

This isn't just about fashion, it's a culture of consumption. There are brands doing good stuff who are being lambasted by the press and the ones that aren't doing anything are slipping into the shadows.

Closing Fashion Question Time 2019, Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, made a powerful closing speech:

"There is absolutely no excuse anymore. We all have to do what is required of us as people, people working in companies, in governments, in education, in the media, and at home. We have to fight the system and we have to fight our lifestyle. We can't do this without information and we can't access verifiable, comparable and understandable information without transparency and public disclosure... We have to move from a culture of exploitation to one of appreciation and place respect for resources and for each other before every deed and every process."

A very special thank you to the Edwina Ehrman for opening the V&A to Fashion Revolution's Fashion Question Time and to the rest of the V&A team for your efforts in making this event a success. And a thank you to Sienna Somers and the rest of the Fashion Revolution team for organising this event.

Transparency is trending

An increasing number of fashion brands and retailers are publicly disclosing their manufacturers and suppliers. As of April 2020, we have counted 204 Brands across over 80 companies/parent groups that are publishing tier-one supplier lists, where at least some of their products are made.

Why should brands publish supplier lists?

Publishing supplier lists are important because it helps NGOs, unions, local communities and even workers themselves to alert brands of any potential human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. This sort of transparency makes it easier for the relevant parties to understand what went wrong, who is responsible and how to fix it. It also helps consumers better understand #whomademyclothes. For more information on why transparency matters, please read the latest Fashion Transparency Index.

When we published the first edition of the Fashion Transparency Index with Ethical Consumer magazine in April 2016, we looked at 40 leading global fashion brands and found that only 5 brands (Adidas, Converse, H&M, Levi Strauss & Co and H&M) published a list of their manufacturers and only 2 (Adidas and H&M) published the names and addresses of sub-contractors or processing facilities.

Out of the 250 brands included the Fashion Transparency Index 2020, 101 major brands (40%) are publishing a list of their factories at the first tier, where clothes are typically cut, sewn and trimmed. This is up from 35% of 200 major brands in 2019 and 32% of 150 major brands in 2017.
First-tier/ Tier One/ manufacturing suppliers are those which have a direct relationship with buyer e.g. production units, Cut Make Trim (CMT) facilities, garment sewing, garment finishing, full package production and packaging and storage. Total: 204 Brands who publish processing facilities list: Processing facilities (often referred to as facilities beyond tier 1) are involved in the production of clothing whose activities could involve ginning and spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and wet processing, tanneries, embroidering, printing, fabric finishing, dye-houses and laundries. Total: 59 Brands who publish raw materials supplier list: Raw material suppliers are those which provide the commodity for the production of clothing e.g. cotton, wool, viscose or polyester. Total: 21
Out of the 250 brands, we discovered that just 60 brands (24%) are publishing their processing facilities, where clothes undergo dyeing, printing, finishing and laundering - up from only 14% of the brands in 2017.

18 brands (7%) are now disclosing some of the facilities or farms supplying their fibres such as viscose, cotton and wool. This is a significant increase from 2019 where only 10 brands (5%) disclosed this information and in 2018 only one brand shared this information.

We have looked at brands beyond the Fashion Transparency Index to count the number that are publishing lists of their suppliers. Below you will find 200+ brands (over £36 million annual turnover) that are publishing lists of their manufacturers and/or suppliers. This list is not exhaustive; if you are aware of other brands that are publishing their suppliers, please let us know at transparency@fashionrevolution.org.

The information they provide varies widely. Some publish every factory where their clothes are manufactured. Others may only reveal a selected portion of their manufacturers, such as their high-volume or long-term suppliers, factories located just in one country or only the factories that the company owns and directly operates.

Some brands will publish very basic information - just a name and country - whereas others will disclose more detailed information such as the factory's address, number of workers, types of products the factory makes, the gender breakdown of the workers in the factory, and so on. There is no standard format for disclosure. However, we believe brands should be disclosing more than just a name and country. We will be pushing brands to provide a greater level of detail in their supplier lists, and you can encourage them to do so too. Check out the new Get Involved packs for ideas on how to influence brands to be more transparent about their suppliers.

Brands who publish supplier lists (tier one only):

Please note: We are not endorsing the brands included in this list; this is not a 'seal of approval.' While publishing supplier lists is a necessary step towards greater transparency and improved conditions in fashion supply chains, it does not guarantee ethical business practices. However, we hope you find this list informative and continue to ask brands #whomademyclothes.

Fashion Revolution Statement on House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Interim Report on the Sustainability of the Fashion Industry

In Autumn 2018 the Environmental Audit Committee wrote to sixteen leading UK fashion retailers, among them M&S, ASOS and Boohoo, asking what they are doing to reduce the environmental and social impact of the clothes and shoes they sell. Today they released their Interim Report on the Sustainability of the Fashion Industry.

Fashion Revolution welcomes the UK Environmental Audit Committee's findings of their inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry. We too want to see a thriving fashion industry in the UK that employs people, inspires creativity and contributes to sustainable livelihoods in the UK and around the world. We agree with the Environmental Audit Committee's conclusion that the global fashion industry is exploitative and environmentally damaging and that brands and retailers have an obligation to address the fundamental business model.

This report states "We believe that there is scope for retailers to do much more to tackle labour market and environmental sustainability issues. We are disappointed that so few retailers are showing leadership through engagement with industry initiatives."

Fashion Revolution believes that fashion brands and retailers should sign up to pledges and multi-stakeholder initiatives which are working towards improving workers' rights, paying a living wage and striving towards a closed loop system. They should also use our Transparency Index as a tool to disclose more about their social and environmental policies, practices and impact both within their companies and throughout their supply chain.

The Committee believes that "The fashion industry's current business model is clearly unsustainable, especially with a growing middle-class population and rising levels of consumption across the globe. We are disappointed that few high street and online fashion retailers are taking significant steps to improve their environmental sustainability". Brands are criticised for inadequate sustainability actions and initiatives. The report concludes that recycling waste and complying with the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment is not sufficient to offset the environmental damage caused by the fashion industry.

We believe that the fashion industry in the United Kingdom and globally needs far reaching systemic change in order to tackle poverty, inequality and environmental degradation and greater transparency is the first crucial step towards solving its human rights and environmental crises. Our Fashion Transparency Index research has shown that some major brands and retailers are making significant efforts to tackle these issues in their companies and across their supply chains, whilst at the same time far too many large brands and retailers are turning a blind eye. Increased transparency means issues along the supply chain can be identified, addressed and remedied much faster. Greater transparency also means best practice examples, positive stories and effective innovations can be more easily highlighted, shared and potentially scaled or replicated elsewhere.

In an Ipsos MORI survey of 5,000 people across the five largest EU markets published by Fashion Revolution in November, consumers told us they want to know more about the social and environmental impacts of their garments when shopping for clothes and they expect fashion brands and governments to be doing more to address these issues. 77% strongly/somewhat agree that fashion brands should be required by law to respect the human rights of everybody involved in making their products, 75% strongly/somewhat agree that fashion brands should be required by law to protect the environment at every stage of making their products. The majority of people surveyed believed governments should be responsible for holding fashion brands to account for disclosing information about the way their products are made, what suppliers they are working with and how they're applying socially and environmentally responsible practices in their supply chains.

It is clear that greater government intervention will be necessary if companies are to be held to account for the impacts of their practices on people's lives and the environment. We want the U.K. Government to pass mandatory due diligence laws, building upon the recent regulatory examples in France and Switzerland. Ultimately, if the UK Government is serious about improving human rights, social impacts and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry, then it must rewrite the rules of the economy so that shareholder profit is no longer prioritised above the protection of our ecosystems and the health and wellbeing of our communities.

The faces of the Fashion Revolution campaign

In it's 5th year and already the worlds largest fashion activism movement, Fashion Revolution was formed in response to the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, where 1,138 people lost their lives. Calling for greater transparency in the supply chain, workers rights and a re-think of the way we use and consume clothing, Fashion Revolution is a global campaign that champions an ethical and sustainable fashion industry.

As Novel Beings, now A Novel Approach, Khandiz and I have worked with Fashion Revolution to art direct and produce their branding campaigns for 2015 and 2016, but we knew the 2018 should be something slightly different. Not only should the tone be reflective and respectful of the campaigns origins, but it should also celebrate all the wonderful young people who have embraced the rally all to action and joined the fashion Revolution.

So in order to celebrate all the wonderful revolutionary consumers who have joyfully taken up Fashion Revolution's cause over the last 5 years, we ran a competition to find the faces of the 2018 Fashion Revolution campaign. We were looking for passionate young people, all at different stages of their own personal Fashion Revolution, to fly the flag for us.

We were overwhelmed by the response and delighted by our final selection. From musicians to bloggers and fashion students, please meet the Faces of The Revolution.

Grace Fairweather

How did you first hear about Fashion Revolution and what inspired you to want to be the next 'face' of the campaign?

I first heard of Fashion Revolution through the incredible London-based brand Birdsong. Dazed Digital did an article on them a few years ago and, even though I was already interested in and attempting slow fashion, this is when I really started to commit to ethical and sustainable living. A few Google searches later, I had found Fashion Revolution and the endless inspiration and information they provide.

When I saw Fashion Revolution was looking for "faces" for their anniversary campaign, I jumped at the opportunity to model for an organisation I align with morally. I've existed on the periphery of modelling for a while now; doing odd shoots and jobs for fashion-based businesses, but have always been wary of taking a job that could mean compromising my personal ethics. This is the first time I've modelled for an exclusively "ethical" organisation, (Fashion Revolution) and agency (A Novel Approach) and it was an incredible experience!

What do you do when you're not posing for Fashion Revolution?

Hello! First-and-foremost an English student, but I'm also a blogger, model, and freelance writer.

What changes in your shopping or self-styling habits has Fashion Revolution inspired you to make?

One of the great things about Fashion Revolution is that, as an organisation, they champion multiplicity. My slow fashion journey has taught me that there is no one-way to live sustainably and any path you do take has its own complications, moral and otherwise. My current favourite to shop sustainably is Depop. I've recently created my own concept shop on there as an extension of my blog, November Meets May. (@novembermeetsmay on Depop).

Do you have any advice for anyone who would love to 'green up' their wardrobe and join Fashion Revolution, but doesn't know where to start?

Equip yourself with knowledge! Knowledge will be your best tool in deciding which green path is right for you. Watch the True Cost, read newspaper articles on the current state and statistics of fast fashion, and keep up-to-date with Fashion Revolution. My own journey was a slow one and you don't have to do anything earth-shattering to be a part of the revolution. Making the decision not to shop fast fashion for 3 months, a month, even a week is a great start and will make more difference to your life and the lives of others than you realise.

What is your most cherished piece of clothing and why?

I have the most incredible vegan, pinatex (pineapple leather) jacket from a sustainable, LA-based brand called Pangean, with "Save the Planet" embellished on the back. It's easily the piece I get the most comments and compliments on. Nothing makes me feel more badass.

What will you be doing for Fashion Revolution Week?

There are so many amazing events on this year that it's hard to decide! Here in Exeter an ethical clothing store, Sancho's Dress, is putting on a different event every day of the week, so I really am spoilt for choice. So far, I'm thinking of attending their "Meet the Makers" panel and sales event party, and then heading up to London for the Depop x Fashion Revolution event, as well as (hopefully) the Galdem x Fashion Revolution event.

Janelle Monae and Willow Smith. Sorry, I couldn't pick one!

Mao Miyakoshi

How did you first hear about Fashion Revolution and what inspired you want be the next 'face' of the campaign?

I heard about it for the first time in Japan a few years ago. I was so happy that we could have the opportunity to share more information of ethical fashion to Japanese people because ethical fashion is still isolated compared with the European market.

I arrived in London from Japan with a two year visa, I made a promise to myself that I will try things that I'm excited about, even if it feels impossible or makes me anxious because you never know what's gonna happen.

When I saw the post for 'Model Wanted' for the Fashion Revolution campaign, I felt super excited and imagined how nice it would be if I'm in the shoot. But after 3 seconds, the doubt appeared. " Don't be silly, Mao. You don't have anything. You are not as beautiful or have as nice a body as model; you're short, not skinny. Of course it's not for you. Model needs to be like model." But I tried to change my mind, decided to give it a try, because nothing would change if I fail. I thought an Asian girl being in the shoot in Europe would be interesting, and seeing a model that's short and non-skinny can encourage people who think they are not special. Also, at least I passed the applicant requirement that I am in UK and I could attend the shoot date, and I LOVE ethical fashion! Also, I wanted to have more connections with like-minded ethical people, so I'm so glad I applied!

What do you do when you're not posing for Fashion Revolution?

I'm beginning my work as a fashion stylist. I have been building my portfolio and sending submissions to magazines. So far, my work has been accepted by two magazines, one in Germany and one in America! I would love to use my work to promote ethical fashion. I'm also a fashion assistant at the sustainable fashion brand COSSAC and in October I'll be a MA Textile design student at Chelsea College of Art.

What changes in your shopping or self-styling habits has Fashion Revolution inspired you to make?

I haven't bought new clothes that much in the last few years since I have been into ethical fashion. I have three older siblings, they and my mother give me lots of clothes and because I love fashion styling I'm always trying to figure out more ways to wear the clothes I have.

But Fashion Revolution has definitely given me more ethical shopping options and ideas for how to how we can treat our clothes nicely.

Do you have any advice for anyone who would love to 'green up' their wardrobe and join Fashion Revolution, but doesn't know where to start?

I would suggest they choose the category that they are interested in the most, like clothes, accessories or lifestyle or cosmetics and then Google it. You can easily find nice opinions and articles from bloggers and you can pick some nice brands from them. But the important thing is not to get stressed and worried. Sometimes, people feel a duty to purchase sustainable products, even if they don't like the design. The approach is not going to work in the end. The key is to enjoy yourself, and celebrate the ethical and environmental movement at your own speed.

What is your most cherished piece of clothing and why?

My checkered trousers are the no.1 useful piece in my wardrobe. It can transform any way I like, for a cool style, or pop style and always people asked me where I got them. I found them at flea market in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo and they cost only £3! Another favorite piece is the T-shirt that I wear in second picture. This was a surprise gift from a friend; the design is from my favorite illustrator Kazuo Hozumi. She remembers that I like his work and she bought it for me as soon as she saw it. Always receiving a gift makes me pleased, especially if it's a surprise. It was double happiness.
@rachel.callender
What will you be doing for Fashion Revolution Week?

The brand I assist at COSSAC, will have a show room in the event 'Ethical brands for Fashion Revolution', so I will be there, but I'm also planning to attend several events as all event looks super interesting so it's gonna be quite busy week for me.

I am planning to ask #whomademyclothes but haven't decided on the brand yet, as soon I do I'll share the photo on instagram.

I don't have a specific fashion icon. My mother was my first icon, but I am always inspired by the arts and all kinds of actresses, films and photography. My favorite films are Amèlie and Simple Simon. I like directors with a unique view of the world of like Jean Pierre Jeunet and Woody Allen.

Rachel Callender

How did you first hear about Fashion Revolution and what inspired you to want be the next 'face' of the campaign?

I was introduced to Fashion Revolution through a previous graduate from my university. Their work is very focused on sustainability and conscious design, actively questioning and challenging attitudes towards the waste the fashion industry produces throughout the design process.

Knowing that I wanted to learn more ways to be a sustainable and considerate designer myself, he sent me the link to Fashion Revolution and voila!

How has Fashion Revolution inspired your shopping or self-styling habits?

Before discovering the campaign I had recently stopped shopping high street brands and I certainly can't afford to buy designer clothes with just my student loan! So charity, second hand and vintage shops were and are still my go to. What Fashion Revolution has taught me is the importance of considering the lifespan of your purchases. Now I am even questioning my charity buys and how they could be recycled at the end of their lives, depending on their fibre content.

What do you do when you're not posing for Fashion Revolution?

I'm a Fashion Design: Menswear second-year student at Central Saint Martins.

Do you have any advice for anyone who would love to 'green up' their wardrobe and join Fashion Revolution, but doesn't know where to start?

When buying 'new' items for your wardrobe, start at a second-hand shop! Try Mary's Living and Giving stores, or 'boutique' charity shops if you don't want to work too hard to find something beautiful, as they offer a more curated selection of garments.

But I have personally found the best garments at the jumble sale style shops! You just have to be willing to look long and hard, but when you do you can snag yourself a bargain for your toil. Repairing loved garments, instead of throwing them away if they become damaged by darning and patching, can actually make them look even better and gives character to clothes. I personally love sashiko stitched patches to revive tired clothes.

What is your most cherished piece of clothing and why?
@tip.topshelf
I have a ginormous sweatshirt I bought at Crisis in Finsbury Park, which I adore and barely ever take off. It's a heavily faded shade of purple with a screen-printed illustration of a Vizsla dog on the front, which is also peeling and fading. It seems to have been a work sweatshirt for 'Red Dog Films'. I don't know why I'm so attached to it really; I think I just love the little Vizsla print!

I honestly couldn't say I haven't had one of those for a while! Style influence, on the other hand, would be a combination of my mum and dad's wardrobes.

What will you be doing for Fashion Revolution Week?

I will be making my own clothes! Sourcing fabrics and all components which will allow me to definitely answer the #whomademyclothes!

But a problem a lot of designers and makers have is that more fabric shops than I'd like to hold back information about their supply chain which makes it difficult to ultimately determine whether the fabrics were created in sustainable and ethical conditions. There definitely needs to be more transparency in fabric shops. The Cloth House in Soho is one of the better stores in London for transparency and product knowledge. And online you can find fantastic eco options at Offsetwarehouse.

How did you first hear about Fashion Revolution and what inspired you to want to be the next 'face' of the campaign?

I have been following Fashion Revolution since I joined instagram. I've always really admired their work, It's such an empowering movement and it's so easy for you to join in, get your hands dirty and really feel like your contributing to something important; armed with nothing more than a spare five minutes and your smartphone. Having been applauding Fashion Revolution from a distance for so long, I leapt at the chance to be a part of the campaign. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to be involved in something that has influenced and inspired me so much.

How has Fashion Revolution inspired your shopping or self-styling habits?

I'm a charity shop addict. It can be so hit and miss and I love that, it kind of feels like modern day treasure hunting. There's definitely a feeling of success I get when I find something I love in a charity shop that I don't get in the same way when buying brand new clothes. I'd say that's where everything I've learned from Fashion Revolution has affected me the most. Understanding where my clothes have come from and the impact their production has on the lives of the people who make them and on the environment has definitely given me a newfound sense of responsibility as a consumer that has really lit the fire under my existing charity shop enthusiasm!

What do you do when you're not posing for Fashion Revolution?

I'm a Musician and I also work for Lush UK.

Do you have any advice for anyone who would love to 'green up' their wardrobe and join Fashion Revolution, but doesn't know where to start?

My main piece of advice, or maybe reassurance would be that it's much easier than you think. One of the facts that really stood out for me, from Fashion Revolution's fanzine, " Loved Clothes Last ", is that by extending the life of your clothing by a further nine months, you can reduce the carbon, waste and water footprint by around 20-30% for each piece. With that in mind, learning simple tricks for how to care for different fabrics, or how to repair clothes instead of throwing them away when they show signs of wear and tear, become inspiring, revolutionary acts.

What is your most cherished piece of clothing and why?

That's a very difficult decision to make! I have a lot of my mum's and brother's old clothes that I wear often and love mainly because they were theirs first. But it's probably a vintage M&S blazer I acquired whilst volunteering in a charity shop in my hometown when I was fifteen. I still wear it a lot now, but back then I don't think I left the house without it for about two years; I just completely fell in love with it. Working at the charity shop was probably the catalyst for how crazy I am about charity shopping now. So there is definitely an element of nostalgia and gratitude I feel towards that blazer, which would make it difficult for me to ever part with it!

My style icon would have to be Nai Palm, lead singer of Hiatus Kaiyote. Much like her music, her style is wildly varied and inspired by a diverse range of cultures and influences. Not one to shy away from accessories, metallics and bold colours, she usually wears lots of ever-changing chunky, oversized jewellery.

In a beautiful interview she did a couple of years back for the Under The Skin project, she talks about how a lot of the jewellery she is drawn to comes from nomadic cultures, which, being an orphan who moved around a lot as a child, she identifies with. She also talks in the interview about how off the back of her aesthetic, people who aren't familiar with her work often assume she is in a punk band, when in fact she is an R&B/Soul singer. I really admire how her style doesn't conform to any particular 'genre', really it's the amalgamation of everything that she somehow manages to make work together seamlessly, that in turn makes her look so authentic and enchanting. I think that's a really unique and beautiful thing.

What will you be doing for Fashion Revolution Week?

I'll definitely be asking some brands #whomademyclothes... It's an important question to keep asking. And I'm planning to come to some of the London events.

__

Download our campaign images here and help spread the word about Fashion Revolution!

From a Special Needs School to an Empowering Sustainable Fashion Brand

When Ubuntu Made first came to Maai Mahiu, we found a community of children with special needs and their mothers being mistreated and secluded. The stigma and lack of understanding surrounding special needs in Kenya means extremely limited access to essential services such as education, affordable healthcare, physical rehabilitation, and vocational training. This leads to limited opportunities for social inclusion, many social and economic issues for their families, and ultimately limits their ability to live the life of dignity that they deserve. Ubuntu first created the Ubuntu Special Needs Centre (SNC) to combat this stigma and injustice by providing therapy, education, and vocational training to youth with special needs in Maai Mahiu. Caring for these children had been a full-time job for their mothers, so soon after enrolling their children in the SNC their Mums started a new conversation with the founders: "Now that our kids are out of the house, can you help us do something productive with our time?"

The answer was a fashion line, initially imagined to create jobs for these Mums. Today, those same women have formed into a sisterhood revered in the community: women who provide for their families, purchase land, and venture into their own successful entrepreneurial efforts. Which is why it's not simply about creating jobs.

"Plenty of people have been given opportunity, but they don't feel empowered," explains Zane Wilemon. "There's something magical about our culture and creating a job within that; it then empowers the whole community."

This conviction is what led Ubuntu Made to design and launch the Afridrille. At the intersection of customization and sustainability, the Afridrille merges customer experience with genuine connection. Based on the popular espadrille style shoe, their version marries modern on-demand manufacturing technology to an artisanal production process. Customers can choose from an incredible array of styles, choosing from a range of canvas colors, printed patterns, pattern colors, and African kanga linings. There are over 23,000 different design options, so each pair represents the personality of the individual customer. That means that each pair must be made to order, not produced in bulk in advance.

The key to making this process work is technology and expertise provided by Zazzle, a Silicon Valley company that makes customizing anything a possibility. They've applied their cutting-edge technology to enhance the customer design process and have dedicated hundreds of hours of senior staff time to help Ubuntu develop the new product, in a collaboration that re-defines what true "corporate social responsibility" represents today.

"At Zazzle we're thrilled to extend our platform and technologies to Makers who craft products with soul, made from the heart. And there's perhaps no better example of this than the Ubuntu Mums," explains Jeff Beaver, Zazzle co-founder and Chief Product Officer. "Through our partnership with Ubuntu we've learned that providing economic opportunity is exponentially more impactful, and sustainable, than handouts or charity. These Afridrilles are more than just awesome shoes, they are a celebration of the human spirit, and every single pair empowers these Mums, their special needs kids, and their larger community. What's better than that?"

Crowdfunding the product launch via Kickstarter allows Ubuntu to build up production capabilities, expand the skillset of their 'Maker Mums', and perfect a complex operating process with the support of the Kickstarter community.

"Never underestimate the power of the entrepreneurial spirit and what can happen when people collaborate on something bigger than ourselves," says Wilemon. "With the support of Zazzle and an eager crowdfunding audience, together we will scale up production and empower thousands of women and families in Kenya."

At Ubuntu, empowerment means more than providing handouts or even a sustainable job. It means offering people a chance to create their own lives and livelihood. Ubuntu Made pays above-market wages to all of our employees - up to 4 times as much as they would have been able to find elsewhere in the community. We also provide health insurance to all our employees and their families, a rarity in Kenya where less than 20% have access.

The job skills our Mums learn and the money they earn empower them to buy homes - more than half of Ubuntu employees are homeowners compared to 1% nationwide. They are able to provide for their families, and sometimes start their own enterprises. They earn more than money; they earn respect in their community. Together, by providing disabled children with the healthcare and education they need, we empower them to realize their fullest potential.

That's empowerment. That's Ubuntu in action.

Fashion Revolution launches White Paper on Transparency in Fashion Supply Chain

On 2 nd December 2015, Fashion Revolution launched its first white paper, It's Time for a Fashion Revolution, for the European Year for Development. The paper sets out the need for more transparency across the fashion industry, from seed to waste. The paper contextualises Fashion Revolution's efforts, the organisation's philosophy and how the public, the industry, policymakers and others around the world can work towards a safer, cleaner, more fair and beautiful future for fashion.

"Whether you are someone who buys and wears fashion (that's pretty much everyone) or you work in the industry along the supply chain somewhere or if you're a policymaker who can have an impact on legal requirements, you are accountable for the impact fashion has on people's lives. Our vision is is a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure"

explained Sarah Ditty on behalf of Fashion Revolution.

Carry Somers, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, said

"Most of the public is still not aware that human and environmental abuses are endemic across the fashion and textiles industry and that what they're wearing could have been made in an exploitative way. We don't want to wear that story anymore. We want to see fashion become a force for good."

The paper was launched at a joint event with the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels and hosted by Arne Leitz, Member of the European Parliament to mark the European Year for Development.

The event included contributions by Dr Roberto Ridolfi, Director at the European Commission Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation, Jean Lambert MEP, and Sergi Corbalán, on behalf of the Fair Trade movement.

Although our resources are free to download, we kindly ask for a £3 donation towards booklet downloads. Please donate via our donations page

"We need an integrated approach, from cotton farmer to consumer, and we need EU support,"

explained Sergi Corbalán.

Fashion Revolution lays out its five year agenda in the paper. By 2020, Fashion Revolution hopes that:

The public starts getting some real answers to the question #whomademyclothes

Thousands of brands and retailers are willing and able to tell the public about the people who make their products

Makers, producers and workers become more visible

The stories of thousands of actors across the supply chain are told

More consumer demand for fashion made in a sustainable and ethical way

Real transformative positive change begins to take root.

With many congratulations on the launch of the white paper, Dr Roberto Ridolfi proclaimed:

"My ambition, as of tomorrow, is to become a Fashion Revolutionary!"

[download image="https://www.fashionrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/FRD_resources_thumbnail_whitepaper.jpg"]Download our White Paper ' It's time for a Fashion Revolution', published December 2015.
[/download]

Fashion Revolution also launched a new video for the European Year for Development at the event: Why We Need a Fashion Revolution.

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sustainability Archives - Fashion Revolution

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Nature in Freefall: How Fashion Contributes to Biodiversity Loss Today, WWF released the 2020 edition of their Living Planet Report which monitors the state of the planet - including biodiversity, ecosystems, and demand on natural resources - and what it means for humans and wildlife.

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MARINE SERRE

Since winning the prestigious LVMH prize in 2017, aged just 25 and only a year out of Brussels' La Cambre school of visual arts, Marine Serre has quickly established herself as one of the most essential young designers working today. Her distinctive hybrid designs fuse the sleek forms and synthetic fabrics of sportswear with those of traditional luxury, but for us they're particularly compelling for their inherent sustainability. As well as using upcycled shirts and neoprene she's inventive with materials and fabrics; she even sourced vintage silk scarves from Paris consignment warehouses and repurposed them to create one-of-a-kind dresses for her A/W'18 collection.

RICHARD QUINN

Richard Quinn 's interest in sustainable practices can be traced back to his days as a student at Central St Martins, where he was awarded an MA scholarship by Stella McCartney. But it was his search for a way of printing his vivid designs onto fabrics like polyester, vinyl and viscose that proved most pivotal in shaping his approach. Quinn arrived at digital printing which, as well as preserving the quality of his prints, enables him to use 70% less water and 80% less energy than he would with more conventional methods. Winner of the H&M Design Award in 2017, Quinn ploughed the £45,000 he received into a Peckham space which functions both as his own studio, and as a facility for other emerging designers, including Charles Jeffrey, Mimi Wade and Dilara Findikoglu.

ELLISS

Fellow Central St Martins alumni Elliss Solomon has an all-encompassing vision for sustainability that extends to everything from the fabrics she uses to the carbon footprint of her production process. By sharing a building with its manufacturers her eponymous label keeps transport and waste at this stage as streamlined as possible, and this is complemented by their use of recyclable and biodegradable packaging too. It's what Elliss' swimwear, leotards and jumpers are actually made from that's most innovative though. As well as recycled polyester, cotton and hemp, the label uses ECONYL, a fibre formed from recycled fishnets and nylon waste.

EMILY BODE

Though it's undoubtedly a buzzword at the moment, Emily Bode 's version of upcycling goes far beyond what we'd typically think of as deadstock or second hand clothes. The New York designer, who launched namesake brand Bode back in 2016, sources obscure antique textiles, including quilts and even French mattress fabrics, from across the US and Europe to refashion into menswear. Bode's techniques draw heavily on craft - illustrating that some of the most sustainable fashion practices have been around for a long time - and very little goes to waste in her studio; she even makes scarves from the scraps of fabric leftover from bigger pieces.

MATTHEW NEEDHAM

In an interview with iD Matthew Needham said that, for him, sustainability is about compromise. Though that may sound like a negative statement, the designer's work is a testament to the fact that some of the best creative work is produced despite, and even because of, its limitations. Needham is drawn to rubbish and waste, both in the practices of the fashion industry itself, and in his everyday surroundings, and he merges both influences in his designs. For his BA collection, he rescued unused Chanel tweed from a warehouse and combined it with roofing asphalt, and he's even previously turned an abandoned shopping trolley into a raincoat.

HELEN KIRKUM

While there's a reasonable market for secondhand (or vintage, if you'd prefer) clothes, trainers, unless they're a collector's item of course, are some of the least likely pieces to have a second life. Helen Kirkum 's work directly addresses this, proposing new possibilities for worn out shoes in the form of custom sneakers. For her 2017 Royal College of Art graduate collection, the designer would salvage trainers from recycling centres and charity shops around London, take them apart and reconstruct them as collage, or what Vogue termed "re-mastered," trainers. She's since gone on to collaborate with Reebok and adidas, demonstrating that there's space for a handmade, upcycled approach in the world of trainers.

PRIYA AHLUWALIA

It was trips to her father and mother's native Lagos and India respectively that first made Ahluwalia aware of the sheer scale and impact of textile waste. Convinced of the urgency to find solutions, the Westminster University graduate resolved to use only vintage and second hand fabrics, painstakingly deconstructing sourced pieces to create totally new clothes. She's keen to experiment too, branching out to use materials made from recycled plastic for her most recent collection, and it's this dynamic approach, not to mention her boldly colourful designs, that helped her win this year's H&M Design Award.
Looking for more sustainable brand inspiration? Check through our 2018 list of 6 brands owning sustainable fashion.

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7 Sustainable Fashion Brands You Should Know in 2019 | Everpress

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As recently as ten, or even five, years ago, the phrase 'best sustainable clothing brands' would have conjured up images of faded T-shirts and baggy hemp trousers. Sustainability was still a niche consideration in fashion, and few mainstream designers were making it a priority.

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The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

Earlier this week, Hyundai motors company hosted their NYFW event Re:Style in collaboration with Zero + Maria Cornejo during which they debut their capsule collection crafted from upcycled Hyundai Motor car seat leather. The event was held at PUBLIC Kitchen in the PUBLIC Hotel.

New York notables, celebrities and fashion industry insiders all came out to celebrate the partnership including actress Sarah Jessica Parker, actress Rowan Blanchard, musicians Rainey Qualley and Bec Adams, stylist Ty Hunter, Miss J Alexander and more.

Each look in the 15-piece collection was designed by Zero + Maria Cornejo, a brand rooted in using ecological and sustainable fabrics wherever possible. The materials used in the collection will utilize leftover Hyundai Transys car seat leather fabrics, well as up-cycled Zero + Maria Cornejo fabrics, including a 100% organic cotton Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold Dylan denim, reimagined in entirely new shapes and silhouettes.

"The whole idea is to do something creative with things that have had a life before," says Maria Cornejo. "It's about making something new and re-imagining things. Re-create, re-imagine, re-cycle. How do we get creative with less?"

In addition to the capsule collection, Hyundai and Zero + Maria Cornejo have also designed a run of limited-edition t-shirts that will be sold in-store and on Zero + Maria Cornejo's website.

When it came time for Hyundai to chose a fashion partner, Cornejo was the natural choice. "We were looking for a talented designer with a deep understanding and commitment to sustainability. Maria Cornejo made perfect sense," said Sungwon Jee, Vice President & Head of Creative Works of Hyundai Motor Company. "Besides her timeless and well-respected designs, Maria's long-term commitment to local manufacturing and responsible design practices has stewarded and catalyzed conversations of change in the fashion industry for decades. The philosophy of Maria Cornejo perfectly fits with our brand vision for sustainability."

Hyundai gave Cornejo full creative control of the line. "We truly wanted to see how she would re-use and re-style what was otherwise considered waste. We love that she wants to 'get creative with less,'" said Jee.

The collaboration is another step towards Hyundai Motor Company making an impact in sustainability and lessening their eco-footprint, as evidenced by the recent debut of Hyundai NEXO, its first dedicated fuel cell electric vehicle that produces zero carbon emissions. The company has also worked with the BBC on a series titled "Innovators of Tomorrow" which shares innovators' vision for a better future as well as sponsoring various global initiatives including a Sustainable Water Circulation Project in the Philippines and a Dream Village Project improving the underdeveloped villages in Chennai, India.

Hyundai is aiming to create its own platform that presents its brand vision to consumers in a stylish way, and the Re:Style event is only the beginning. The company intends to expand its platform to include not only fashion but also music, the environment, sports, and beyond.

V caught up with Cornejo to learn more about the sustainable collaboration.

Motor companies and fashion labels aren't a typical duo. How did the idea of designing a capsule collection with Hyundai first come about?

MC: Both fashion and the automotive industries have a long way to go in terms of their environmental impact and I truly believe that collaboration is the way forward. This particular partnership helps amplify both our voices on an issue we are committed to; sustainability. I love the opportunity to collaborate and am always striving to help shed light on ways we can all do better and work with less.

Where did you draw inspiration as you collaborated in designing this collection?

MC: I was inspired by getting creative with less and re-imagining what was otherwise considered waste textiles into something desirable and wearable.

How would you describe the collection with Hyundai in comparison to your previous collections?

MC: Each collaboration is different. This one was so exciting because I love getting creative with less.

As a brand rooted in sustainable practices, what challenges did you face while designing this collection and what opportunities were you given as you worked with Hyundai in keeping it eco-friendly?

MC: Working with a heavier leather, which is car seat waste, that wasn't intended for clothing was a challenge. It really forced us to narrow down our textiles that would pair well with the car seat waste and see how we could incorporate the waste in a creative way. I didn't want them to read as car seat waste, and I am really happy with the way the final garments came out. To keep it eco- friendly, Hyundai did a great job reducing shipping and working with us to ensure unnecessary textiles weren't sent. It was also great that we were able to utilize excess yardage from our production. We do our best not to create waste and will often find creative ways to re-use any leftover textiles. This fit in perfectly with our ethos.

After the fashion week debut, what's next for this duo?

MC: We'll have to see! It's been a great experience to collaborate, and I'm sure there are great opportunities in the future.

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the south korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist maria cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

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Hyundai Debuted Sustainable Capsule Collection with Zero + Maria Cornejo

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The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion. The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

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The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

Earlier this week, Hyundai motors company hosted their NYFW event Re:Style in collaboration with Zero + Maria Cornejo during which they debut their capsule collection crafted from upcycled Hyundai Motor car seat leather. The event was held at PUBLIC Kitchen in the PUBLIC Hotel.

New York notables, celebrities and fashion industry insiders all came out to celebrate the partnership including actress Sarah Jessica Parker, actress Rowan Blanchard, musicians Rainey Qualley and Bec Adams, stylist Ty Hunter, Miss J Alexander and more.

Each look in the 15-piece collection was designed by Zero + Maria Cornejo, a brand rooted in using ecological and sustainable fabrics wherever possible. The materials used in the collection will utilize leftover Hyundai Transys car seat leather fabrics, well as up-cycled Zero + Maria Cornejo fabrics, including a 100% organic cotton Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold Dylan denim, reimagined in entirely new shapes and silhouettes.

"The whole idea is to do something creative with things that have had a life before," says Maria Cornejo. "It's about making something new and re-imagining things. Re-create, re-imagine, re-cycle. How do we get creative with less?"

In addition to the capsule collection, Hyundai and Zero + Maria Cornejo have also designed a run of limited-edition t-shirts that will be sold in-store and on Zero + Maria Cornejo's website.

When it came time for Hyundai to chose a fashion partner, Cornejo was the natural choice. "We were looking for a talented designer with a deep understanding and commitment to sustainability. Maria Cornejo made perfect sense," said Sungwon Jee, Vice President & Head of Creative Works of Hyundai Motor Company. "Besides her timeless and well-respected designs, Maria's long-term commitment to local manufacturing and responsible design practices has stewarded and catalyzed conversations of change in the fashion industry for decades. The philosophy of Maria Cornejo perfectly fits with our brand vision for sustainability."

Hyundai gave Cornejo full creative control of the line. "We truly wanted to see how she would re-use and re-style what was otherwise considered waste. We love that she wants to 'get creative with less,'" said Jee.

The collaboration is another step towards Hyundai Motor Company making an impact in sustainability and lessening their eco-footprint, as evidenced by the recent debut of Hyundai NEXO, its first dedicated fuel cell electric vehicle that produces zero carbon emissions. The company has also worked with the BBC on a series titled "Innovators of Tomorrow" which shares innovators' vision for a better future as well as sponsoring various global initiatives including a Sustainable Water Circulation Project in the Philippines and a Dream Village Project improving the underdeveloped villages in Chennai, India.

Hyundai is aiming to create its own platform that presents its brand vision to consumers in a stylish way, and the Re:Style event is only the beginning. The company intends to expand its platform to include not only fashion but also music, the environment, sports, and beyond.

V caught up with Cornejo to learn more about the sustainable collaboration.

Motor companies and fashion labels aren't a typical duo. How did the idea of designing a capsule collection with Hyundai first come about?

MC: Both fashion and the automotive industries have a long way to go in terms of their environmental impact and I truly believe that collaboration is the way forward. This particular partnership helps amplify both our voices on an issue we are committed to; sustainability. I love the opportunity to collaborate and am always striving to help shed light on ways we can all do better and work with less.

Where did you draw inspiration as you collaborated in designing this collection?

MC: I was inspired by getting creative with less and re-imagining what was otherwise considered waste textiles into something desirable and wearable.

How would you describe the collection with Hyundai in comparison to your previous collections?

MC: Each collaboration is different. This one was so exciting because I love getting creative with less.

As a brand rooted in sustainable practices, what challenges did you face while designing this collection and what opportunities were you given as you worked with Hyundai in keeping it eco-friendly?

MC: Working with a heavier leather, which is car seat waste, that wasn't intended for clothing was a challenge. It really forced us to narrow down our textiles that would pair well with the car seat waste and see how we could incorporate the waste in a creative way. I didn't want them to read as car seat waste, and I am really happy with the way the final garments came out. To keep it eco- friendly, Hyundai did a great job reducing shipping and working with us to ensure unnecessary textiles weren't sent. It was also great that we were able to utilize excess yardage from our production. We do our best not to create waste and will often find creative ways to re-use any leftover textiles. This fit in perfectly with our ethos.

After the fashion week debut, what's next for this duo?

MC: We'll have to see! It's been a great experience to collaborate, and I'm sure there are great opportunities in the future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
the south korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist maria cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hyundai Debuted Sustainable Capsule Collection with Zero + Maria Cornejo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion. The South Korean car manufacturer is teaming up with noted sustainable fashion evangelist Maria Cornejo to turn leftover leather from car seats into ready-to-wear fashion.

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Collaboration with renowned fashion brand reuses automotive textiles for clothing

Prominent millennial celebrities and fashion industry insiders attend launch of Hyundai Motor Re:Style collection during New York Fashion Week

Upcycled collection tackles issue of textile waste and sustainability in the automotive and fashion industries

SEOUL, Sept. 9, 2019 - Hyundai Motor Company debuted its Re:Style collection in partnership with Zero + Maria Cornejo at a star-studded event during the 2020 Spring / Summer New York Fashion Week.

Re:Style was devised under the theme 'saving the planet in style', to highlight the shared challenges of textile waste within the automotive and fashion industries. The catwalk presentation, held at the fashionable PUBLIC Kitchen restaurant in New York on 6 September, was attended by more than 300 prominent fashion industry insiders, influencers and celebrities representing the millennial generation, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Rowan Blanchard, accompanied by music from up-and-coming artists Rainey Qualley and Bec Adams.

The 15-piece capsule collection focuses on upcycling, an emerging trend that encourages the transformation of waste or second-life materials into new products. To bring the collection to life, Hyundai Motor teamed up with Zero + Maria Cornejo, a brand rooted in the use of ecological and sustainable fabrics. The company constantly works to reduce fabric waste by finding creative uses for leftover materials.

The collection has been created using leftover leather from global automotive seat manufacturer Hyundai Transys, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Company. Other upcycled materials used by Zero + Maria Cornejo include 100% organic cotton Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold Dylan denim. The result is a high-end, excusive range of new clothing styles, shapes and silhouettes, that connect with people who care deeply about the environment and value ethical consumption.

"The whole idea is to do something creative with things that have had a previous life. It's about making something new, and re-imagining existing things," The fashion label's founder, Maria Cornejo said. "Re-create, re-imagine, re-cycle. How do we get creative with less? By collaborating with Hyundai, we prove that our ethos of sustainability and waste reduction is applicable in other sectors. We hope it inspires others to carefully consider how they use fabrics in manufacturing."

In addition to the catwalk collection, Hyundai and Zero + Maria Cornejo have designed a run of limited-edition t-shirts that are being sold in-store and on the Zero + Maria Cornejo website, www.zeromariacornejo.com, with the proceeds benefiting environmental organizations. The program will also include branded content and a partnership with Nylon, a leading pop culture and fashion media outlet.

Re:Style was conceived by Hyundai as a way to engage customers who value ethical consumption, care deeply about the environment and are sensitive to the manufacturing processes behind what they're wearing. Re:Style is the company's second cultural project following last year's 'Style Nite' fashion event at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Following the success of the New York event, the Re:Style program will head to Beijing Fashion Week. There it will debut another sustainable collection with a notable Chinese designer, continuing Hyundai's creative approach to reaching eco-conscious and trend-focused millennials.

"Hyundai Motor created Re:Style to keep driving the dialogue around sustainability," Wonhong Cho, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Hyundai Motor said. "By partnering with Zero + Maria Cornejo, we aim to prove that you can create something beautiful and new from something used or discarded. We look forward to taking this project around the world and not only continue to shine a light on this important ecological issue, but also expand productive relations with the Millennial generation."

The collaboration is also another step towards Hyundai making an impact in sustainability and lessening its eco-footprint, as evidenced by the recent debut of the Hyundai NEXO, its first dedicated fuel cell electric vehicle that produces zero carbon emissions. The company has also worked with the BBC on a series titled 'Innovators of Tomorrow', which shares innovators' vision for a better future, as well as sponsoring various global initiatives including a Sustainable Water Circulation Project in the Philippines and a Dream Village Project, improving underdeveloped villages in Chennai, India.

###

About Zero + Maria Cornejo
Maria Cornejo has been a member of CFDA, The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. since 2003 and is a founding member of the Sustainable Committee. Maria's long-term commitment to local manufacturing and responsible design has stewarded and catalyzed conversations of change in the American Fashion Industry. Maria served as the 2018 Brand Ambassador to Premiere Vision New York, creating a special sustainable capsule collection to help draw attention to the areas of sustainability, innovation and local manufacturing in the industry. In 2018, Maria was honored with the Fashion Group International's Sustainability Award at their Night of the Stars Gala in New York City. Maria continues to direct her design team from her Bleecker Street atelier creating garments for empowered women everywhere, including Michelle Obama, Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, Anne Hathaway and more.

About Hyundai Motor
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond with its range of world-class vehicles and mobility services available in more than 200 countries. Hyundai sold more than 4.5 million vehicles globally in 2018 and is currently employing more than 110,000 employees worldwide. Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with vehicles that are helping to build solutions for a more sustainable future, such as NEXO, the world's first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at:

http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com

Disclaimer
Hyundai Motor Company believes the information contained herein to be accurate at the time of release. However, the company may upload new or updated information if required and assumes that it is not liable for the accuracy of any information interpreted and used by the reader.

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Hyundai Motor Debuts Upcycled Re:Style Collection by Zero + Maria Cornejo in New York

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Collaboration with renowned fashion brand reuses automotive textiles for clothing Prominent millennial celebrities and fashion industry insiders attend launch of Hyundai Motor Re:Style collection during New York Fashion Week Upcycled collection tackles issue of textile waste and sustainability in the automotive and fashion industries SEOUL, Sept.

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Sustainable clothing by Everybody World and Made by We. Photographs by Katelyn Perry / The We Company

The pink dress had been hanging in my closet, taunting me, for over two years. Its tags were still on. Its shoulders were a little droopy from being hung poorly and for too long. It was time to come clean: I was never going to wear this dress. Not to work, not on vacation, not to a boho-vibed rooftop party that doesn't exist. Never.

Despondent, I toted the listless garment to the New York City Fair Trade Coalition, a member at WeWork 1460 Broadway in Times Square, where my mood quickly brightened: The organization was hosting one of its recurring Swap Shop events, where guests are encouraged to exchange previously (or in the case of my dress, aspirationally) worn clothing for something from a stranger's closet to promote sustainable fashion. Two colorful racks of clothes greeted me hopefully in the space, and between the funky cowboy boots and vintage Coach bag, it was apparent that I'd just discovered my new favorite store. Parting with the pink dress wasn't going to hurt so bad after all.

What is sustainable fashion, exactly?

Consumers often think of sustainability as something that impacts the planet, says Reyes. But it goes beyond environmentalism. Reyes says sustainability encompasses "the triple bottom line": people, planet, and profit.

So, sustainable fashion engages a circular system that produces apparel with environmental, social and economic integrity. Materials are made by laborers who are treated humanely, through means that consider the earth's resources, and by brands that thrive successfully without having to cut corners around their values.

"Sustainable fashion is slow, not fast," says Ash Welwood, senior sustainability lead at WeWork. "It produces products that are designed to be timeless, versatile, durable, and infinitely cycled into the system." When done right, sustainability can be seamlessly woven into the joy of shopping-a good thing, since the fashion industry has got to change.

An Everybody World bucket hat available at WeWork Now.

Why is sustainable fashion important?

Fashion is the second most polluting industry on the planet, second only to Big Oil. The 150 billion-plus pieces of new clothing that are produced annually require massive amounts of energy, water, labor, and other resources to churn out, all of which adds up to 10 percent of the world's global emissions.

A report by the Global Fashion Agenda and Sustainable Apparel Coalition indicates that the fashion industry's sustainability efforts are slowing, while consumer interest is increasing: 75 percent of consumers indicated they view sustainability as either extremely or very important.

"I think we're all increasingly stressed out and upset by these bigger environmental implications," says Andrea Reyes, the chair of the New York City Fair Trade Coalition. "I don't think there's a day when you can not see the word sustainability or climate change. It's [the fashion industry's] responsibility to connect those dots to customers as clearly as possible."

Reyes and her team at the Fair Trade Coalition advise both new and established fashion brands about sustainability. Her members include a lot of ex-fashion industry people who can no longer stomach turning a blind eye to fashion's detrimental impact on the world-"whether it's poor labor practices, environmental conditions, or even businesses suffering from a financial standpoint," she explains.

Consumers have rallied around sustainability through other avenues-consider the 2018 war waged and won against plastic straws, for example-"but the fashion conversation is a lot more complex," Reyes says. Some conscious consumers may be interested in sustainable or organic textiles, while others may prioritize humane, ethical labor practices. All of this interest is important, Reyes says, and there are so many ways to enjoy fashion while being gentler on the world.

Three categories of sustainable fashion-and the best clothing brands in each

Here are several ways fashion is catching up to the needs of the new world.

1. Renting instead of buying

Launched in 2009, Rent the Runway, a member at WeWork 609 Greenwich St in New York, maintains that addictive, feel-good aspect of fast fashion while producing less waste. Users can experience the thrill associated with shopping-really, a surge of dopamine is activated in the brain when you're about to buy a new dress-without facing the wasteful consequences of the desire to regularly buy new. With the model that incorporates fashion into a sharing economy, users can lease high-end clothing items, then return them for something else when they're sick of the clothes and experience those pleasurable neurotransmitter feels all over again. RTR drop-off boxes, which are installed in several WeWork locations around the country, make the process nearly effortless.

Since its conception, the company has iterated many times over to make its business as sustainable as possible. In 2017, RTR phased out real fur and feathers; it now carries only faux versions. And instead of shipping in boxes, RTR delivers its goods in reusable garment bags that can withstand the wear and tear of transportation.

"Rent the Runway has revolutionized the fashion industry," says Reyes. "Now we see a lot of copycats participating in the rental game, and I think it's a wonderful model for businesses to copy." West Elm has partnered with RTR to make luxury home decor rental viable; in May, Urban Outfitters launched Nuuly, a subscription rental box that runs on a model very similar to RTR's. Express, Ann Taylor, New York & Company have started rental subscriptions of their own.

2. Resale and consignment

By finding multiple closets to call home, clothes can stay out of landfills and bring joy to the new people who wear them. Traditional thrift stores remain popular for buying secondhand and treasure-hunting, and thrifting is now possible from any place with Wi-Fi. ThredUp, a member at WeWork 33 Irving Pl in New York, the self-proclaimed "largest online thrift store," has helped to streamline secondhand shopping and consigning. By its numbers-stocking 2 million items at any given time-the site sounds deserving of its superlative.

Ultimately, the company wants to create a "'circular fashion future,' in which reuse powers the rotation of our closets - instead of the constant refill of new, disposable clothes,'" says a brand spokesperson.

ThredUp users can be both buyers and sellers of secondhand goods: Buyers can choose from more than 35,000 brands, with items priced up to 90 percent off the retail price. Sellers ship their unwanted clothes to the company, which then prices, photographs, and manages the transactions. Sellers can use the money they make from their sales as ThredUp credit or they can transfer it to their bank accounts. Items that don't make the ThredUp cut can be returned to the seller (for a fee) or responsibly recycled.

According to calculations from the ThredUp team, if every person bought one used item instead of a new one this year, we would collectively save 25 billion gallons of water, 5.7 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, and 449 million pounds of waste. A number of companies with similar models to ThredUp's make buying used easier than ever before: The RealReal, which functions similarly to ThredUp, is a hub for pre-worn luxury goods; Poshmark, a social commerce marketplace, allows buying and selling clothing to be as simple as opening a mobile app; eBay, certainly the earliest resale platform on this list, makes finding anything-from a vintage pair of boots to a vintage brand of cereal-possible.

3. Using recycled materials to create something new

One person's trash is another person's treasure. So is the philosophy of Everybody World's trash tee (available at WeWork Now, located at 902 Broadway in Manhattan), a garment made from 100 percent recycled cotton in an ethical factory in Los Angeles. The company partnered with one of the largest yarn manufacturers in the world to develop a proprietary fabric: The tee "consists of extracted dirt from the cotton plants and waste fibers, which we collect before it's disposed of," says Ariel Katz, Everybody World's head of brand and business development. "We then work with the factory to reprocess the waste to become the yarn that we knit into jersey." So far, the company has prevented about one quarter of a million pounds of cotton waste from entering landfills.

An Everybody World tee available at WeWork Now.

The brand believes that garments should almost never be thrown away, says Katz. "We are into passing down, secondhand selling, and swapping clothes to keep them in a useful life cycle for as long as possible. After that, they're amazing for rags, stuffing, or quilting projects."

In the event that Everybody World garments do end up getting tossed, they'll decompose safely. "Our garments are designed for a lifetime of wear-and to entirely decompose thereafter, should they ever end up in a landfill in the future."

Everybody World is certainly not the first to upcycle waste into something both fashionable and functionable. Barcelona-based brand Tropicfeel sources sustainable materials for its travel gear, and then leverages crowdfunding platforms to streamline its production process and avoid making too much. "Crowdfunding prevents overproduction because we manufacture products for countable backers or supporters of our crowdfunding projects," says CEO Alberto Espinós. "[It] also enables us to design durable and functional products with our backers collaboratively, so they own long-lasting apparel that meets their everyday needs with everlasting fashion."

The brand's shoe, Canyon, is an all-terrain sneaker made with polyester created from recycled plastic bottles. Every pair recycles 3.5 plastic bottles.

How to shop sustainably

For all the good happening with sustainability in fashion, there are plenty of brands that have embraced the concept as a marketing tool rather than an actual value. "There's a difference between having a company built on the basis of sustainability and a business that just uses it for cause-related marketing," says Reyes.

Here are four ways to ensure your dollar is making a difference.

1. Contact brands directly. If you're in the store, New York City Fair Trade Coalition's Andrea Reyes suggests asking store employees about their sustainability practices-a business that really cares about its values will make sure its forward-facing staff is well-educated. Inquire about the meaning of sustainable, responsible, and other buzzwords. If you're buying online, you can use social media to reach out.

2. Consider the fabric. Linen, hemp, and bamboo fabrics tend to be gentler on the environment compared to cotton and synthetics.

3. Examine packaging. Does that eco-friendly sweater come shipped in a plastic bag, on a plastic hanger, or padded with bubble wrap? You've got some questioning to do.

4. Prioritize local. The less distance a garment has to travel to make it into your closet, the less energy used.

But true disruption of the fashion industry doesn't involve money. As Reyes puts it, "Swapping is the best way to disrupt the fashion industry." If you don't have a local swap program, start your own.

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

Kate Bratskeir is a writer for WeWork's, focusing on sustainability and workplace psychology. Previously, she was a senior editor at Mic and HuffPost. Her work has appeared in New York, Health, Travel & Leisure,Women's Health, and more.

Interested in workspace? Get in touch. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

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Your complete guide to sustainable fashion-the movement disrupting the industry - Ideas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The pink dress had been hanging in my closet, taunting me, for over two years. Its tags were still on. Its shoulders were a little droopy from being hung poorly and for too long. It was time to come clean: I was never going to wear this dress.

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Sustainable clothing by Everybody World and Made by We. Photographs by Katelyn Perry / The We Company

The pink dress had been hanging in my closet, taunting me, for over two years. Its tags were still on. Its shoulders were a little droopy from being hung poorly and for too long. It was time to come clean: I was never going to wear this dress. Not to work, not on vacation, not to a boho-vibed rooftop party that doesn't exist. Never.

Despondent, I toted the listless garment to the New York City Fair Trade Coalition, a member at WeWork 1460 Broadway in Times Square, where my mood quickly brightened: The organization was hosting one of its recurring Swap Shop events, where guests are encouraged to exchange previously (or in the case of my dress, aspirationally) worn clothing for something from a stranger's closet to promote sustainable fashion. Two colorful racks of clothes greeted me hopefully in the space, and between the funky cowboy boots and vintage Coach bag, it was apparent that I'd just discovered my new favorite store. Parting with the pink dress wasn't going to hurt so bad after all.

What is sustainable fashion, exactly?

Consumers often think of sustainability as something that impacts the planet, says Reyes. But it goes beyond environmentalism. Reyes says sustainability encompasses "the triple bottom line": people, planet, and profit.

So, sustainable fashion engages a circular system that produces apparel with environmental, social and economic integrity. Materials are made by laborers who are treated humanely, through means that consider the earth's resources, and by brands that thrive successfully without having to cut corners around their values.

"Sustainable fashion is slow, not fast," says Ash Welwood, senior sustainability lead at WeWork. "It produces products that are designed to be timeless, versatile, durable, and infinitely cycled into the system." When done right, sustainability can be seamlessly woven into the joy of shopping-a good thing, since the fashion industry has got to change.

An Everybody World bucket hat available at WeWork Now.

Why is sustainable fashion important?

Fashion is the second most polluting industry on the planet, second only to Big Oil. The 150 billion-plus pieces of new clothing that are produced annually require massive amounts of energy, water, labor, and other resources to churn out, all of which adds up to 10 percent of the world's global emissions.

A report by the Global Fashion Agenda and Sustainable Apparel Coalition indicates that the fashion industry's sustainability efforts are slowing, while consumer interest is increasing: 75 percent of consumers indicated they view sustainability as either extremely or very important.

"I think we're all increasingly stressed out and upset by these bigger environmental implications," says Andrea Reyes, the chair of the New York City Fair Trade Coalition. "I don't think there's a day when you can not see the word sustainability or climate change. It's [the fashion industry's] responsibility to connect those dots to customers as clearly as possible."

Reyes and her team at the Fair Trade Coalition advise both new and established fashion brands about sustainability. Her members include a lot of ex-fashion industry people who can no longer stomach turning a blind eye to fashion's detrimental impact on the world-"whether it's poor labor practices, environmental conditions, or even businesses suffering from a financial standpoint," she explains.

Consumers have rallied around sustainability through other avenues-consider the 2018 war waged and won against plastic straws, for example-"but the fashion conversation is a lot more complex," Reyes says. Some conscious consumers may be interested in sustainable or organic textiles, while others may prioritize humane, ethical labor practices. All of this interest is important, Reyes says, and there are so many ways to enjoy fashion while being gentler on the world.

Three categories of sustainable fashion-and the best clothing brands in each

Here are several ways fashion is catching up to the needs of the new world.

1. Renting instead of buying

Launched in 2009, Rent the Runway, a member at WeWork 609 Greenwich St in New York, maintains that addictive, feel-good aspect of fast fashion while producing less waste. Users can experience the thrill associated with shopping-really, a surge of dopamine is activated in the brain when you're about to buy a new dress-without facing the wasteful consequences of the desire to regularly buy new. With the model that incorporates fashion into a sharing economy, users can lease high-end clothing items, then return them for something else when they're sick of the clothes and experience those pleasurable neurotransmitter feels all over again. RTR drop-off boxes, which are installed in several WeWork locations around the country, make the process nearly effortless.

Since its conception, the company has iterated many times over to make its business as sustainable as possible. In 2017, RTR phased out real fur and feathers; it now carries only faux versions. And instead of shipping in boxes, RTR delivers its goods in reusable garment bags that can withstand the wear and tear of transportation.

"Rent the Runway has revolutionized the fashion industry," says Reyes. "Now we see a lot of copycats participating in the rental game, and I think it's a wonderful model for businesses to copy." West Elm has partnered with RTR to make luxury home decor rental viable; in May, Urban Outfitters launched Nuuly, a subscription rental box that runs on a model very similar to RTR's. Express, Ann Taylor, New York & Company have started rental subscriptions of their own.

2. Resale and consignment

By finding multiple closets to call home, clothes can stay out of landfills and bring joy to the new people who wear them. Traditional thrift stores remain popular for buying secondhand and treasure-hunting, and thrifting is now possible from any place with Wi-Fi. ThredUp, a member at WeWork 33 Irving Pl in New York, the self-proclaimed "largest online thrift store," has helped to streamline secondhand shopping and consigning. By its numbers-stocking 2 million items at any given time-the site sounds deserving of its superlative.

Ultimately, the company wants to create a "'circular fashion future,' in which reuse powers the rotation of our closets - instead of the constant refill of new, disposable clothes,'" says a brand spokesperson.

ThredUp users can be both buyers and sellers of secondhand goods: Buyers can choose from more than 35,000 brands, with items priced up to 90 percent off the retail price. Sellers ship their unwanted clothes to the company, which then prices, photographs, and manages the transactions. Sellers can use the money they make from their sales as ThredUp credit or they can transfer it to their bank accounts. Items that don't make the ThredUp cut can be returned to the seller (for a fee) or responsibly recycled.

According to calculations from the ThredUp team, if every person bought one used item instead of a new one this year, we would collectively save 25 billion gallons of water, 5.7 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, and 449 million pounds of waste. A number of companies with similar models to ThredUp's make buying used easier than ever before: The RealReal, which functions similarly to ThredUp, is a hub for pre-worn luxury goods; Poshmark, a social commerce marketplace, allows buying and selling clothing to be as simple as opening a mobile app; eBay, certainly the earliest resale platform on this list, makes finding anything-from a vintage pair of boots to a vintage brand of cereal-possible.

3. Using recycled materials to create something new

One person's trash is another person's treasure. So is the philosophy of Everybody World's trash tee (available at WeWork Now, located at 902 Broadway in Manhattan), a garment made from 100 percent recycled cotton in an ethical factory in Los Angeles. The company partnered with one of the largest yarn manufacturers in the world to develop a proprietary fabric: The tee "consists of extracted dirt from the cotton plants and waste fibers, which we collect before it's disposed of," says Ariel Katz, Everybody World's head of brand and business development. "We then work with the factory to reprocess the waste to become the yarn that we knit into jersey." So far, the company has prevented about one quarter of a million pounds of cotton waste from entering landfills.

An Everybody World tee available at WeWork Now.

The brand believes that garments should almost never be thrown away, says Katz. "We are into passing down, secondhand selling, and swapping clothes to keep them in a useful life cycle for as long as possible. After that, they're amazing for rags, stuffing, or quilting projects."

In the event that Everybody World garments do end up getting tossed, they'll decompose safely. "Our garments are designed for a lifetime of wear-and to entirely decompose thereafter, should they ever end up in a landfill in the future."

Everybody World is certainly not the first to upcycle waste into something both fashionable and functionable. Barcelona-based brand Tropicfeel sources sustainable materials for its travel gear, and then leverages crowdfunding platforms to streamline its production process and avoid making too much. "Crowdfunding prevents overproduction because we manufacture products for countable backers or supporters of our crowdfunding projects," says CEO Alberto Espinós. "[It] also enables us to design durable and functional products with our backers collaboratively, so they own long-lasting apparel that meets their everyday needs with everlasting fashion."

The brand's shoe, Canyon, is an all-terrain sneaker made with polyester created from recycled plastic bottles. Every pair recycles 3.5 plastic bottles.

How to shop sustainably

For all the good happening with sustainability in fashion, there are plenty of brands that have embraced the concept as a marketing tool rather than an actual value. "There's a difference between having a company built on the basis of sustainability and a business that just uses it for cause-related marketing," says Reyes.

Here are four ways to ensure your dollar is making a difference.

1. Contact brands directly. If you're in the store, New York City Fair Trade Coalition's Andrea Reyes suggests asking store employees about their sustainability practices-a business that really cares about its values will make sure its forward-facing staff is well-educated. Inquire about the meaning of sustainable, responsible, and other buzzwords. If you're buying online, you can use social media to reach out.

2. Consider the fabric. Linen, hemp, and bamboo fabrics tend to be gentler on the environment compared to cotton and synthetics.

3. Examine packaging. Does that eco-friendly sweater come shipped in a plastic bag, on a plastic hanger, or padded with bubble wrap? You've got some questioning to do.

4. Prioritize local. The less distance a garment has to travel to make it into your closet, the less energy used.

But true disruption of the fashion industry doesn't involve money. As Reyes puts it, "Swapping is the best way to disrupt the fashion industry." If you don't have a local swap program, start your own.

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

Kate Bratskeir is a writer for WeWork's, focusing on sustainability and workplace psychology. Previously, she was a senior editor at Mic and HuffPost. Her work has appeared in New York, Health, Travel & Leisure,Women's Health, and more.

Interested in workspace? Get in touch. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Your complete guide to sustainable fashion-the movement disrupting the industry - Ideas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The pink dress had been hanging in my closet, taunting me, for over two years. Its tags were still on. Its shoulders were a little droopy from being hung poorly and for too long. It was time to come clean: I was never going to wear this dress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The multitrillion-dollar business of fashion, with its complex and long supply chain, is worryingly vexed with problems contributing to climate change.

The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gas than all international flights and maritime shipping journeys combined, and it's estimated that a garbage truck's worth of clothing is either burned or sent to a landfill every second. On top of that, thanks to our powerful washing machines, our clothes pollute the ocean with microfibers equating to approximately 50 million plastic bottles each year.

Conversation and action around sustainability and climate change has been quiet and slow to come within the sector, but Monday marks another move toward collective change. A fashion industry charter for climate action was formally launched at this year's United Nations climate change conference, COP24, in Katowice, Poland.

Support for the new charter has come from high street retailers, luxury fashion houses and other suppliers within the sector. Stella McCartney, Burberry, Adidas and H&M Group are included in the list of 40 signatories.

Aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the new charter includes 16 principles and targets. The companies involved have committed to reducing their aggregate greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and they've agreed to prioritize low-carbon transportation suppliers and favor climate-friendly materials.

Stella McCartney, whose eponymous label is already a leading player in sustainable fashion, was one of the founding signatories. She announced her involvement in late November during Voices, a fashion industry conference staged in the English countryside, where she was also honored for her work in the sector.

During an interview at the conference, she acknowledged the complexities of working sustainably and responsibly: "There are millions of limitations from a design and creative point of view. There are millions of limitations from a sourcing and manufacturing point of view. But for me, all of those challenges are part of being a designer and part of being a businesswoman."

McCartney called upon her peers in the industry to sign the charter, urging the industry to work together.

"It's a no-brainer but there has to be a collective conversation," she said. "I think that's what's so powerful and exciting and promising about COP24."

Burberry was recently criticized when it was revealed the brand destroyed clothes and perfume worth more than $36 million in 2017. After widespread outrage, the luxury fashion label said in September that it would ban this practice.

H&M announced last month that they have appointed Christopher Wylie as a consulting director of research. The high street retailer is attempting to use AI and data to optimize its supply chains, with one of the aims being to reduce textile waste produced by over-ordering.

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burberry among fashion brands uniting against climate change - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Stella McCartney, Burberry among fashion brands uniting against climate change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The multitrillion-dollar business of fashion, with its complex and long supply chain, is worryingly vexed with problems contributing to climate change. The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gas than all international flights and maritime shipping journeys combined, and it's estimated that a garbage truck's worth of clothing is either burned or sent to a landfill every second.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The multitrillion-dollar business of fashion, with its complex and long supply chain, is worryingly vexed with problems contributing to climate change.

The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gas than all international flights and maritime shipping journeys combined, and it's estimated that a garbage truck's worth of clothing is either burned or sent to a landfill every second. On top of that, thanks to our powerful washing machines, our clothes pollute the ocean with microfibers equating to approximately 50 million plastic bottles each year.

Conversation and action around sustainability and climate change has been quiet and slow to come within the sector, but Monday marks another move toward collective change. A fashion industry charter for climate action was formally launched at this year's United Nations climate change conference, COP24, in Katowice, Poland.

Support for the new charter has come from high street retailers, luxury fashion houses and other suppliers within the sector. Stella McCartney, Burberry, Adidas and H&M Group are included in the list of 40 signatories.

Aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the new charter includes 16 principles and targets. The companies involved have committed to reducing their aggregate greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and they've agreed to prioritize low-carbon transportation suppliers and favor climate-friendly materials.

Stella McCartney, whose eponymous label is already a leading player in sustainable fashion, was one of the founding signatories. She announced her involvement in late November during Voices, a fashion industry conference staged in the English countryside, where she was also honored for her work in the sector.

During an interview at the conference, she acknowledged the complexities of working sustainably and responsibly: "There are millions of limitations from a design and creative point of view. There are millions of limitations from a sourcing and manufacturing point of view. But for me, all of those challenges are part of being a designer and part of being a businesswoman."

McCartney called upon her peers in the industry to sign the charter, urging the industry to work together.

"It's a no-brainer but there has to be a collective conversation," she said. "I think that's what's so powerful and exciting and promising about COP24."

Burberry was recently criticized when it was revealed the brand destroyed clothes and perfume worth more than $36 million in 2017. After widespread outrage, the luxury fashion label said in September that it would ban this practice.

H&M announced last month that they have appointed Christopher Wylie as a consulting director of research. The high street retailer is attempting to use AI and data to optimize its supply chains, with one of the aims being to reduce textile waste produced by over-ordering.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
burberry among fashion brands uniting against climate change - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Stella McCartney, Burberry among fashion brands uniting against climate change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The multitrillion-dollar business of fashion, with its complex and long supply chain, is worryingly vexed with problems contributing to climate change. The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gas than all international flights and maritime shipping journeys combined, and it's estimated that a garbage truck's worth of clothing is either burned or sent to a landfill every second.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Written by Emily Dixon, CNN

As a buzzword, "sustainability" dominated September's fashion weeks. From using recycled fabrics to declaring their runways carbon neutral, designers and brands reflected a growing demand among consumers for more than fashion.

According to the latest Pulse of the Fashion Industry study, over a third of those surveyed reported "actively switching from their preferred brand to another" because the latter displayed superior environmental and social values.

But to some experts, the fashion industry's current efforts amount to little more than lip service. The pursuit of sustainability is a vast, hazy, yet ever more urgent task -- one that many say will require radical and transformative measures. Is fashion truly becoming more sustainable? Or is the concept just another trend?

According to Achim Berg, global leader of consulting firm McKinsey's apparel, fashion and luxury group, sustainability is beginning to play a more fundamental role in many companies. "Brands have started integrating the philosophy of 'doing business for good' into their values, moving beyond a pure focus on shorter-term shareholder value generation," he said.

"Sustainability is no longer considered just to be a mitigating risk or part of supplier compliance," Berg added in a email interview, "but it is becoming increasingly seen by CEOs as a 'must' in doing business."

Sustainability -- or the idea of it, at least -- was hard to miss during fashion month. Recycled materials were everywhere, from Zero + Maria Cornejo's collaboration with Hyundai, which saw leftover car seat material turned into a capsule collection, to Stella McCartney's use of recycled polyester and plastics alongside organic cotton.

Both Preen and Marni used fabrics made from plastic bottles, while the latter's Milan Fashion Week show went a step further by repurposing old clothing, mechanical pulp and plastic bottles into towering palm trees. Dior, meanwhile, garnished its runway with more than 160 real trees, all of which were set to be replanted after the show.

Another emerging trend was "carbon neutral" runway shows, beginning with Gabriela Hearst's at New York Fashion Week and followed by Burberry in London and Gucci in Milan. What's more, Gucci's parent group, Kering, which also owns Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, among others, used fashion month to announce that the entire company "will become carbon neutral within its own operations and across the entire supply chain."

But according to McKinsey's Saskia Hedrich, using recycled materials or pledging to become carbon neutral doesn't necessarily make a brand sustainable.

"Communication at the point of sale, or about specific products or collections regarding sustainability, is often focused on certain very specific aspects, like ... a raw material that is more sustainable compared to the (one that's typically) used," Hedrich said via email. "Objective criteria for rating sustainable fashion are missing."

As a result, customers can struggle to make legitimately sustainable choices while the term remains so vague. "Yes, some of the more informed consumers are aware of the complex social and environmental issues associated with the fashion market and how their shopping habits contribute," Hedrich said. "But since sustainability spans a broad array of issues in the very fragmented fashion supply chain, other consumers often don't fully get what 'sustainability' really means. Consumers say they have difficulty when it comes to rating which offerings and which brands are truly sustainable."

In short, to be considered genuinely sustainable, brands may need to entirely transform every aspect of their businesses. To that end, the leadership forum Global Fashion Agenda sets out eight "crucial sustainability priorities," including complete transparency throughout the supply chain, safeguarding workers' rights, becoming more energy efficient and reusing textiles. Cherry-picking one or two issues, the forum stresses, will not suffice.

Cutting down on single-use plastic, for instance, does little for the 90% of garment workers worldwide who have no negotiating power over their working conditions or wages, as the global trade union IndustriALL found. And an emphasis on organic cotton over synthetic fabrics does not address the water stress placed on cotton-producing regions in countries like India and China, as flagged by a 2019 report by the British parliament's Environmental Audit Committee.

The term "sustainability," therefore, is considered by some industry experts to be so broad as to be problematic. Designer Rejina Pyo, who works with materials including recycled polyester and organic cotton, as well as regularly visiting her factories and suppliers to ensure they uphold ethical standards, said, "We don't describe ourselves as a sustainable brand because there is always more to do, and I'm not sure there is any such thing as a truly sustainable fashion company."

"I think there is a lot of greenwashing out there, which does dilute the meaning of the term, but it is still really important that we are talking about it. The more awareness there is the more we can challenge and interrogate its use," Pyo added.

Similarly, designer Phoebe English said the term was important, but too vague to be of real value. "I wouldn't describe our label as a 'sustainable label,' as there isn't actually a defined way to determine what issustainable fashion and what isn't sustainable fashion."

English described her brand as one that "aspires to sustainability with our best abilities," explaining, "We have changed all our packaging to be plastic-free, and have been working on our raw materials aiming to only be using either certified fabrics or reclaimed materials."

Batsheva Hay, whose brand Batsheva recycles existing fabrics and produces clothes blocks away from its New York City headquarters, suggested that sustainable practices can only do so much in the face of continued mass consumption.

"My main issue is with companies like H&M pushing such huge quantities of cheap clothing by calling it sustainable, yet in the end, they are still producing a massive collective waste," Hay said (H&M has a stated " sustainability strategy," and brands some items with green " Conscious" tags to signal that they contain "more sustainable materials.") She continued, "The focus should really be on buying less and wearing what you own over and over again, rather than buying too much cheap, disposable clothing."

Like Hay, some experts argue that even if major brands implemented sustainable practices at every stage of their businesses, they would eventually encounter a roadblock: Increased profit demands increased consumption, when the climate crisis requires we consume less. "Given the stark scientific warnings we face on climate change and biodiversity loss, we must reinvent fashion," the UK's Environmental Audit Committee concluded.

To environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, sustainability is too limited a goal. The group called for the total cancellation of London Fashion Week, staging a series of protests when that demand wasn't met. To mark the opening day, protestors glued themselves to the entrance of London Fashion Week's official venue, 180 The Strand, while on the final day, they held a mock funeral procession in the center of London.

"Many sustainable labels are genuine pioneers in seeking to transform the industry from inside out," Bel Jacobs, of Extinction Rebellion's "Boycott Fashion" campaign, said. "However, we are in an ecological emergency and the time for incremental change and belief in the power of the consumer to change things -- which sustainable labels represent -- is past."

"There is enough clothing currently in existence for us to clothe the world umpteen times over," Jacobs added. "In this scenario, even the production of a single organic T-shirt looks out of sync."

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the problem with 'sustainable fashion' - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Written by Emily Dixon, CNN As a buzzword, "sustainability" dominated September's fashion weeks. From using recycled fabrics to declaring their runways carbon neutral, designers and brands reflected a growing demand among consumers for more than fashion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sustainability continues to be at the center of political, economic and social debates. As discussions heat up, so does the planet, and contemporary art has joined the debate through the recycled art movement. Whether they are politically motivated, or simply walking in Duchamp's footsteps, these artists create inspirational and original pieces. By working with recycled materials, these artists encourage their viewers to question the sustainability and ecological impact of the artistic process. Often favoring biodegradable media, their works are both beautiful and ephemeral. Artsper invites you to discover 10 of the best artists working with recycled materials.
1. Vik Muniz

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz is central to the recycled art movement. Discovered by an art dealer in New York in the mid-1980s, he specializes in reproducing masterpieces with recycled materials. His materials range from trash, to shredded magazines, wires, puzzle pieces and even dust. Muniz creates large-scale pieces, whose compositions require them to be digitally projected onto the ground from a height. The documentary "Waste Land" focuses on Muniz's project Jardim Gramacho in Rio de Janeiro, which took place over three years in the world's biggest wasteland.

For this project, Vik Muniz worked with "pickers" who collected waste for the artist and his recycled art projects. The pickers then assembled the pieces into sculptures, which were projected onto the floor inside a warehouse. At the end of the project, the artist sold all the photographs during an auction event, and donated the proceeds to the pickers who participated to the project.

2. Derek Gores

Floridian artist, designer and illustrator Derek Gores has become a master in the art of collage. He creates his works with shredded magazine paper, labels and other recycled materials. Gores starts by organizing his materials by color, and then creates images from them. His art, made from recycled materials, mostly depicts portraits of women or everyday life scenes inspired by the world of fashion and design. Although his works are a mosaic of various objects, they remain strikingly fluid and graceful.

3. Tim Noble and Sue Webster

British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster met in 1986, while studying fine art in Nottingham. The couple is known for their iconic "shadow sculptures," made from recycled materials and rubbish. They then illuminate these in order to cast shadows on the walls and surrounding ground. At first sight, the piece may look like a pile of rubbish. However, once the light is cast, the shadow of the piece reveals an incredibly detailed and realistic image on the wall.

4. Guerra de la Paz

The Guerra de la Paz collective is a group of Cuban artists founded by Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz. Based in Miami, they work from unconventional materials like recycled clothing, from which they create very colorful sculptures. Their pieces are often interpretations of classic artworks, and frequently convey deeply political messages. Paz's art questions modern consumer society, and the way we blindly use and discard objects that are still in good condition, such as clothes.

5. Nik Gentry

Nick Gentry is a London-based artist whose signature device is to recycle used floppy discs (the ancestor of the USB drive), on which he paints astonishingly futuristic portraits. His work is influenced by the development of consumerism, technology and cyber culture in our society. Gentry also uses used film rolls, VHS disks, and x-rays, which he skillfully integrates into his portraits.

6. Wim Delvoye

Belgian artist Wim Delvoye is famed for his transformation of used objects into spectacular artworks. For his series on tires, Delvoye carved delicate floral and organic patterns into different tires. Although the tires kept their original circular shape, the result looked like it was made from cast metal or carved wood. Delvoye also uses metal, steel caps, or even dump trucks to turn his works into precious lace-like shells.

7. Khalil Chishtee

Creating life-size sculptures out of recycled plastic bags is Pakistani artist Khalil Chishtee's specialty. For the artist, this material is a metaphor for "recycling our identity" and a way to face the obstacles in our lives. Chishtee's work also questions the idea of value in fine art, where bronze, wood or stone are more highly regarded due to their historical context.

8. Subodh Gupta

Indian artist Subodh Gupta lives and works in New Delhi, making large-scale sculptures from everyday materials. He chooses objects that are particularly significant in Indian culture, and then recycles them by adding them in his installations. Gupta's art is therefore deeply rooted in Indian culture, a culture that is rapidly changing due to globalization. The objects he uses for his work already have a story, but Gupta adds another layer of meaning when he integrates them into his pieces.

9. Ptolemy Elrington

"I come across many things which have been abandoned and find something more in them than their intrinsic worthlessness."Ptolemy Elrington is an artist based in the coastal city of Brighton, and his sculptures explore the damage caused by unsustainable resources. In using found objects from manufactured products, such as shopping trolleys or car hub caps, Erlington opens up a vital dialogue about the impact of waste on our environment.

10. Yuken Teruya

Japanese artist Yuken Teruya also explores the dangerous lengths of our rampant consumerist habits. Through his recycled art project, he transforms some of the biggest names in capitalism into mystical forests. Teruya uses the ancient Japanese art of Kirigami, a variation of origami which consists of cutting paper instead of simply folding it. His work is included in the permanent collections of some of the world's most prestigious museums including the MoMA and The Guggenheim in New York, the Charles Saatchi Collection in London and the Mori Art Museum in Japan.

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10 Artists Working in Recycled Art - Artsper Magazine

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Ecology is often the focus of political and economic debate- but also of art! Here are 10 artists creating fascinating recycled art...

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Later this month, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will visit the UN's Climate Action Summit in New York. As part of the convention, she has been invited to visit the British artist Michael Pinsky's work, Pollution Pods , which will be installed in front of the UN building and presents six interconnected, climatically controlled chambers that mimic the relative air quality in cities around the world, from London to Beijing.

Since the teenage activist began a humble school strike for the climate a year ago, she has quickly become a household name-and an inspiration for many in the art world. Her message-that we need systemic action to protect our environmental future-has gained enough momentum to earn itself a name: the "Greta Thunberg Effect."

In the culture world, she has inspired installations like Pinsky's; portraits by the painter Elizabeth Peyton and the photographer Hellen van Meene; a mural by the street artist Jody Thomas; a multimedia work by Justin Brice Guariglia; and an exhibition by the curator Francesca Pietropaolo.

"What is remarkable about Greta is that she suddenly became a huge presence slightly over a year ago and now it seems like she has been there forever," Pinsky tells artnet News.

While youth movements have a long history-Pinsky remembers protesting an exhibition that promoted nuclear power at the National Museum of Scotland when he was 11 years old-something about Thunberg has managed to capture the zeitgeist in an unprecedented way.

The Greta Thunberg Effect

Given Thunberg's clear resonance, it is no surprise that she has inspired not only artists, but also curators.

At this year's Venice Biennale, where climate change is a major , the Italian curator Francesca Pietropaolo co-organized a show that explores the issue with artist and curator Phong Bui. And Pietropaolo, perhaps unsurprisingly, cites Thunberg, who declined to be interviewed for this article, as an influence.

"Greta is an inspiring member of the new generation," Pietropaolo tells artnet News. "Her voice has become an important catalyst for change." Pietropaolo is particularly interested in the positive tone of Thunberg's activism, which is in contrast to the apocalyptic, spectacular tone of so many others.

"I think that Greta's activism could also inspire a reflection, from a curatorial perspective, on the making of contemporary art exhibitions, taking into consideration their very process in order to evaluate their environmental impact," Pietropaolo says. Curators could be inspired, for example, to study and reflect upon the environmental footprint they leave when they do their work. "I think of Venice in particular, with its fragile reality."

The practical impact of Thunberg's voice is not limited to Pietropaolo. The Dutch photographer Hellen van Meene, who shot Thunberg for the cover of TIME magazine, tells artnet News that after they met, she decided to travel to London and Berlin via train for a later work trip, rather than to take an emission-heavy airplane .

"There has been a palpable change of mood in the arts sector, with a real sense of urgency and a desire for action being driven by artists and the wider public," the director of Tate Modern, Frances Morris, tells artnet News.

The directors of the Tate galleries recently declared a climate emergency and laid out a plan to improve the institution's commitment to sustainability, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 10 percent within four years.

"An emergency of this magnitude can easily feel overwhelming, so the voices of people like Greta Thunberg have an important role to play," Morris explains . "They help provide focus and inspiration, particularly for a younger generation whose lives will be profoundly shaped by this crisis."

Similarly, the curator Lucia Pietroiusti, who organized the prize-winning Lithuanian pavilion in Venice, has introduced a General Ecology project at the Serpentine Galleries in London, which has committed to reducing its carbon footprint. In 2020, it will be dedicating its entire 50th anniversary year to ecological concerns.

At the same time, Thunberg and others have called upon institutions to break their partnerships with fuel companies such as BP. While Tate Modern ended a years-long partnership with the oil giant BP in 2017, others have been slower to make the transition, and Thunberg's voice is amplifying the pressure.

"... I do not wish to be associated with BP any more than I would with an arms dealer, a tobacco salesmen or any company or individual who willfully destroys the lives of others alive and unborn."

This is what a role model looks like in 2019. https://t.co/Ts4x51Skdg

- Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) June 26, 2019

The codirector of the activist group Culture Unstained, Chris Garrard, tells artnet News that even through a tweet, Thunberg has played a powerful role.

"In just the past few weeks, the directors of the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Science Museum have endorsed BP and Big Oil," he says. "The impact of Greta's activism has been that their oil sponsorship deals now look out of date and out of step with the wider sector, and will only do damage to their reputations."

Actions and Words

Images of the young Swedish woman, meanwhile, have become a stand-in for her message.

Last spring , Peyton presented a picture of Thunberg at Sadie Coles HQ in London. But the visibility of that work paled in comparison to a massive, 50-foot mural of Thunberg made in Bristol that depicts her submerged in rising floods, with the waterline raised high enough to sabotage her most powerful weapon: her mouth.

"When someone gives you a wall, they're giving you a stage, an opportunity to step up and make an impact," the street artist who created the mural, Jody Thomas, tells artnet News. When he landed on the idea of painting the young climate activist, Thomas says "it just felt right." He says his proposal for the wall received the fastest approval of any mural project he has ever done.

His image soon went viral, even making it as far as Thunberg's own Instagram page, where the activist adopted it as her profile picture. "The fact that the piece went global is testament to the fact that street artists and artists can play a role in visualizing a tricky and contentious issue at the moment that is very much on the minds of everyone," Thomas says.

Thunberg's words have also served as fodder for artists. The US artist Justin Brice Guariglia included sections of a speech she delivered at the World Economic Forum in a courtyard installation presented at London's Somerset House in the spring. The work, Reduce Speed Now! , was made of nine solar-powered highway message boards, which presented texts about climate change from Thunberg, Bruno Latour, Zadie Smith, and other philosophers, anthropologists, and poets.

"When Greta came along, she was like a breath of fresh air," Guariglia tells artnet news. " Here was this young woman who was essentially like the Lorax," he says, referring to the Dr. Seuss character who speaks on behalf of trees. "She is speaking up for the next generation, the people that don't have a voice."

Guariglia says that although he has been making art about climate change for the past decade, it takes an "exceptionally good communicator" like Thunberg to really convey the urgency of the problem.

"When I think about my work, especially when I'm working with text, I'm thinking in that same mode," Guariglia says. "How can I be really pithy? How do you communicate that we're heading towards 100 million-plus climate crisis refugees? How do you communicate these ideas in ways that the general public would actually be concerned?"

In Guariglia's eyes, Thunberg successfully gives people new language with which to discuss these "very important, very urgent, very existential" issues.

Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.

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How Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Inspired the Art World to Address the Biggest Problem Facing Humanity

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Later this month, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will visit the UN's Climate Action Summit in New York. As part of the convention, she has been invited to visit the British artist Michael Pinsky's work, Pollution Pods , which will be installed in front of the UN building and presents six interconnected, climatically controlled chambers that mimic the relative air quality in cities around the world, from London to Beijing.

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Good news for Fall 2017: you'll be able to save a lot of shopping money because this season, wearing actual trash as clothing is in. Finally!

Today, Moschino unveiled its Fall 2017 show at Milan Fashion Week and the collection was full of wardrobe staples you already have in your home like tissue boxes, bubble wrap, old bicycle wheels, paper hanger covers from the dry cleaners and even trash can lids.

It's hard to believe we've made it through this many centuries of fashion without thinking to wear tissue boxes on our heads but wow, this is a game-changer for cold season:

Another economical look was this re-used plastic bag from the dry cleaners along with its wire hanger and paper hanger cover. A great way to make your dry cleaning bill feel worthwhile:

For wine lovers, finally a way to reuse all those boxes from your many cartons of bottles. (And also, something to do with your newspapers after you pretend to read them).

There were then toilet paper roll cross-body bags. Of course, you can't actually hold anything inside a toilet paper roll, but who cares, just put your belongings in your pockets and carry the toilet paper-duh!

One time I saw Kendall Jenner wearing cardboard boxes and packing tape, so I wore cardboard boxes and packing tape:

Forget hats next season, instead just use your old bicycle tire. If you don't have a bike of your own, sacrifice a CitiBike (sorry Mayor DeBlasio, but it's for #fashun):

There were also trash-inspired looks for even the most elegant woman (a great outfit to wear to divorce court, if you ask me):

Of course, Moschino's Jeremy Scott knows that wearing trash isn't for everyone, so he also sent candelabras as hats down the runway for the ladies who lunch:

Fashun is so wonderful.

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Moschino Sent Models Wearing Literal Trash Down The Runway

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Good news for Fall 2017: you'll be able to save a lot of shopping money because this season, wearing actual trash as clothing is in. Finally! Today, Moschino unveiled its Fall 2017 show at Milan Fashion Week and the collection was full of wardrobe staples you already have in your home like tissue boxes, bubble wrap, old bicycle wheels, paper hanger covers from the dry cleaners and even trash can lids.

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This story appears in the September 2019 issue ofNational Geographic magazine.

Beaches across the planet share many characteristics: sand, water, ocean breezes-and plastic. At Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, the coastal area where artist Barry Rosenthal goes collecting, trash piles up fast and in layers, as if at an archaeological site.

Plastics will indeed be the artifacts of our era, particularly in oceans, where the material invades ecosystems and floats around the world. More than five trillion pieces of plastic already fill the seas, with some nine million tons added each year.

Rosenthal observed how bottles, toys, and food wrappers fade, wear out, yet never disappear. He started building and photographing sculptures of ocean trash to illustrate the problem of marine pollution. Eventually he began to gather the detritus to use as his art materials, cleaning a small section of the coast over and over again. "I started to just collect as much as I could and go back to my studio to sort it out," he says. Each sculpture has a theme, by color, shape, or intended use, such as the motor oil containers below.

A project begun for aesthetics has acquired a second purpose: raising social and environmental awareness. Now Rosenthal travels to speak about ocean pollution and what might help clean it up. The most meaningful advance, he says, would be to rethink our method of consuming.

"We need a paradigm shift in all packaging design," he says. "Not just plastic bags and straw bans to make people feel good."

This story is part of Planet or Plastic?-our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do toreduce your own single-use plastics, andtake your pledge.

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Ocean trash is building up. This artist reveals what's out there.

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This story appears in the September 2019 issue ofNational Geographic magazine. Beaches across the planet share many characteristics: sand, water, ocean breezes-and plastic. At Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, the coastal area where artist Barry Rosenthal goes collecting, trash piles up fast and in layers, as if at an archaeological site.

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For lovers of luxury, there's no need to avoid resale sites. Cudoni are the UK's leading premium luxury fashion and goods resale service, who treat every client as a VIP and make the entire process a breeze - from complimentary collection from a location of your choice, to opening up a discourse with you about data-driven valuation, photographing the product and going on to sell it. They also achieve a sales price that is on average 30% higher than if you were to sell the same item independently.

Teaming up with non-profit organisation Parley, Adidas last year sold more than 1 million pairs of shoes from recycled ocean plastic, with each preventing about 11 plastic bottles from the possibility of entering our oceans. They have created a material trademarked 'Ocean Plastic', which is made entirely from plastic intercepted on beaches and in coastal communities.

Another shoe brand doing brilliant things is sustainable label Allbirds. The first fashion brand to have labelled all its products with a carbon output - taking into consideration materials, development, manufacturing, and end of life - Allbirds encourages accountability and inspires businesses, as well as consumers, to commit to a low carbon future.

How can I champion sustainability?

For such an important question, the answer is very simple - shop from labels and collections that support sustainability. That way you can fuel your love for new trends without supporting the production of damaging, unrecyclable materials.

Other ways would be to adopt a charity shop habit and buy pre-loved clothing (a great way to snap up 'vintage' pieces without the price tag of London's edgiest vintage stores).
So now you've read up on the brands to know, scroll down to shop our favourite sustainable buys to get your hands on right now...

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This is why you need to pay attention to sustainable fashion (and the brands you should know about)

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For lovers of luxury, there's no need to avoid resale sites. Cudoni are the UK's leading premium luxury fashion and goods resale service, who treat every client as a VIP and make the entire process a breeze - from complimentary collection from a location of your choice, to opening up a discourse with you about data-driven valuation, photographing the product and going on to sell it.

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Plastic Free July has once again come and gone. Coined in 2011, what began as a small group of participants in Australia has now extended across the world with many of us now getting involved in the fight against single use plastic.

And this year, in the aftermath of David Attenborough's Blue Planet 2, was bigger than ever with as many as 2 million people joining the challenge. But, with concerns around ocean pollution leading the list of reasons to participate, how exactly does our plastic end up in the sea?

It's widely documented that as much as 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean each year. And in case you're struggling to digest that fact (I certainly am...) it's equivalent to dumping one truck load of rubbish every minute [1].

But with so many of us recycling our plastic, you'd wonder how it's getting to the ocean right? Wrong - only 9% of plastics are recycled [2]. This means that the rest of our plastic waste is either going to landfill, ending up in our drains or being littered. And through each of these three routes, plastic can easily end up at sea.
Landfill
Let's first of all take a closer look at the plastic waste which gets collected and taken to landfill. I'd always imagined that this was a pretty safe place for our plastics to go, being stored away with the rest of our rubbish. But this is far from true - in fact, plastic is so lightweight that it often blows away either during transportation or once its there.
Drains
Another common way that plastics end up at sea is through our drainage systems. And although microbeads have now been banned from products in many countries, there are several other ways that plastic gets into our drains. Some of the worst culprits are cotton buds, face wipes and sanitary products which many people flush down their loos.
Littering
Plastic littering is another risk where people simply discard their plastic litter without disposing of it properly either due to carelessness or poor waste management systems. Even if you live many miles from sea, these plastics are easily transported by wind and rain into rivers and drainage systems that then flow out to the ocean.

To add to the above, it's not just everyday people who contribute to ocean pollution but marine activity (fishing/ shipping) and industrial leakage are certainly not to be forgotten. In fact the very production of plastic is one of the worst offenders with plastic pellets (the raw materials used to make plastics) known to leak along the production chain [3].

Another point to make is that the impact is not equal by country - far from it. A recent study found the 90% of the world's plastic waste is carried by just 10 rivers in Africa, India in China. The Yangtze alone is thought to contribute as much as 1.5 million metric tonnes into the sea each year [4].

Overwhelmed by the reality of the issue? You should be, but that doesn't mean you can't make a difference. Here at Sustainably Simple we believe in the power of small changes so here's 8 things you can do to help:

1. Swap to a bamboo toothbrush

2. Use a fabric tote bag when shopping

3. Say no to plastic straws

4. Buy a reusable water bottle

5. Give up chewing gum

6. Invest in beeswax wraps

7. Purchase loose fruit and vegetables

8. Refuse plastic cutlery

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How 8 Million Tonnes of Plastic Gets into the Ocean

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Plastic Free July has once again come and gone. Coined in 2011, what began as a small group of participants in Australia has now extended across the world with many of us now getting involved in the fight against single use plastic.

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designboom | architecture & design magazine

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pascale marthine tayou grows plastic tree at art basel 2015

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at art basel unlimited 2015, galleria continua presents 'plastic tree' by cameroonian artist pascale marthine tayou.

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Extinction Rebellion is staging a two-week "international rebellion" in October to urge governments around the world to take action on the climate crisis.

The environmental campaign group aims to occupy 12 sites in London including Trafalgar Square and outside Downing Street and the Home Office. Protests are also taking place in 23 cities across the world during the same two-week period.

It comes after more than 1,100 people were arrested at Extinction Rebellion's protests in April, which brought parts of London to a standstill. The demonstrations were designed to cause as much disruption as possible with protesters blocking roads, gluing themselves to DLR trains and smashing windows at Shell's headquarters.

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This month, the group says the protests could be five times bigger with as many as 30,000 people involved. The Metropolitan Police has vowed to arrest an unlimited number of demonstrators if they break protest conditions.

So who are Extinction Rebellion's supporters, what are they hoping to achieve and what are their tactics?
What is Extinction Rebellion?
Extinction Rebellion (also known as "XR") describes itself as an "international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction".

It is centred around the belief that humanity is approaching a point of ecological and societal collapse as a result of man-made climate change.

The movement uses a circled hourglass as its symbol to represent time running out for humans and many other species.
What are its aims?
In the UK, Extinction Rebellion has three main demands:

1. The government must declare a "climate emergency" and work with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change

2. The UK must halt biodiversity loss and legally commit to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2025

No hype, just the advice and analysis you need

3. A citizen's assembly, which would be made up of people from all sections of society with advice from experts, must be formed to decide how to solve the climate crisis
Where did Extinction Rebellion come from?
The group was officially launched on 31 October 2018 by a group of activists from the campaign group Rising Up!

It held an assembly in London's Parliament Square which was attended by 1,500 people. In the following weeks, it reassembled to block five major bridges across London with 85 protesters arrested.

Organisers say it now has over 400 groups across 72 countries ranging from the Solomon Islands to Australia, Spain, South Africa and the US.

Key figures Extinction Rebellion include co-founders Gail Bradbrook, a former biophysicist, and Roger Hallam, a former organic farmer with a postgraduate degree in the theories of social change.

The group cites the civil rights movement, suffragettes and Mahatma Gandhi as inspirations.
What are its tactics?
Six months after it was formed, Extinction Rebellion held its first "international rebellion" in April.

Thousands of activists brought London to a standstill, with protesters blocking roads at Marble Arch before moving on to Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and Parliament Square.

Extinction Rebellion encouraged members to camp at the sites, which were decorated with trees and brightly coloured flags and banners. In Oxford Circus, a pink boat baring the slogan "Tell the Truth" was parked in the middle of the protest site.

Protesters also glued themselves to DLR trains, staged die-ins at the Natural History museum, blocked the entrance of the London Stock Exchange and smashed windows at Shell's headquarters.

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke to protestors during the demonstrations and urged them to "keep going - you are making a difference."

The government said the protests disrupted the lives of "many hundreds of thousands of hard-working Londoners". Over the two weeks of protests, more than 1,100 people were arrested.

Extinction Rebellion considers arrest as a key tactic to try to achieve its goals. Co-founder Roger Hallam has previously said that the group needs about "two to three thousand people to be arrested and 400 to go to prison" for the movement to have an impact. He argues that the most successful activist movements from women's suffrage to civil rights have involved arrests.

Earlier this year it emerged that all those who had been arrested in the April protests would be to be taken to court. Scores of cases have already been heard with the trials expected to carry on into the new year.

Since April, Extinction Rebellion has staged a number of smaller protests including staging a funeral procession at London Fashion Week, holding a die-in outside newspaper offices and using a fire engine to spray the the Treasury building with fake blood.

Heathrow Pause, an Extinction Rebellion splinter group, attempted to fly toy drones near Heathrow Airport in September in order to cause widespread disruption. However, a number of activists were arrested preemptively before the protest, while others who attempted to launch the drones said they were blocked by police using "jamming signals" to disable the devices.

Extinction Rebellion has also staged a number of protests internationally with activists blocking traffic in New York and dying a Zurich river green, while in Paris the police used pepper spray to clear activists blocking a bridge over the Seine.

The group estimates an additional 400 of its activists have been arrested outside of the UK since it was formed, including about 70 in New York City.
What is the response to Extinction Rebellion so far?
Extinction Rebellion's eye-catching protests have garnered both support and fierce criticism.

After the protests in April, t he then-home secretary Sajid Javid called on police to use the "full force of the law" against protesters.

Scotland Yard took the rare step of releasing a detailed statement setting out the difficulties they faced keeping control of the protests. Police rest days were cancelled over the Easter bank holiday, as more than 1,000 officers were deployed across the city.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he shared the protesters' "passion" for tackling climate change but warned they could take police officers away from specialist duties such as fighting knife crime.

Extinction Rebellion says anyone who is annoyed by its protests should "find out more about the severity of the ecological and climate crisis".

After giving a speech at the April protests, Greta Thunberg featured on a song by the 1975 about the climate emergency and requested that the proceeds went to Extinction Rebellion.

In June, Radiohead announced they would donate all proceeds from the sale of previously-unheard music that was stolen by hackers to Extinction Rebellion.

Actress Emma Thomspon and politicians Caroline Lucas and Diane Abbot are also among the group's supporters.

Ahead of the October protests, Ms Lucas defended the Extinction Rebellion activists facing court and said people who were prepared to take part in nonviolent direct action were showing more "climate leadership than government ministers".

"The brave XR activists taking nonviolent action to protect the planet on which we all depend for our survival shouldn't be arrested and charged," she said. "They should be applauded and they should be heard."
What is happening in October?
Extinction Rebellion is set to stage its biggest round of protests yet from 7 to 19 October.

The group says they will be five times bigger than the demonstrations in April with as many as 30,000 people involved. Protests will take place in London and 23 other cities across the world during the two-week period.

Extinction Rebellion plans to occupy 12 sites across London including Trafalgar Square, outside Downing Street, the Home Office, and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Other actions include processions, marches and a sit-in at City Airport where demonstrators will attempt to occupy the space for three days.

Extinction Rebellion spokesman Joel Scott-Halkes said: "We're going to blockade and shut down every single road going into the central area of Westminster around the UK government. We are going to very loudly, very clearly, very respectfully say that if a government is taking its people towards extinction, it is not a government anymore that we respect."

Major events are also planned around the world in Australia, in Europe - in Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam - and in the US in New York and Washington DC.

As of June, Extinction rebellion said that nearly 4,000 of its members were willing to get arrested, with over 3,000 willing to go to prison.

In anticipation of the protests, the Metropolitan Police have asked for new legal powers against protesters.

Police have vowed to arrest an unlimited number of demonstrators if they break protest conditions, despite the "cost" to wider policing in the capital.

"If you choose to come along to this protest and act unlawfully there will be consequences for you," assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave said.

"We intend not just to arrest and detain, but if reasonable and proportionate we will prosecute."

In response to the police announcement, Extinction Rebellion said former police officers had joined its protests and "many are prepared to risk their liberty to stand up for the planet".

"We appeal to the humanity of the government and authorities to remember that we are non-violent protestors," a spokesperson said.

"We appeal to their humanity to remember that we are facing an unprecedented global emergency. Many are losing their lives already and we are called upon as human beings to act now."

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Who are Extinction Rebellion and why are they bringing cities to a standstill?

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Extinction Rebellion is staging a two-week "international rebellion" in October to urge governments around the world to take action on the climate crisis. The environmental campaign group aims to occupy 12 sites in London including Trafalgar Square and outside Downing Street and the Home Office.

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XR says it is the fastest growing direct action climate movement in history. And it has the fashion business in its sights.

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Extinction Rebellion protesters carrying a casket during the mock funeral for fashion last month. Credit... Alexander Coggin for The New York Times

LONDON - Last month, on the final day of London Fashion Week, hundreds of black-clad demonstrators gathered in Trafalgar Square to embark on what they called "a funeral march for fashion."

Gathering behind a band and giant painted coffin, they slowly processed en masse down the Strand, shutting down traffic on the busy thoroughfare as they chanted and handed out leaflets, leaving gridlock and chaos in their wake.

It was just the latest in a series of efforts designed by Extinction Rebellion, or XR, to disrupt the most visible British fashion event of the year. First, protesters covered in fake blood performed a die-in and demanded fashion week be canceled on opening day. Then, outside the Victoria Beckham show, activists had lined up, brandishing posters emblazoned with statements like "R.I.P. LFW 1983-2019" and "Fashion = Ecocide."

Sustainability is at the forefront of the fashion conversation today in a way it has never been before, and the emergence of XR - which 18 months ago consisted of just 10 people in Britain and has since swelled to millions of followers across 72 countries - has stoked the increasingly heated discussion.

Although the movement targets numerous industries and governments worldwide, a recent focus on fashion has been particularly high profile.

Extinction Rebellion, which held demonstrations outside the Manhattan headquarters of The New York Times earlier this year demanding the newspaper increase its focus on climate change, has a distinctive hourglass logo, viral social media campaigns and creatively packaged demands for drastic action. It calls itself the fastest-growing climate and ecology direct action movement in history.

Come Monday, the most ambitious protest effort by the group yet will get underway, with tens of thousands of protesters planning to bring roads around Westminster to gridlock; there will also be a sit-in at London City Airport. This is the beginning of two weeks of environmental demonstrations that will also include repair stations where people can bring their old or damaged clothes.

So how does it all work?

Extinction Rebellion, which originally grew out of the activist group Rising Up! and relies solely on crowdfunding and donations, has three key goals: that governments are transparent about the impact of climate change; that they reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025; and that governments worldwide create citizens' assemblies to set climate priorities.

The group has been deliberately conceived as a self-organizing, non-hierarchical holacracy. There is no single leader or group steering its strategy, tactics and goals. Instead, it is a loose alliance of 150 groups across Britain alone, with volunteers organized into working subgroups, and support teams and responsibilities distributed among chapters.

Meetings and planning sessions tend to take place in online forums and on messaging apps, with meetings offline used for training and creating a sense of community.

Extinction Rebellion is not the first modern protest movement to organize in such a way (there are parallels in particular with the Occupy movement), though the setup can foster a general sense of confusion and disarray.

Volunteers cheerfully describe planning meetings as "pretty crazy and disorganized." A news conference last week ahead of the latest mass protests involved a fair amount of shouting and technical difficulties, and at London Fashion Week, certain planned protests failed to materialize. With the exception of the funeral march, turnouts were generally lower than anticipated.

Indeed, the success, and confusion, around the XR approach to fashion - a sector responsible for about 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations - is fairly representative of the state of the group at large.

"It's always somewhat chaotic and messy, but I suppose that's part of the beauty of Extinction Rebellion," said Sara Arnold, a coordinator of Boycott Fashion, an XR subgroup that has made headlines by urging people to buy no new clothes for a year. "You learn to just run with it and hope for the best."

Ms. Arnold, 32, studied fashion design at Central St Martins before environmental concerns led to a decision not to design or produce new clothes. She founded the clothes rental company Higher Rental, and though she refuses to be classified as a leader - "there are no leaders at XR," she said - she has been one of the more visible and vocal figureheads in the group's efforts to hold the fashion industry to account.

For her, a key reason fashion has become a target for XR activists is because it shapes people's aspirations.

"This is not about the survival of the fashion industry, this is about the survival of the planet," Ms. Arnold said, peering through her trademark oversize glasses. "We are now in a state of emergency. Stopping people consuming is really the only way of having any impact at this point, which is a difficult message for many people to take on board. The changes we are seeing from some brands remain extremely superficial." Ms. Arnold continued.

Unsurprisingly, XR's mission and messaging are not popular among many conventional fashion brands and retailers. But the group has also been spurned by another, more surprising, industry faction: sustainable brands.

Another coordinator, Bel Jacobs, a former fashion editor of the free daily newspaper Metro, said that she and other Extinction Rebellion members had found themselves the target of ire from those who said the campaigning was damaging to a new wave of businesses attempting to improve the ethical and environmental footprint of clothes.

"By asking for huge sacrifices, we know we are alienating ourselves but we are also shifting the Overton window and empowering people, both in and outside the industry," Ms. Jacobs said. "As a communication tool, fashion is so influential. We all have to put clothes on and that has power."

There is some dispute even inside XR about whether it is better to work with the fashion industry or against it.

Last summer, for example, three members of Extinction Rebellion appeared in an advertising campaign for the luxury fashion designer Stella McCartney, roaming the Welsh coastline in expensive new designer clothing, without letting other chapters know. The Boycott Fashion coordinators said the first they heard of the partnership was when they saw the photographs. They were, Ms. Jacobs put delicately, somewhat surprised.

However, at the London news conference last week, Douglas Rogers, an XR spokesman, insisted that the absence of a solid hierarchy is what gives the movement its strength. Fresh efforts were underway to further decentralize its organizing systems from a London rebellion support office to autonomous regional bases, as British police announced this week that they would seek new legal powers against protesters.

More than 1,100 people were arrested at Extinction Rebellion's protests in April, in a police operation that cost £16 million, or $19.7 million. About 850 protesters have been prosecuted and 250 convicted.

"Of course it can be challenging to maintain a communal sense of control, but without visible leadership it makes us stronger in the face of those who would want to break the movement down," Mr. Rogers said, amid a scrum of reporters and activists and vocal pleas that chairs get stacked to make more space in the room.

"I actually find moments like the Stella McCartney campaign reassuring because it shows this really is a rebellion," he said. "Rebellions are messy and overlap and are forged from lots of opinions and actions. It would be very worrying if XR acted like some superslick Silicon Valley-style business. Not that there is much chance of anyone actually thinking that."

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Extinction Rebellion Takes Aim at Fashion

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XR says it is the fastest growing direct action climate movement in history. And it has the fashion business in its sights. LONDON - Last month, on the final day of London Fashion Week, hundreds of black-clad demonstrators gathered in Trafalgar Square to embark on what they called "a funeral march for fashion."

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Stella McCartney + Dame Ellen MacArthur campaign to reduce fashion waste

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Stella McCartney + Dame Ellen MacArthur campaign to reduce fashion waste

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Last night at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, designer Stella McCartney and Dame Ellen MacArthur co-hosted the launch of a sustainability report that sets out a new vision for the fashion industry. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Fibres Initiative Report, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future, laid bare damning findings that will hopefully shock the industry into change.

While the equivalent of a rubbish truck's worth of textiles is wasted every second, less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new pieces. If this continues, the fashion industry will consume one quarter of the world's annual carbon budget by 2050.

Alongside being wasteful, we're already aware of the pollution caused by the clothes we wear. Thought plastic waste was bad? Every year, during washing, garments release half a million tonnes of microfibres into the ocean - the equivalent of more than 50 billion plastic bottles. These microfibres are near-impossible to clean up, and can enter food chains as well as harm our marine life.

While these facts are frightening, and may seem overwhelming, the report offers a positive and progressive alternative future. Industry giants H&M and Nike are among 40 brands and organisations that support and endorse the report, and the authors are calling for an industry-wide collaborative effort to put the sustainable plan into action.

"Today's textile industry is built on an outdated linear, take-make-dispose model and is hugely wasteful and polluting," MacArthur stated. "[This report] presents an ambitious vision of a new system, based on circular economy principles, that offers benefits to the economy, society, and the environment."

The first step in radically changing the way we source, make, buy and retain clothes is to phase out the substances that damage our health and planet, removing all plastic microfibres. Next, a transformation in the disposability of the clothes we wear: we must design them to last longer, and buy with longevity in mind. The third step must address the way we recycle old garments, from considering the fabric's durability to increasing the appeal of renewed pieces. Finally, we should cut down on waste wherever possible, by reusing fabric offcuts and reducing production methods that use colossal amounts of water.

"What really excites me about [the report] is that it provides solutions to an industry that is incredibly wasteful and harmful to the environment," Stella McCartney says. "The report presents a roadmap for us to create better businesses and a better environment. It opens up the conversation that will allow us to find a way to work together to better our industry, for the future of fashion and for the future of the planet."

With some huge names backing the report, we're hoping that the findings and proposals for a healthier, greener, more responsible industry are a challenge the rest of fashion's big hitters will take on.

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Could This Report Wake Up The Fashion Industry?

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Last night at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, designer Stella McCartney and Dame Ellen MacArthur co-hosted the launch of a sustainability report that sets out a new vision for the fashion industry. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Fibres Initiative Report, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future, laid bare damning findings that will hopefully shock the industry into change.

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Stella McCartney Activists + Extinction Rebellion

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Stella McCartney Activists + Extinction Rebellion

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"Hypocrisy at its finest." "A confusing message."

Those are just two of the comments posted to Stella McCartney's Instagram photos of her new campaign starring environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion, a climate awareness group that disrupted London Fashion Week earlier this year. We needn't remind you of McCartney's eco-friendly missive-she has never used leather or fur, doesn't throw away or burn unsold products, champions secondhand shopping, and invests heavily in sustainable technologies-but casting climate activists as models in a luxury ad still registered as eyebrow-raising. Another Instagram commenter points out that XR, as the group is known, recently proposed a year-long boycott on buying new clothes. How can that possibly jibe with advertising that's meant to sell them?

McCartney and XR don't expect to be uniformly cheered here; they hoped the campaign would be provocative, that it would get people talking. They're aware that the partnership doesn't "make sense" within the very narrow definition of what a fashion campaign is supposed to be. (Plenty of other Instagram users understood the dichotomy, of course: "Beautifully defiant!") Yes, the five women in Johnny Dufort's photos have pledged not to buy clothing for a year, and they've petitioned the British Fashion Council to completely cancel London Fashion Week in September by proposing that designers, press, and citizens take the opportunity to meet and discuss the climate crisis instead. Yes, they're wearing dresses and vegan boots from McCartney's (thoughtful, environmentally-friendly) Fall 2019 collection, and you may just feel inclined to go buy them.

"I think there is a mutual understanding between Extinction Rebellion's boycott on fashion and what Stella is trying to achieve," Tori Tsui, a wildlife photographer and XR representative who models in the campaign, tells Vogue. "She understands the climate crisis and why people are frustrated [with the status quo]. What the boycott is meant to do is tell the story of an emergency. We know it won't be realistic for everyone [to stop shopping], but if you can't boycott fashion entirely, buy sustainable. If you can't go vegan, try to eat less meat. If you can't stop flying, then offset your emissions," she continues. "People like Stella are achieving a lot just by making these ideas more mainstream."

"Stella is using her platform to give us a platform, and that's creating a conversation," adds Sara Arnold, an XR coordinator whose resume includes positions at luxury fashion houses. "That's the great thing the fashion industry can do-it's one of the most polluting industries in the world, but it's also one of the most influential. There are limitations on what it can do [to address climate change], but I don't think there are limitations on how you can use that platform."

In today's image-obsessed, social media-driven world, McCartney's choice to feature XR in a seasonal campaign-one that will appear not just on her own website and all over Instagram, but in print and digital media, too-feels more radical than using upcycled fabrics in a runway collection. Campaigns can transmit a message instantly and assertively, and in 2019, it's only natural that they'd begin to feel political. "I've been thinking quite a lot about what it means for activists to be featured as models," says Clare Farrell, another XR coordinator. "In a typical campaign, a model is usually presenting some kind of fantasy about who you might be if you buy this thing, or who you might wish you could be, or what you wish you could look like.... If a brand wants to put forward the idea of an activist being the sexiest, coolest version of a grown woman today, I think that's culturally right-on. Activism hasn't always had a sexy or fashionable image, and these days, everyone is so overloaded with super slick visual communications and branding. If people are going to protest more and more in the future, it has to look like the coolest thing."

What is XR protesting, exactly? In short: the entire fashion system as it stands. They're pushing for a complete reckoning (and not just fashion, but also entertainment, music, travel, etc.) They don't have a rulebook or specific guidelines for designers as far as sourcing fabrics or choosing the "right" factories; that wouldn't amount to a significant impact. They're more focused on galvanizing policy makers and people in power to make sweeping, industry-wide changes, using protests and non-violent civil disobedience to project a greater sense of urgency. (April's 10-day protests throughout London resulted in more than 1,000 arrests and marked the biggest civil disobedience event in recent British history.) "We aren't here to give exact solutions [for designers]," Arnold says. "We believe we should have citizens' assemblies to do that, with groups of normal people informed by experts. The industry should be getting together in crisis talks to work out a way forward. It's not just about switching from regular cotton to organic cotton-you need to be in an emergency mindset. We aren't going to fight this problem unless there is complete systemic change, and that happens through targeting the government, not through individual actions alone."

"What this brings to the table is that trying to change the system from within the system isn't going to work," Farrell adds. "The way the fashion industry is set up is not going to allow the change to happen that needs to happen. As long as we're saying that we want to save the planet and we're still engaged in these activities, it's making the problem worse. Mixing up the way you do business within this model isn't going to be sufficient [when] the scale of mass production has reached this point of insanity," she continues. "To me, it feels like we've lost a lot of time by trying to tackle the problem with the means that caused it in the first place."

That echoes what McCartney has been saying for roughly two decades, but particularly in the past few years. In March, she spoke out against the "throwaway" sustainability messages so many brands are using; the dishonesty around fashion's use of leather (she says it's the worst offender in terms of environmental impact); and the general lack of action from her fellow designers. It's fair to assume that McCartney and members of her team will be participating in Extinction Rebellion's " international rebellion" in October: In the UK, they're shutting down all roads into Westminster in central London, and will "non-violently disrupt the government until our leaders agree to TAKE EMERGENCY ACTION NOW," according to the group's website. "Leading scientists and public figures (including the UN Secretary-General) have estimated we have as little as 18 months to turn it around," the site continues. "The situation is urgent, and we need to ACT NOW. We will rebel for as long as it takes for our government to wake up and realize the death sentence they are giving our young people."

If that language feels extreme, Tsui, who is also a photographer with a background in conservation science, says what drew her to XR is its openness. "I feel like a lot of people are scared of what it means to go to a protest, or they're afraid of being seen as hypocrites," Tsui says. "But at the end of the day, we're all hypocrites. It's really hard to be perfect in an imperfect system. I've come to realize that we are literally all in this together, and it doesn't matter if you can't stop flying or you aren't vegan. The system we're in prevents us from being perfect, and I think the best thing we can do right now is show up and have a conversation about it."

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The Extinction Rebellion Activists of Stella McCartney's Campaign Advocate for "Complete Systemic Change"

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"Hypocrisy at its finest." "A confusing message." Those are just two of the comments posted to Stella McCartney's Instagram photos of her new campaign starring environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion, a climate awareness group that disrupted London Fashion Week earlier this year.

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Fishing nets and discarded plastic are finding their way into wardrobes around the world thanks to a rise in the number of fashion designers using materials made from recycled ocean waste.

Brands including Gucci, Stella McCartney and Adidas are increasingly partnering with organisations such as Parley for the Oceans - which raises awareness of the destructive effect of ocean plastics - and sourcing materials regenerated from companies such as Aquafil, the textile manufacturer that transforms ocean waste into sustainable materials such as Econyl.

Last month, 4,000kg of discarded fishing nets were recovered from waters off the coast of Sicily by Healthy Seas, a joint-venture by non-governmental businesses, before being sent to a recycling plant in Slovenia. It is there that Aquafil spins it into sustainable material for use by the fashion industry.

Richard Malone, a former Central Saint Martins fashion student and now rising star in the designer world, is a leading adopter of Aquafil's materials. His most recent collection for London fashion week, available early next year, featured outfits made from Econyl and was praised by Vogue as "changing all the conversations about who buys and why".

"The fishing nets were extremely exciting," Malone said. "Tonnes are discarded in our oceans every year and [Aquafil's process] create an eco-nylon yarn that can be broken back to yarn again and again and reused, as well as create really beautiful, functional fabrics like sportswear and washable jerseys."

The growing trend for recycling ocean waste and turning it into fashion is, according to the Future Laboratory researcher Rachael Stott, "a definite Blue Planet effect".

"The series reached and impacted millions of people and highlighted how our everyday habits as consumers were causing horrific damage to wildlife and the ocean, and in particular our resilience of single-use plastics."

At Moshi Moshi Mind, the Danish fashion brand that opened its first UK store last month, the star of the season is a £255 winter coat that looks and feels like a traditional down padded coat yet is made entirely from plastic bottles retrieved from the sea. "The fabric is very fine and that has its own [design] challenges, but the idea is to learn and get better with time as we believe this is a long-term strategy," said the label's owner, Jenny Egsten-Ericson.

The newly launched RiLEY Studio uses Econyl to create its exercise wear. "The idea that sustainable fashion must be of lower quality, made from less durable materials, or is generally less attractive is an outdated concept," its founder, Riley Uggla, said.

Previously a niche area of the fashion industry, advances in technology have enabled the production of recycled fashion at scale, said Eco-Age's Harriet Vocking. "It now makes business sense to use the more sustainable option."

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Moshi Moshi Mind has created a padded winter coat made entirely from plastic bottles. Photograph: Moshi Moshi Mind

Despite these advances, Greenpeace warns that the plastic mountain problem is unlikely to be diminished in the near future.

The Greenpeace campaigner Louise Edge said: "We're grateful to anyone removing plastic waste from our oceans or beaches. However, it's not possible for us to remove the truckload of plastic waste we're currently adding to the ocean every minute, just as it is not possible for us to recycle the volume of plastic we are currently producing.

"The only real way to prevent ocean plastic from becoming a massive ecological catastrophe is to massively reduce plastic production, which, unless we act, is set to quadruple over the next few decades."

While Stott also worries that some corporations "won't act responsibly if they know their waste can be reused [making them] less inclined to work on developing plastic alternatives", it is a big step in the right direction.

"The demand for environmentally conscious clothing is there, with 72% of Generation Z women stating that it is imperative to buy brands that are environmentally friendly," Stott said. "Brands need to recognise that by changing their supply chains to integrate recycling, they are future proofing their customer base."
Topics

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Trawling for trash: the brands turning plastic pollution into fashion

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Fishing nets and discarded plastic are finding their way into wardrobes around the world thanks to a rise in the number of fashion designers using materials made from recycled ocean waste.

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Fishing nets and discarded plastic are finding their way into wardrobes around the world thanks to a rise in the number of fashion designers using materials made from recycled ocean waste.

Brands including Gucci, Stella McCartney and Adidas are increasingly partnering with organisations such as Parley for the Oceans - which raises awareness of the destructive effect of ocean plastics - and sourcing materials regenerated from companies such as Aquafil, the textile manufacturer that transforms ocean waste into sustainable materials such as Econyl.

Last month, 4,000kg of discarded fishing nets were recovered from waters off the coast of Sicily by Healthy Seas, a joint-venture by non-governmental businesses, before being sent to a recycling plant in Slovenia. It is there that Aquafil spins it into sustainable material for use by the fashion industry.

Richard Malone, a former Central Saint Martins fashion student and now rising star in the designer world, is a leading adopter of Aquafil's materials. His most recent collection for London fashion week, available early next year, featured outfits made from Econyl and was praised by Vogue as "changing all the conversations about who buys and why".

"The fishing nets were extremely exciting," Malone said. "Tonnes are discarded in our oceans every year and [Aquafil's process] create an eco-nylon yarn that can be broken back to yarn again and again and reused, as well as create really beautiful, functional fabrics like sportswear and washable jerseys."

The growing trend for recycling ocean waste and turning it into fashion is, according to the Future Laboratory researcher Rachael Stott, "a definite Blue Planet effect".

"The series reached and impacted millions of people and highlighted how our everyday habits as consumers were causing horrific damage to wildlife and the ocean, and in particular our resilience of single-use plastics."

At Moshi Moshi Mind, the Danish fashion brand that opened its first UK store last month, the star of the season is a £255 winter coat that looks and feels like a traditional down padded coat yet is made entirely from plastic bottles retrieved from the sea. "The fabric is very fine and that has its own [design] challenges, but the idea is to learn and get better with time as we believe this is a long-term strategy," said the label's owner, Jenny Egsten-Ericson.

The newly launched RiLEY Studio uses Econyl to create its exercise wear. "The idea that sustainable fashion must be of lower quality, made from less durable materials, or is generally less attractive is an outdated concept," its founder, Riley Uggla, said.

Previously a niche area of the fashion industry, advances in technology have enabled the production of recycled fashion at scale, said Eco-Age's Harriet Vocking. "It now makes business sense to use the more sustainable option."

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Moshi Moshi Mind has created a padded winter coat made entirely from plastic bottles. Photograph: Moshi Moshi Mind

Despite these advances, Greenpeace warns that the plastic mountain problem is unlikely to be diminished in the near future.

The Greenpeace campaigner Louise Edge said: "We're grateful to anyone removing plastic waste from our oceans or beaches. However, it's not possible for us to remove the truckload of plastic waste we're currently adding to the ocean every minute, just as it is not possible for us to recycle the volume of plastic we are currently producing.

"The only real way to prevent ocean plastic from becoming a massive ecological catastrophe is to massively reduce plastic production, which, unless we act, is set to quadruple over the next few decades."

While Stott also worries that some corporations "won't act responsibly if they know their waste can be reused [making them] less inclined to work on developing plastic alternatives", it is a big step in the right direction.

"The demand for environmentally conscious clothing is there, with 72% of Generation Z women stating that it is imperative to buy brands that are environmentally friendly," Stott said. "Brands need to recognise that by changing their supply chains to integrate recycling, they are future proofing their customer base."
Topics

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Trawling for trash: the brands turning plastic pollution into fashion

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Fishing nets and discarded plastic are finding their way into wardrobes around the world thanks to a rise in the number of fashion designers using materials made from recycled ocean waste.

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Fashion brands creating garments from ocean waste

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Fashion brands creating garments from ocean waste

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You may think you how bad plastic is, and you know that it's damaging our oceans, but did you know that every minute, the equivalent of a dump truck of plastic enters the ocean?

Did you know that an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic pollutes our oceans every year?

Did you know that by 2050 it's estimated there will be more plastic than fish by weight?

Did you know that, at some point in our lives, we'll consume fish that has digested plastic microfibres?

Did you also know that clothing and textiles are the primary source of microplastics in our oceans?

It's not just plastic bottles or plastic bags that are causing the problem, but it is in fact predominantly the products that you hang in your wardrobe and put on your body. Various forms of plastic, like polyester, acrylic, and nylon reportedly now make up about 60% of our clothes

But while the fashion industry is entirely guilty of being one of the world's biggest polluters up until now, it is becoming one of the most innovative and proactive industry's in the fight for our planet, with sustainable fashion becoming more, well, fashionable than ever.

To celebrate World Oceans Day, and put a spotlight on the reality behind the often ignored concept of ocean pollution, we've rounded up 6 brands who are not only creating sustainable pieces, but are using ocean waste itself to create them...

1. PAPER LONDON

PAPER is a supremely chic, sustainable brand, whose swimwear is made using a sustainable material fabricated from recycled fishing nets. "Technical fabrics are so fascinating right now", Kelly Townsend, the label's creative director, told Glamour UK, "and they can virtually do anything. Turning fishing nets into luxurious swimwear jersey - which is quick drying - is just one of them."

2. STELLA MCCARTNEY

Known just as well for her commitment to ethical and sustainable practices as she is for her brilliant designs, Stella McCartney is unsurprisingly also experimenting with fabrics made from ocean waste and much of her sportswear line is crafted from Econyl. She has also previously teamed up with Parley for the Oceans in the fight against marine plastic pollution.

3. OCEANUS

With an aesthetic focus on '80s eveningwear glamour and an ethical focus on sustainability, swimwear label Oceanus is ticking a *lot* of our boxes. Each piece is crafted with recycled materials and finished with hand-embroidered Swarovski crystals - who said conscious fashion couldn't be exciting?

3. ADIDAS x PARLEY

Another label frequently teaming up with Parley for the Oceans is adidas, who have been working with the organisation since 2015. Together they've grown beyond the initial line of ethically produced footwear, now producing workout gear, athleisure and more, not only promoting the mission and raising money and awareness, but also ridding masses of waste from our oceans.

5. TIMEX WATCHES

Launching the brand new Waterbury Ocean collection just in time for World Ocean Day, Timex Watches have revealed a resin style crafted from upcycled ocean-bound plastic in partnership with #tide, an organisation offering a solution to ocean pollution. The watches, £90, will be available from June 8th.

6. TOGETHERBAND

An extension of the Bottletop brand - whose simple mission is to empower both people and the planet - the #togetherband is an initiative that sees friendship bracelets made from upcycled ocean plastic from Costa Rica, re-cycled illegal firearm metal from El Salvador and made by a group of women in Nepal who have been rescued from human trafficking. It has a number of celebrity backers, including models Naomi Campbell, Doutzen Kroes, and sportsmen Aaron Ramsey and Andy Murray.

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These 6 fashion brands are creating pieces from ocean waste that wouldn't look out of place in the world's chicest wardrobes

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From Stella McCartney to Paper London, adidas and Stella McCartney... Here are 6 fashion brands creating product from ocean waste that you need to know about.

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Each year, millions of tons of plastic get diverted, intentionally or accidentally, into the world's oceans. This has been going on for decades and has created some pretty ugly scenes: huge islands of plastic swirling in the Pacific, coastlines frothing with shampoo bottles and candy wrappers, animal stomachs filled with detritus.

It's a problem that is only growing as plastic consumption rises in countries everywhere and it poses a major threat to marine life. Big and little pieces are mistaken for food and cause health problems for animals. As plastic deteriorates it leaches toxic chemicals into the water. And as plastic crumbles into smaller and smaller pieces it can blanket the seafloor, disrupting plant life.

So what can be done? Fortunately, a lot of people are waking up to the tragedy of treating the oceans like dumpsters and are starting to take action. From scientists to governments to corporations, innovative solutions are being devised to clean up the oceans and prevent plastic from getting into waterways in the first place.
Read More: 10 Super Cool Products Your Recycled Materials Could Become
Then there are the artists, who see the grime of ocean waste as an opportunity for beauty. Through the transformative power of art, people are bringing awareness to the problem of plastic waste in thought-provoking and charming ways.

Here are 5 artists turning ocean pollution into something beautiful:

1/ Washed Ashore

Washed Ashore collects trash that has been gathered by community clean-up efforts along beaches. The trash is then cleaned, sorted, and prepared, and then an artist conceives of a sculpture that evokes marine life and uses a significant amount of plastic. Since the organization's launch in 2010, their team has helped clean more than 300 miles of beach.

Let's make Every Day #AmericaRecyclesDay Starting Now! You can be certain our Parrot Fish agrees. More photos/info @ https://t.co/RHh1dcKWSS pic.twitter.com/OG5H7WGlew
- Washed Ashore (@WashedAshoreArt) November 15, 2016

GERTRUDE & HER FRIENDS ARE TEACHING ABOUT MARINE DEBRIS AT GEORGIA AQUARIUM NOW TILL SEPT! https://t.co/v03coErY5m pic.twitter.com/OqhpOvwD6c
- Washed Ashore (@WashedAshoreArt) May 15, 2016

A sea of MARINE DEBRIS JELLY FISH & more LAND AT HOUSTON ZOO!
SEE EXHIBIT until April 15. https://t.co/Q8IULXxZDa pic.twitter.com/oixuc8DnOJ
- Washed Ashore (@WashedAshoreArt) January 18, 2016

2/ Daydreamers Design

Daydreamers Design collected 4,800 five-gallon water bottles to create this immense sphere of light. Suggesting traditional Chinese paper lanterns, the "Rising Moon" project was installed in Hong Kong in 2013. The bottles contain LED torches and during it's display, a light show would be choreographed, reflecting off the water and illuminating the pavillion.

3/ Mandy Barker

The photographer Mandy Barker created scenes of plastic gathered from more than 30 different beaches in Hong Kong, a city that dumps 1,826 tons of plastic to landfills each day. The plastic in "Hong Kong Soup: 1826" are shards of color suspended in dark emptiness, suggesting an explosion or disintegration, or that nature has no place for this artificial waste.

Me ha encantado este proyecto de @plasticpieces "Hong Kong Soup 1826" http://t.co/akMXYbFf71 via @WIRED pic.twitter.com/WLGQ78rhyV
- Jorge de Soto (@jrgdesoto) July 18, 2015

4/ TuulaNärhinen

The Finnish sculptor Tuula Närhinen used plastic debris washed up on the Harakka Island to construct various creatures. She then put the creatures in the water and filmed and photographed them as if they were sea creatures. Finally, she displayed the photographs as if the plastic frankensteins were scientific specimens.

'The Baltic Sea Plastique' Installation explores the complexity & controversial nature of plastic waste #Ecoart pic.twitter.com/6dOQwPQuBL
- Dekit (@dekitdekit) June 13, 2016

5/ Pascale Marthine Tayou

Plastic bags are ubiquitous and to convey the sheer scale of their presence in the world, Pascale Marthine Tayou created an immense, bullet-like sculpture of plastic bags. The many colors of the bags suggest something happy and carnivalesque, but the ragged material of the bags shatters that illusion. The plastic bags, which are often discarded and end up drifting through the world, are also intended to imply homelessness: there is no home for plastic in nature.

Plastic Bags 2012
Pascale Marthine Tayou pic.twitter.com/roH1D6ruez
- Claudia Mangiamele (@ClaudMang) January 8, 2016

Artwork called Plastic Bags, by Cameroon-born artist Pascale Marthine Tayou. Global Imaginations. Leiden, Holland pic.twitter.com/PTbPevIC77
- Erwin Thie (@Earth2Mankind) June 12, 2015

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5 Artists Turning the Ocean's Plastic Waste into Stunningly Beautiful Designs

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Each year, millions of tons of plastic get diverted, intentionally or accidentally, into the world's oceans. This has been going on for decades and has created some pretty ugly scenes: huge islands of plastic swirling in the Pacific, coastlines frothing with shampoo bottles and candy wrappers, animal stomachs filled with detritus.

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13 Artists Who Turned Ocean Trash Into Amazing Art

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For World Oceans Day, 13 artists using marine plastic in their work.

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by Cathy

For Earth Day, the Kodiak High School Students created a massive Octopus work of art all created from marine debris. What is interesting, the same debris is in on our beaches in San Diego. We do not have as many fishing lines, but those toys look familiar.

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Massive Octopus Sculpture Created From Marine Litter

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by Cathy For Earth Day, the Kodiak High School Students created a massive Octopus work of art all created from marine debris. What is interesting, the same debris is in on our beaches in San Diego. We do not have as many fishing lines, but those toys look familiar.

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How Can We Solve Plastic Pollution?

We need to tackle the problem of marine debris head on. It's not just an issue for environmentally conscious, it is an issue that ultimately affects human health. Man is a top predator that feeds on a variety of ocean fish, shellfish, and other marine species. We face the same risks as the killer whale and polar bear.

While any plastic or polystyrene pellets that may have been clogging the gut of the fish that is nicely presented on our dinner plate have been long removed, the toxic contaminants originating from that debris remain stored in the flesh we are about to eat. Food for thought indeed.

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Plastic Pollution Guide - Ocean Pollution Facts & Figures

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We need to tackle the problem of marine debris head on. It's not just an issue for environmentally conscious, it is an issue that ultimately affects human health. Man is a top predator that feeds on a variety of ocean fish, shellfish, and other marine species.

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Plastics in the Ocean - Ocean Conservancy

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Plastic. A truck load of the moldable, powerful, indestructible stuff is dumped into our oceans every minute. Despite positive moves in the right direction - plastic straws have finally earned pariah status; plastic bags come with fines; big brands are beginning to follow in the vanguard footsteps of zero-plastic movements - the ocean is still choked with around six billion tonnes of toxic packaging, waste and pollution.

Creative powerhouses (artists, designers, makers) have a responsibility - and an opportunity - to set the agenda for a sustainable future, just as much as our politicians and environmental scientists. Creators can visually explain why sustainable design is important. Here's eight creative forces you need to know about, who are doing just that.
Parley for the Oceans

Front-runners in ocean-conscious design, Parley for the Oceans is a global network of creators who together raise awareness of the beauty - and fragility - of our oceans. Founder Cyrill Gutsch has bridged the narrowing divide between the traditional environmentalist community into the cultural one, having collaborated with Doug Aitken (2016), Stella McCartney and Adidas, amongst others.

Parley first contributed its eco-friendly, up-cycled fabrics to Adidas in 2015 in a history-making collaboration - the world's first pair of ocean-conscious trainers. The pioneering pair are fighting the good fight into 2018, having just launched a new trainer - NMD_CS1 Parley (pictured top) - made from Parley's Primeknit construction. With a contoured, sock-like fit, the yarn is made from plastic waste that has been intercepted from beaches and coastal communities - before it reaches the beaches.

In keeping with the oceanic theme, the NMD_CS1 Parley is rendered in clean blue with contrasting black striping details, finished with a branded woven heel pull. It's another step toward raising awareness of the environmental issues affecting our seas, and, says Parley, it aims 'to create change, widen the conversation and grow the movement, from threat to thread'.
Soma
Water bottle and re-usable filter designer Soma has been innovating sustainably - and stylishly - since 2014. As well being made from post-consumer waste and recyclable materials, each of its products is a minimal objet d'art.

Though usually focussed on raising money for 'charity: water', which aims to provide clean drinking water in developing countries, Soma has recently made its first foray into ocean preservation. Launched in April 2018, the Soma glass water bottle - created in partnership with Parley for the Oceans and available exclusively at Starbucks - has a sleeve made from material equivalent to two plastic bottles, intercepted from remote islands and coastal communities. Inside, the lightweight and durable glass bottle is made from 100% BPA-free, shatter-resistant glass, and the bamboo cap is leak-proof and made from equally renewable resources.

Soma also aims to make its business habits as environmentally conscious as its products and charitable ventures. It offsets its emissions with conservation-based forestry, and its code of conduct sets standards for labour practices, transparency, animal-welfare, and anti-discrimination policies. 'Shifting mindsets and behaviours is as important as creating new systems and materials,' explains Cyrill Gutsch of the project. 'We all have a role to play. This bottle is another reminder of that fact and the beginning of a new collaboration in the movement for solutions.'
Wehlers
In an attempt to make a circular economy from its designs, Europe's first certified B-corporation furniture brand Wehlers has created a so-called 'ECO-system' of objects with one, key aim: to prevent single-use furniture and plastic from re-entering the oceans. Just nine months in the making, the Danish design up-and-comer has created a collection of furniture from up-cycled fishing nets, dumped along the west coast of Denmark - a pollutant they say is 'rising year on year'.

A highlight of the mid-century modern-inspired collection is the humorously titled 'Obvious' daybed (pictured), upholstered with Kvadrat textiles. Its name not only points to the simplicity of its design, but also the potential ubiquitousness of ocean-conscious making. It says: everyone should, and could, be creating products as ocean-aware as this.

'We don't think the world needs more designed furniture,' explain founders Maria and Henrik Holm, who moniker their brand 'furniture for good'. 'However, we do think that it needs more options for conscious consumption. We founded the company to be the positive change we wish to see in the world. For the sake of our children and their children. Our place in history depends on the choices we make.'
Made Thought
In collaboration with lobbying group and grass roots organisation A Plastic Planet, London-based design studio Made Thought has shaped a simple graphic icon that it hopes will underpin a new approach to supermarket shopping.

The 'Plastic Free Mark' aims to help consumers make informed choices about the packaging they buy. A simple graphic device that's designed to work with any product, the mark recently debuted in Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza with the launch of the world's first Plastic Free Aisle, dubbed the Ekoplaza Lab. This pilot project features 700 products that showcase natural bio-materials and other easily recyclable pieces of packaging.

'Even after decades of European authorities collecting recycling, only nine per cent of our waste is recycled,' Made Thought explains. 'It is clear that recycling does not go far enough: that is why A Plastic Planet is keen to turn off the plastic tap.'

'We are actively discussing using the mark in a number of high-end drinks and spirits brands. More importantly, right now we are in conversation with a number of our clients across the skincare and hospitality industries about how we can become plastic free across their entire business operation. This degree of change is really exciting because we believe for design to be truly progressive it has to change behaviour at this level.'
Brodie Neill
In September 2017, designer Brodie Neill presented his innovative Ocean Terazzo collection at the Foster + Partners-designed ME Hotel in London. First developed in 2016 for his Plastic Effects installation at the Australian Pavilion at London Design Biennale, he describes the material, which is made from small fragments of reconstituted plastic, as 'nature-driven technology'. Inspired by nineteenth century mosaic-style table tops, the material (as seen in his now storied table Gyro) substitutes examples of precious marble, timber and ivory for the plastic composite, in a contemporary re-definition of what we consider to be 'precious'.

Reflecting both the textures and colours of the ocean, the surface evokes spray washing over a pebble beach - a poignant message, as Neill worked with an international network of beachcombers to create the works. Some of the plastic was found on the beaches of Tasmania, a UNESCO world heritage site, and Neill's home.
Christopher Raeburn, CanO Water and London Zoo
UK-based CanO Water was established in 2015 with the aim of creating a 'sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bottles', instead packaging drinking water inside aluminium cans. Earlier this year, collaborative fashion studio Christpher Raeburn partnered with CanO, alongside somewhat unlikely bedfellow London Zoo. Each disparate company is united by one common passion: stemming the tide on plastic pollution. The cans now take the space once filled by water bottles at both London and Whipsnade Zoo.

'Our latest A/W 2018 Immerse collection was a real creative call to arms, inspired by our fragile oceans,' explains Raeburn. 'On a personal level I also found the BBC series Blue Planet 2 to be incredibly impactful and, along with so many others that viewed the series, I wanted to help make a difference.'

Raeburn's role in the CanO initiative was to invent a playful and striking design, while making the can London Zoo-specific. Naturally, he looked to his studio's all-over shark print pattern, which swims the can's circumference, 'reinforcing the wider message around ocean pollution; and the fact it affects all marine species.'

He continues, 'I think as a designer you have an obligation to consider what you are doing and why; ultimately we want to make strong, sustainable choices that provide our customers with a completely unique and desirable product.'
La Bouche
La Bouche is fishing plastic awareness from the depths of the oceans - and consiousnesses - and placing it directly under our noses - literally. Cosmetics labels - so often notorious for their plastic packaging and heavy reliance on oil - are perhaps not what you might expect to find in a hot list of environmentally-conscious designers, but this French Maison is revolutionising its industry, with mindful, environmental and humanist values. The La Baume Rose case (pictured) is plastic free, and the colour refill is the most environmentally friendly refill ever created, with no harmful polymers.

'I like the idea that buying a lipstick can become activism, the symbol of a conscience,' says model Anja Rubik, the original face of the Maison, who launched two new colourways with New York concept store The Webster earlier this year. She continues: 'Only creativity and collaboration will end marine plastic pollution.'
Plastic Whale, Vepa and LAMA Concept
In an effort to help solve the plastic soup problem, Dutch social enterprise Plastic Whale and manufacturer Vepa have launched the Plastic Whale Circular Collection; high-end office furniture that is made from plastic fished-out of Amsterdam's canals by hand, with help from thousands of local residents. The social enterprise previously built ten designer sloop sailing boats made from recycled waste, which are now used on these so-called 'plastic fishing' expeditions.

But, 'with office furniture we can make an even greater impact, as many companies want to make a positive contribution to a cleaner environment,' Plastic Whale explains. The debut collection consists of a boardroom table, a chair, lamps and acoustic wall panels (all pictured above), designed by local studio LAMA Concept. Circularity - both physically and theoretically - is key to the design, and the whale serves as a source of inspiration. 'Plastic soup is a huge threat for this incredible mammal, and so we have translated characteristic elements of the whale into the designs,' Yvonne Laurysen, co-owner of LAMA explains. 'Think, for example, of the look and feel of its skin, the adipose tissue and the impressive skeleton.'

The design circularity continues after the modular furniture's lifetime. Each piece is assembled in such a way that it can easily be disassembled and reincarnated, its bare bones used to make fresh raw materials. To whit, part of the profits will be donated to charities that aim to preserve our oceans.
Nespresso and Caran D'Ache
Doing their bit for the planet, these two Swiss companies have teamed up to create a limited edition pen made from recycled coffee capsules. Formed from the lightweight but robust aluminium, the Nespresso 849 ballpoint by Caran D'Ache bares all the brand's typical quality and innovative Swiss design, with the added nod towards sustainability. Writers are reminded of this, thanks to the subtle engraving 'Made with recycled Nespresso Capsules' on the face opposing the flexible steel clip.

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9 designers, artists and activists changing the tide on ocean sustainability

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Plastic. A truck load of the moldable, powerful, indestructible stuff is dumped into our oceans every minute. Despite positive moves in the right direction - plastic straws have finally earned pariah status; plastic bags come with fines; big brands are...

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Why the ocean holds the key to sustainable development

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With just 12 years to go before the 2030 deadline for meeting the SDGs, it is clear that the ocean will play a central role. World leaders much act now, writes the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg.

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Oceans & Seas .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform

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Oceans, seas and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth's ecosystem and are critical to sustainable development. They cover more than two-thirds of the earth's surface and contain 97% of the planet's water. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication by creating sustainable livelihoods and decent work.

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How Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Inspired the Art World to Address Climate change

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How Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Inspired the Art World to Address Climate change

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Later this month, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will visit the UN's Climate Action Summit in New York. As part of the convention, she has been invited to visit the British artist Michael Pinsky's work, Pollution Pods , which will be installed in front of the UN building and presents six interconnected, climatically controlled chambers that mimic the relative air quality in cities around the world, from London to Beijing.

Since the teenage activist began a humble school strike for the climate a year ago, she has quickly become a household name-and an inspiration for many in the art world. Her message-that we need systemic action to protect our environmental future-has gained enough momentum to earn itself a name: the "Greta Thunberg Effect."

In the culture world, she has inspired installations like Pinsky's; portraits by the painter Elizabeth Peyton and the photographer Hellen van Meene; a mural by the street artist Jody Thomas; a multimedia work by Justin Brice Guariglia; and an exhibition by the curator Francesca Pietropaolo.

"What is remarkable about Greta is that she suddenly became a huge presence slightly over a year ago and now it seems like she has been there forever," Pinsky tells artnet News.

While youth movements have a long history-Pinsky remembers protesting an exhibition that promoted nuclear power at the National Museum of Scotland when he was 11 years old-something about Thunberg has managed to capture the zeitgeist in an unprecedented way.

The Greta Thunberg Effect

Given Thunberg's clear resonance, it is no surprise that she has inspired not only artists, but also curators.

At this year's Venice Biennale, where climate change is a major , the Italian curator Francesca Pietropaolo co-organized a show that explores the issue with artist and curator Phong Bui. And Pietropaolo, perhaps unsurprisingly, cites Thunberg, who declined to be interviewed for this article, as an influence.

"Greta is an inspiring member of the new generation," Pietropaolo tells artnet News. "Her voice has become an important catalyst for change." Pietropaolo is particularly interested in the positive tone of Thunberg's activism, which is in contrast to the apocalyptic, spectacular tone of so many others.

"I think that Greta's activism could also inspire a reflection, from a curatorial perspective, on the making of contemporary art exhibitions, taking into consideration their very process in order to evaluate their environmental impact," Pietropaolo says. Curators could be inspired, for example, to study and reflect upon the environmental footprint they leave when they do their work. "I think of Venice in particular, with its fragile reality."

The practical impact of Thunberg's voice is not limited to Pietropaolo. The Dutch photographer Hellen van Meene, who shot Thunberg for the cover of TIME magazine, tells artnet News that after they met, she decided to travel to London and Berlin via train for a later work trip, rather than to take an emission-heavy airplane .

"There has been a palpable change of mood in the arts sector, with a real sense of urgency and a desire for action being driven by artists and the wider public," the director of Tate Modern, Frances Morris, tells artnet News.

The directors of the Tate galleries recently declared a climate emergency and laid out a plan to improve the institution's commitment to sustainability, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 10 percent within four years.

"An emergency of this magnitude can easily feel overwhelming, so the voices of people like Greta Thunberg have an important role to play," Morris explains . "They help provide focus and inspiration, particularly for a younger generation whose lives will be profoundly shaped by this crisis."

Similarly, the curator Lucia Pietroiusti, who organized the prize-winning Lithuanian pavilion in Venice, has introduced a General Ecology project at the Serpentine Galleries in London, which has committed to reducing its carbon footprint. In 2020, it will be dedicating its entire 50th anniversary year to ecological concerns.

At the same time, Thunberg and others have called upon institutions to break their partnerships with fuel companies such as BP. While Tate Modern ended a years-long partnership with the oil giant BP in 2017, others have been slower to make the transition, and Thunberg's voice is amplifying the pressure.

"... I do not wish to be associated with BP any more than I would with an arms dealer, a tobacco salesmen or any company or individual who willfully destroys the lives of others alive and unborn."

This is what a role model looks like in 2019. https://t.co/Ts4x51Skdg

- Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) June 26, 2019

The codirector of the activist group Culture Unstained, Chris Garrard, tells artnet News that even through a tweet, Thunberg has played a powerful role.

"In just the past few weeks, the directors of the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Science Museum have endorsed BP and Big Oil," he says. "The impact of Greta's activism has been that their oil sponsorship deals now look out of date and out of step with the wider sector, and will only do damage to their reputations."

Actions and Words

Images of the young Swedish woman, meanwhile, have become a stand-in for her message.

Last spring , Peyton presented a picture of Thunberg at Sadie Coles HQ in London. But the visibility of that work paled in comparison to a massive, 50-foot mural of Thunberg made in Bristol that depicts her submerged in rising floods, with the waterline raised high enough to sabotage her most powerful weapon: her mouth.

"When someone gives you a wall, they're giving you a stage, an opportunity to step up and make an impact," the street artist who created the mural, Jody Thomas, tells artnet News. When he landed on the idea of painting the young climate activist, Thomas says "it just felt right." He says his proposal for the wall received the fastest approval of any mural project he has ever done.

His image soon went viral, even making it as far as Thunberg's own Instagram page, where the activist adopted it as her profile picture. "The fact that the piece went global is testament to the fact that street artists and artists can play a role in visualizing a tricky and contentious issue at the moment that is very much on the minds of everyone," Thomas says.

Thunberg's words have also served as fodder for artists. The US artist Justin Brice Guariglia included sections of a speech she delivered at the World Economic Forum in a courtyard installation presented at London's Somerset House in the spring. The work, Reduce Speed Now! , was made of nine solar-powered highway message boards, which presented texts about climate change from Thunberg, Bruno Latour, Zadie Smith, and other philosophers, anthropologists, and poets.

"When Greta came along, she was like a breath of fresh air," Guariglia tells artnet news. " Here was this young woman who was essentially like the Lorax," he says, referring to the Dr. Seuss character who speaks on behalf of trees. "She is speaking up for the next generation, the people that don't have a voice."

Guariglia says that although he has been making art about climate change for the past decade, it takes an "exceptionally good communicator" like Thunberg to really convey the urgency of the problem.

"When I think about my work, especially when I'm working with text, I'm thinking in that same mode," Guariglia says. "How can I be really pithy? How do you communicate that we're heading towards 100 million-plus climate crisis refugees? How do you communicate these ideas in ways that the general public would actually be concerned?"

In Guariglia's eyes, Thunberg successfully gives people new language with which to discuss these "very important, very urgent, very existential" issues.

Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.

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How Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Inspired the Art World to Address the Biggest Problem Facing Humanity

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Later this month, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will visit the UN's Climate Action Summit in New York. As part of the convention, she has been invited to visit the British artist Michael Pinsky's work, Pollution Pods , which will be installed in front of the UN building and presents six interconnected, climatically controlled chambers that mimic the relative air quality in cities around the world, from London to Beijing.

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Greta Thunberg

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Greta Thunberg: teenager on a global mission to ‘make a difference’

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Swedish environment activist’s campaign began with solo climate protest and drew 4 million to latest strikes

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What Is Sustainability?

In the broadest sense, sustainability refers to the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time. In business and policy contexts, sustainability seeks to prevent the depletion of natural or physical resources, so that they will remain available for the long term.

How Sustainability Works

Accordingly, sustainable policies emphasize the future effect of any given policy or business practice on humans, ecosystems, and the wider economy. The concept often corresponds to the belief that without major changes to the way the planet is run, it will suffer irreparable damage.

As concerns about anthropogenic climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution have become more widespread, the world has shifted to embrace sustainable practices and policies, primarily through the implementation of sustainable business practices and increased investments in green technology.

3 Pillars of Sustainability

The idea of sustainability is often broken down into three pillars: economic, environmental, and social-also known informally as profits, planet, and people.

In that breakdown, the concept of "economic sustainability" focuses on conserving the natural resources that provide physical inputs for economic production, including both renewable and exhaustible inputs.

The concept of "environmental sustainability" adds greater emphasis on the life support systems, such as the atmosphere or soil, that must be maintained for economic production or human life to even occur. In contrast, social sustainability focuses on the human effects of economic systems, and the category includes attempts to eradicate poverty and hunger, as well as to combat inequality.

In 1983, the United Nations created the World Commission on Environment and Development to study the connection between ecological health, economic development, and social equity. The commission, then run by former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, published a report in 1987 that has become the standard in defining sustainable development.

That report describes sustainable development, or the blueprint for attaining sustainability, as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Corporate Sustainability

In business contexts, sustainability refers to more than just environmentalism. Harvard Business School lists two ways to measure sustainable business practices: the effect a business has on the environment, and the effect a business has on society, with the goal of sustainable practice being to have a positive impact on at least one of those areas.

This view of responsibility encourages businesses to balance long-term benefits with immediate returns, and the goal of pursuing inclusive and environmentally sound objectives. This covers a broad array of possible practices. Cutting emissions, lowering energy usage, sourcing products from fair-trade organizations, and ensuring their physical waste is disposed of properly and with a smaller carbon footprint would qualify as moves toward sustainability.

Companies have also set sustainability goals such as a commitment to zero-waste packaging by a certain year, or to reduce overall emissions by a certain percentage.

Many corporations have made such sustainability promises in recent years. For example, Walmart Stores, Inc. ( WMT) has pledged to reach zero emissions by 2040. Morgan Stanley has pledged net-zero "financed emissions" by 2050. Google has pledged to operate carbon-free by 2030.

The push for sustainability is evident in areas such as energy generation as well, where the focus has been on finding new deposits to outpace the drawdown on existing reserves. Some electricity companies, for example, now publicly state goals for energy generation from sustainable sources such as wind, hydropower, and solar.

Because these policies tend to generate public goodwill, some companies have been accused of " greenwashing," the practice of providing a false impression that makes a business seem more environmentally friendly than it is.

Cost Cutting

Moreover, many companies have been criticized for cost-cutting measures that make it harder to evaluate their sustainability. For example, many companies might move some parts of their business to less-regulated markets, such as by offshoring production to obtain cheaper labor. This can make it harder to assess the costs of production on workers and the environment.

Sustainability practices "significantly affect" the offshoring activities of multinational corporations, according to an examination of data from 1,080 multinational corporations.

Challenges Surrounding Business Sustainability

The switch to sustainability can be difficult. The Santa Fe Institute outlines three major impediments for firms seeking to improve their environmental impacts: First, it is hard to actually understand the impact of any individual firm. Second, it is difficult to rank the environmental impact of some activities, and finally, it is difficult to predict how economic agents respond to changing incentives.

Sustainable investing surveys over the past couple of years have suggested that half (or in some cases, more than half) of investors say that sustainability is "fundamental" to investing strategy.

Not everyone concerned with investments shares the enthusiasm. In July 2021, for instance, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce argued that not only would environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure mandates violate the agency's authority, but it may also "undermine financial and economic stability."

According to Peirce, the "inherently political" sustainability metrics were "unabashedly" created to direct capital toward certain businesses. In response to public comments and regulatory pressure to look into such mandates, Peirce said that it would be a violation of the SEC's "historically agnostic approach" to regulations.

Eiji Hirano, a former chairman of the board of visitors for Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, has said that there's a bubble in ESG investing and that the fund needs to rethink its ESG investments, according to interviews with Bloomberg News.

Benefits of Business Sustainability

In addition to the social benefits of improving the environment and elevating human needs, there are also financial benefits for companies that successfully implement sustainability strategies. Using resources sustainability can improve the long-term viability of a business concern, just as cutting waste and pollution can also help a company save money.

For example, using more efficient lighting and plumbing fixtures can help a company save on utility bills, as well as improve its public image. There may also be government tax incentives for companies that adopt certain sustainability practices.

Sustainability can also make a company more attractive to investors. A 2019 HEC Paris Research paper showed that shareholders value the ethical dimensions of a firm so much that they are willing to pay $.70 more to purchase a share in a firm that gives a dollar or more per share to charities. The study also revealed a loss in valuation for firms perceived as exercising a negative social impact.

Based on interviews with senior executives across 43 global investing firms, Harvard Business Review has argued that the perception among some business leaders that environmental, social, and governance issues are not mainstream in the investment community is outdated.

The "sea change" in investor attitudes described by Harvard Business Review draws on the increased commitments of investors. The Principles for Responsible Investment, a United Nations-supported effort to bring these issues into investing, had 63 investment companies with $6.5 trillion in assets under management that committed when it launched in 2006. In 2018, it had 1,715 companies with $81.7 trillion in assets.

Creating a Sustainable Business Strategy

Many corporations are seeking to integrate sustainability practices into their core business models. Companies can adopt sustainability strategies in the same way that they develop their other strategic plans.

The first step to integrating sustainability practices is to identify a specific weakness shortcoming. For example, a company might determine that it generates too much waste, or that its hiring practices are causing harm to the surrounding communities.

Next, the company should determine its goals, and identify the metrics it will use to measure its achievements. A company might set an ambitious target for reducing its carbon footprint, or set a specific percentage goal for diversity hiring. This will allow the company to determine objectively if its goals have been met.

The final step is to implement the strategy and assess its results. This requires continuous re-evaluation, as a company's goals may change as the company grows.

There are some common pitfalls for companies aiming for sustainability. One of them is the knowledge-action gap: even though many executives set sustainability as one of their core business values, few of them take concrete actions to accomplish sustainability objectives.

Another is known as the compliance-competitiveness gap. While improving sustainability metrics can make a company more competitive in the market, these goals should not be confused with the mandatory compliance requirements that a company must adhere to. While sustainability is desirable, compliance is mandatory.

Real-World Example

An interesting example of a successful sustainability strategy is Unilever, the parent company of Dove soaps, Axe body spray, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Hellmann's mayonnaise, and many other familiar brands. In 2010, the company implemented the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, a ten-year blueprint for reducing the environmental impact of its brands while providing a more fair workplace.

By the end of Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the company was able to announce major achievements in improving its environmental footprint as well as the company's bottom line. By working to conserve water and energy, the company was able to save more than 1 billion euros between 2008 and 2018. Moreover, by creating more opportunities for women, Unilever also become the preferred consumer goods employer for graduate students in 50 countries.

What Are the 3 Principles of Sustainability?

What Activities Promote Sustainability?

What Is Economic Sustainability?

What Are the Most Sustainable Companies?

What Products Are Not Sustainable?

The Bottom Line

As consumers become more environmentally conscious, more companies and businesses are finding ways to reduce their impacts upon the planet and their community. Sustainability practices allow companies to highlight their social benefits while continuing to attract customers.

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What is Sustainability? How Sustainabilities Work, Benefits, and Example

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Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

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Ever wondered where all your garbage/refuse/trash goes after it is collected by the rubbish collectors? In this article we will find out the way London disposes of its waste.

The history of recycling in the U.K.

The United Kingdom has been recycling its waste for over 80 years. During the Second World War, it has mobilized households to separate their garbage which was then used for ammunition or other military products. The food waste was gathered and used to feed pigs, as there was lack of food not only for the people but for the animals as well.

Consumerism Boom of the 60s

After the war was over, the recycling process transformed fast, as cardboard and glass waste doubled over the next 10 years due to a new shopping habit which was gaining traction fast. First pioneered in the U.S. in the 30s, it has now made its mark in Britain - the self-service shop. Now, everyone could inspect, touch and read every product by themselves. In order to do that freely, all products had to be packaged.

Recycling was one of the answers to the ever-increasing amount of rubbish generated. For example, 25% of all papers in the U.K. were made of recycled paper. Birmingham was a leader in recycling methods, showing that it is a crucial part of a sustainable lifestyle even in the post-war era. It incinerated the unusable rubbish, creating electricity for its rubbish trucks which were electric, creating an almost 0-waste recycling cycle. Unfortunately, that method of recycling did not last long

As living standards rose higher, people and councils alike began to negate the importance of waste, as most refuse generated was thrown to the landfill with little of it being recycled. All types of home waste, car bodies, and old bicycles, even the local sewage water was being disposed of at the waste landfills. Waste pits were popping up like mushrooms after rain, there were hundreds of them in rural England.

Another change in the waste management in the U.K. was the introduction of plastic bags. As food waste increased due to change in consumer behavior, the smell of rotting trash bins became a real problem. Plastic bags made it even easier to throw rubbish away but made it even harder to recycle it.

The recycling structure which was built during the war period was now being taken apart. To deal with that, the government introduced mass burn incinerators which did not even create electricity, simply burned everything and spurred it into the air.

On top of that, Planned Obsolescence was introduced, where companies found out they can increase revenue by making products with much shorter 'lifespan', choosing how long a product will work and when it will break down. Moreover, the introduction of Revopak rubbish trucks created yet another excuse for the people and the government to ignore the need for recycling. A Revopak truck could smash any type of waste into a size 5 times smaller than the original.
During the 70s, recycling rate decreased to the staggering 3%
During that period, recycling and making profits seemed like the opposite sides of a coin. Consumerism and shopping mania has become an inseparable part of the U.K. mentality. On top of that, waste management attracted corruption as the government's financing scheme for the waste management was flawed.

New Hope for Recycling in the United Kingdom

During the 80s, waste management was privatized, decreasing its annual cost by 1 million pounds. Moreover, the War on Waste act stated that every citizen felt that there is something wrong with the way we deal with refuse, the scale of generated waste was abnormal. In 1981, a group of statisticians from all over the world, using computer calculations to establish the minima and maxima of how overpopulation and waste generation will impact the world in the first decade of the 21st century said that we are facing imminent global collapse if societies continue to live the way they do.

From Collective to Individual Society

In the UK, after the second majority election of Margaret Thatcher, the control of services and goods transitioned from a collective responsibility into the hands of individuals. For the first time, with the introduction of BottleBanks, someone found a way to make money from recycling. PaperBanks, PlasticBanks, ClotheBanks and many more were later introduced, supported by both government and the royalty alike.

Another savior of the environment was the wheelie bin, which was widely used in Europe but introduced in the UK in the 80s. It immediately doubled the recycling rate in the Kingdom. Unfortunately, the Parkinsons law of rubbish, which says that the more bin space households have, the more waste they'd recycled, made it so recycling couldn't keep up with the waste generation rate.

Climate Change and the Need to Recycle More

The ever-increasing awareness of society that we negatively impact the environment has been the reason many landfills across the Kingdom to be shut down even before they were completely filled. Materials which could be recycled now seem more precious than before.

We still generate waste like never before, hoping that the waste industry will take care of all the garbage, yet recycling is slowly coming back to the rates it was at during the mid 20th century.

Use the Help of Rubbish Removal Professionals

RubbishPlease takes care of waste in an environmentally friendly way, visit our service pages to find out all about the services we provide or explore our blog where we've put a lot of useful information about the way you can generate and take care of waste responsibly.

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History of Recycling in London and the UK - Rubbish Please

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Ever wondered where all your garbage/refuse/trash goes after it is collected by the rubbish collectors? In this article we will find out the way London disposes of its waste. The United Kingdom has been recycling its waste for over 80 years.

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To step under "Plastic Ocean," the art installation created by Tan Zi Xi, an artist from Singapore, is to find oneself in a situation unnervingly similar to being underwater - except the surface covered completely in a layer of plastic trash. Working with hundreds of pieces of plastic items, which are known to pollute our planet's oceans, Plastic Ocean shows viewers exactly where all of their trash eventually goes.

Tan Zi Xi's installation displayed at the Sassoon Docks Art Project, an initiative by St+Art India, consists of a massive amount of plastic waste, like water bottles and shopping bags. The items are hung low from the ceiling and a blue light that brings the sensation of being underwater filters through.

The walls in the space were covered in mirrors making the plastic waste the only thing that can be seen. Standing in the middle of the display, the spectator is offered a unique point of view - that of a fish.

"Experience the infinity of Plastic Ocean, and be immersed in this man made tragedy," the artist shared on her Instagram page. "The installation reflects an ocean that is highly cluttered with plastic that takes 1,000 years to degrade."

"When people encounter a visual piece like Plastic Ocean in an enclosed space, they are inevitably forced to think about it," Zi Xi shared with Homegrown. "Also, people are tired of reading and hearing about social and environmental issues, perhaps the impact of a physical encounter with a similar message will hit home."

This installation shows its audience very literally what the problem of plastic pollution looks like - and what it feels like. Every year, around 8.8 million tons of plastic trash end up in the world's oceans. Plastic pollution has already made it as far as the Arctic Ocean and it is killing a shocking number of marine animals and threatening entire species. Although not directly visible to most of us, the plastic problem is something we have to address - and art pieces like this one can inspire swift action.

To learn more about Tan Zi Xi and her work, click here.

To learn how to help the planet by using less plastic, check out One Green Planet's #CrushPlastic campaign!
All image source: Tan Zi Xi/Instagram

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Ever Wondered How Fish Feel About Our Plastic Trash? This Exhibit Shows You First Hand

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To step under "Plastic Ocean," the art installation created by Tan Zi Xi, an artist from Singapore, is to find oneself in a situation unnervingly similar to being underwater - except the surface covered completely in a layer of plastic trash.

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Tapestries of Trash by El Anatsui - Design Milk

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Dirty, rusted, smashed liquor bottle caps are transformed into incredible tapestries that sparkle like precious metals in El Anatsui's current exhibition.

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The reason we started writing this blog post about those creative upcycling artists is actually the previous one, called " What is upcycling ". The aim of our latest blog post was to build more awareness about the topic. Suddenly, during the research about the creative reuse process a.k.a upcycled art, an idea popped up in our minds.

There were tons of information on the internet about how we should learn to create a product of higher quality or value than the original from discarded objects or materials. Furthermore we came across many enthusiasts, who are brilliant at repurposing things and accomplishing amazing upcycled art projects . This motivated us to write this blog post about professional and inspiring upcycling artists and designers. Doing so will help us spread the idea of having a sustainable life, which is as near as possible to the zero-waste concept.

The Upcycling Artists You Should Definitely Know About

Then we came up with the slogan "we can all make a difference"! And we were all about the idea to make the difference by looking for people, who are actually reducing the need to use more natural resources and spend most of their time upcycling. We wanted to find them and highlight the personalities standing behind the title upcycling artist. So we've outreached more than 50 Upcycling craftsman asking them 10 simple questions from which emerged some fantastic ideas for upcycling.

Now the goal is to introduce to our readers and customers, personalities who instead of just talking and advising about how to upcycle, are literally taking the action into their hands as recreating their best upcycling ideas. So, refer to the upcycling artist presented by Rubbish Please : they might seem different at first look, but they all have something in common: they are creative, talented, concerned about the environment and they love to give the trash a new life with their brilliant new ideas for old junk!

Dinah Wulf - The Upcycling Artist Behind DIY Inspired

Dinah Wulf is a work-at-home mom who's been into creative DIY for the past several years. She's a globally recognized artist who runs DIY Inspired - Website For Repurposing Ideas and the opportunity to reach her for an interview helped us dig up some sweet information about this guru of the DIY upcycled art.

Dinah gets thrilled when she manages to successfully transform old items into something new. She draws inspiration from her love for flea markets, garage sales and thrift store shopping and proudly admits " there is nothing that can make her stop repurposing". Dinah creates mostly on her own but when asked if someone helps her she admits: "My husband will help every once in a while.".

There aren't any difficulties that Dinah hasn't managed to overcome. According to her precious experience, "it's all about trial and error" and if she doesn't like the final results of any of her projects, she just starts over again until she reaches the desired quality which is a feature of a true professional who loves her job.

Dinah doesn't spend any time on selling her creations. Instead, she uses them as home decoration or as gifts to someone who shows a significant interest to her work. A lot of her previous work is being kept in her home till now. As you can see, Dinah is a great source of furniture upcycling ideas in addition to the other crafts.

In contrast to our expectations, Mrs Wulf spends very little money on her projects. When we asked her how much she is eager to spend on a project she says: "I spend very little on projects. There is no "maximum" per se, but I don't believe I have spent very much. I think the most I have spent on a piece of furniture to makeover was $60″. This is definitely a very low amount of cash, considering the quality of her repurposing ideas .

When being asked what she defines as her most successful work, Dinah told us that any furniture she makes is being heavily used by her daughter and their friends which is a strong signal that it makes them happy - we guess this is what is Dinah's (and many other moms' ) definition of success. In case you need any ideas for upcycling projects for kids, her website is the right place to explore.

When Dinah Wulf finishes any of her upcycling art projects, she " gets immediately filled with feelings of satisfaction and can't wait to start the new DIY journey to success ". Her final words of inspiration to our readers are:
"The old saying, "one person's trash is another one's treasure", is very true. Transforming something old and unwanted into something new and useful is a great feeling. As a bonus, you get to keep those treasures out of a landfill."
Ptolemy Elrington - The Upcycling Designer of The Awesome Hubcap Creatures

Ptolemy Elrington is an artist who collects thousands of lost hub caps from roadsides across Britain and turns them into spectacular animal sculptures.

Working in his own studio, Ptolemy is crafting all kinds of animals using hubcaps from variety of brands including BMW, Mercedes, Ford and Reno and other world popular manufacturers. He fixes the caps together using wire salvaged from scrap yards and cuts them with a craft knife and hacksaw.

Within his work he concentrates on creating sculpture of natural forms from found and upcycled materials. At the moment he is working with a variety of materials including shopping trolleys, scrap metal and car wheel trims which he re-shapes into a variety of life forms. Anything he makes is an astounding upcycled stuff, all of which is unique of its kind.

He says he was inspired by a visit to India in the late nineties. "The poverty-driven creativity I saw there, coupled with a growing awareness of careless waste in this country pushed me in the direction of trying to encourage people to think before throwing away".

Ptolemy is 100% sure there is nothing that can make him stop doing what he loves. Or maybe he would, if only he was physically unable. Creating amazing upcycling projects is why he gets up in the morning!

There's always new difficulties in his kind of work, because there are always new challenges. But mostly these come in the form of commissions that tax him and when they tax him it keeps him fresh and excited. "If I'd done it all I would probably not relish my work anywhere near as much" , says the original upcycling artist.

Once Elrington is done with his new project, he puts the hubcap creatures for sale . He would love to keep the art he creates, but this is his full time job so he has to sell it.

Although there are plenty of people out there with advice, Ptolemy runs his business on his own and there is no one who is helping him.

At the beginning of his career he used to use entirely found or donated materials, but as his business has grown and diversified, he was in need to buy some materials.

Most notably old shopping trolleys and old car bumpers, because he needs specific colours. His outlay is usually quite small - and the most expensive thing he has bought for work is his welder which was worth a thousand GBP.

As his most successful project Mr. Ptolemy describes the giant bee made for Ecover a couple of years ago. The aim of the sculpture was to promote awareness of a new bottle making process they'd designed that was using waste collected from the oceans. It seemed a very worthwhile project.

He is too busy with running the company and taking care of his family to take on any more work. Thus, he likes to think that his work promotes discussions around the upcycling ethos.

Here's what he would say to inspire others to upcycle, if he had only 3 sentences to use: "Look around you with honesty and tell me there have been no global weather changes in your lifetime. What sort of world would you like your children to inherit? Together we can effect change but if some of us do nothing we will never succeed."

When asked about how does repurposing make him feel Elrington says: "I'm getting older and more cynical day by day but repurposing, reusing, recycling and creative thinking about our environment and about solutions to our global problem fills me with hope. That's why I do it."

Thomas Dambo - The Upcycling Master of Wooden Sculptures

During his whole life Thomas Dambo has been having an urge to experiment and make stuff. As a kid big tree top houses sparked his interest, as a young teenager - skateboard ramps, later his own bed and stereo rack served as inspiration. In his late teenage years he started doing hip hop music and graffiti painting.

The music took over and he used to spend most of the time promoting it by doing different types of street art or advertising with covers, t-shirts, music videos and screenography for concerts as the music got more popular.

Thomas was rolling solo in this and always made things happen the way he likes it. He is using only tools and materials close to him. He would even "dumpster dive for materials or borrow them, but would never spend money on them".

Dambo says, " it all taught me that I was able to make pretty much what I wanted without having to pay a lot of money for the materials. It taught that the only limit for realising my imagination was my energy - not the cost! "

Now he is 36 and still works the same way, but more professionally. The upcycling artist has a big workshop filled with different stuff materials he scavenged around the city of Copenhagen such as wood, plastic buckets, t-shirts, action figures or whatever he managed to get his hands on. Thomas gets surprisingly frequently inspired for new upcycling craft ideas which brings a lot of attention on his activity and he also has the talent to see the potential in any items that can be turned into clever upcycled things.

For example, last year Dambo scavenged 500 high quality wheels from a shop refurbishing. But later these wheels inspired him to create an interactive alphabet on wheels . "I didn't know what to use the wheels for when I first found them, but I saw a potential and got the idea later on." , says the craftsman.

This is pretty much how the artist works. He is getting his inspiration from the different materials and tools he finds and tries to get the best out of what he's got.

The pieces of art Dambo is most famous for is the big wood sculptures ! "The idea for them came, because I'm always able to scavenge unlimited supplies of wood. So I wanted to come up with an idea that could use all these smaller pieces of wood."

After some experimenting he came up with the idea for the big wooden sculptures and the technique to craft them, that's why they look so fragmented and all the wood has different colours which adds this specific texture to the final projects which are one of their kind.

When Thomas Dambo is creating a sculpture he likes to let the surroundings inspire him. Dambo's aim is to make his sculptures live in our world, not to be exhibited on a pedestal. T. Dambo: " The people should interact with them and the environment so the crafts can become more alive".

Depending on what materials Thomas will be able to scavenge, he defines how the big wooden project will look like. If he scavenges a lot of long boards, it would get long legs, or if he finds a lot of really dark wood, the final project would get a darker body than the usual. This natural final effect is what adds to the desired final texture of the artwork.

He likes to go with the flow. Never plans out everything in details. He says: "If I wanted to plan everything, it would be really hard to build in recycled materials, because it's hard to guess what I will find."

His final words of inspiration to all of you should make you reconsider throwing any further waste mindlessly. Thomas Dambo kindly asks you to think twice about the impact of your actions, even when they seem to be not that important at first thought:
"I hope my different art projects will show the world that it's possible to make anything out of trash "one man's trash is another man's treasure" I know it's a cliche, but I think a lot of people don't really understand the full meaning of this saying. It goes two ways, and I hope people will think twice before they empty their trash can, because what don't have value for you, might have a lot of value for others."

Floyd Elzinga - The Upcycling Artist Who Turns Steel Into Treasure

Floyd Elzinga has over 15 years of experience in three dimensional sculpting and highlight installations. After graduating Fine Arts in the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax, Mr. Elzinga became highly interested in working with steel materials because of its " malleable and forgiving nature" and now runs his own website at FloydElzinga.com where he features much of his inspirational upcycled art projects.

We interviewed this true master of upcycling art design to learn more about him in order to share it with you. This unique artist has a great story, he's been through a lot of hardships and has shared much of his previous and current journeys with us. We couldn't hold it any longer and decided to show it all to you. Mind that his upcycled art ideas aren't suitable for anyone as they require a lot of knowledge and experience in working with metals, mostly steel, but this is what makes them even more precious and unique.
What has inspired you to start upcycling/recycling ? "As the child of Dutch immigrant farmers I was taught from an early age to be conscious of my waste and to be creative with my resources". Is there anything that can make you stop upcycling and what is it ? "The only thing that prevents me from recycling is being in a place (municipality) that has no recycling infrastructure". Have there been any difficulties that you still haven't overcome ? "The largest difficulty that I have not overcome is getting recycling facilities to allow me to purchase their materials before they are processed. It is disappointing that these government organizations (that are built on the foundation of 'reduce, reuse, recycle') are not willing to allow someone like myself to 'repurpose' their materials, make money on unprocessed material and save the costly steps of recycling". What do you do with the craft once you're finished ? Do you sell, give or keep as a collection? "I create sculptures, some of which, are entirely created from repurposed or reclaimed stainless steel that I purchase from a metal salvage yard. These sculptures I sell at art shows, in galleries or online. Previously I would buy new material to make my sculptures and paid a premium for precision crafted stainless steel that was created to engineering standards only to bring it to my studio and smash it with a hammer to create texture...I now dumpster dive and find material that has value added texture already on it!" Are you upcycling on your own or there's someone who's helping you ? Who is he/she and what is the most useful help you get ? Do you wish this person could help you more or less with anything ? "I have two employees that help me create the sculptures that I make in my studio but the person that helps me with upcycling the most is the owner of the local metal salvage yard. He is very supportive of my artwork and will sometimes save things that he thinks I will like. I wish more facilities like this would consider selling their merchandise to someone like me". Do you have anything like a maximum budget for materials or there is no such thing ? What is the highest amount of cash you've spent to finish a project ? "The maximum budget for a project would be in line with the maximum price I could charge for the resulting art work. I have spent several thousand dollars in accumulating used stainless steel pipe and tubing (old pool ladders, milk lines, medical equipment, food processing tools...)that I can use to make trees, branches, and roots". What do you define as your most successful upcycling/recycling project ? "A piece called 'Broken' was created entirely out of reclaimed stainless steel. It was an 8′ long replica of a 12" long broken section of a wild grape vine. It was featured in several art exhibitions and won several awards, but the real reward for me was that it was entirely created from repurposed material". Have you ever thought about starting a campaign to raise awareness of the upcycling idea ? "I did have the idea to become the 'Artist in Residence' at the local dump. Although on paper my purpose would be to raise awareness about waste management and create positive public relations opportunities, my motives would be to have access to a wealth of 'other people's trash'. It could also be used as an educational tool for local schools to come and visit the artist in residence". Can you describe how does the repurposing of items make you feel ? "I am proud to be able to save materials from having to be unnecessarily processed."
Shari Mendelson - Upcyclling Art Designer Who Turns Discarded Plastics Into Remarkable Sculptures

If there is anyone who can be proud of the many successful exhibitions which are still increasing in number, this is Mrs Shari Mendelson. Mostly being recognized in NYC, Shari has about 30 year of teaching and working experience in sculpture in universities in New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and also served as an online art director for Time Inc.

Currently, she's inspired mostly by historical ceramic, metal artifacts and discarded plastics. All of her work is definitely distinguished and can be seen at the gallery of Shari Mendelson's website .

Shari collects numerous bottles of any type and cuts them into pieces to repurpose them in the most creative way possible. Any of her projects is intended to bring associations to history and culture and that can be seen in any of her uniquely upcycled crafts. What is specific about Shari is that she gives brief but very precise information on what materials have been used to create any of the amazing sculptures shown below. Her work brings some great examples of upcycling on the table that cannot be seen anywhere else and definitely deserve to be seen.
What has inspired you to start upcycling/recycling ? "I had been making art out of sheet plastic that I was purchasing. In my non-art life I recycle everything possible, compost and consider myself an environmentalist. I realized I needed to make my art practice more in keeping with my values. With so much plastic littering the streets of NYC, there was no need to purchase new plastic". Is there anything that can make you stop doing it and what is it ? "I am an artist and there are times when I may want to use other materials for my work. At the present, I'm happy to use recycled materials as the main element of my sculpture". Have there been any difficulties that you still haven't overcome ? "No real difficulties". What do you do with the craft once you're finished ? Do you sell, give or keep as a collection? "My main interest is in making the work. My pieces usually get sold through art and design venues". Are you upcycling on your own or there's someone who's helping you ? Who is he/she and what is the most useful help you get ? Do you wish this person could help you more or less with anything ? "I have friends and family that collect plastic bottles for me. I could not find enough material without their help. I am so grateful whenever someone gives me a plastic bottle and says, "I saved this for you." It takes a village"! Do you have anything like a maximum budget for materials or there is no such thing ? What is the highest amount of cash you've spent to finish a project ? "I start with the found plastic bottles. I use a variety of acrylic polymers and glues for putting the pieces together and giving them the final surface treatment. I don't think in terms of budget. My work doesn't cost much in terms of material but it is labor intensive and time is a valuable commodity". What do you define as your most successful upcycling/recycling project ? "I'm usually most excited about the next piece I'm going to make". Have you ever thought about starting a campaign to raise awareness of the upcycling idea ?
"No. Hopefully, I can be an example but collecting trash and repurposing it isn't for everyone. I would like to encourage people to use less, to think about their purchases, and to pay attention to and boycott buying products that use excessive packaging" .
If you had only three sentences to inspire a group of people to start recycling, what would they be ? "Where is all that trash going to go? Think about the fish in the oceans! Think about the future generations"! Can you describe how does the repurposing of items make you feel ? "Always feels great when I make a piece I like, knowing that it's made from the trash that was littering the streets".
Jill - The Australian Artist Who Has More Than 600 Clothes Upcycling Ideas For You

Jill is currently creating her way to success and hates to throw anything out. She was lucky enough to learn to sew as a child and she describes her mother and grandmother as the perfect teachers. Jill managed to develop her sewing skills and implement them into the upcycling process.
"I use old clothes, fabric remnants and anything else that I can put through my sewing machine to create things my family and friends need, want and can use. Creativity is the key to using what you've got."
Here is what we asked one of the best sewing upcycle artist!
What has inspired you to start upcycling/recycling ? "Growing up my with my parents always made use of everything they had and that included lots of upcycling and recycling. I guess I've just kept that thrifty attitude and can't stand to see anything wasted. I learned to sew from my mum and granny and once I had kids of my own I got back to sewing to make things for them. I like to use the materials and resources I have on hand - and I started out sewing with old clothes and bedding so things I made cost me virtually nothing but my time". Is there anything that can make you stop doing it and what is it ? "I've been asked if I would still upcycle and recycle if I had lots of money, and the answer is yes. Over the years I haven't been able to justify spending lots of money on fabric to sew with, as you can buy finished things so cheaply now so it's no longer always cheaper to make your own things. However, I strongly believe we should use the resources we already have in the world rather than constantly producing new ones. I love the challenge of upcycling something that someone else has discarded into another thing that somebody else will use and love. So no, I don't think there is anything that would make me stop upcycling"! Have there been any difficulties that you still haven't overcome ? "The only difficulties I have found with upcycling is finding a few materials to complete some projects. There are still occasional, odd moments I do buy new stuff to complete for example a bag I'm making. But I'm always looking out for alternatives to any store bought materials I use! I don't have a maximum budget as such for my upcycling projects, I just try to spend nothing if possible"! What do you do with the craft once you're finished ? "Generally I make things that our family needs or will use - for example toys for my kids, bags, and things to use in the kitchen like oven gloves and reusable snack bags. I also make gifts for family members and my daughters' friends when it is their birthdays and Christmas". Are you upcycling on your own or there's someone who's helping you ? Who is he/she and what is the most useful help you get ? Do you wish this person could help you more or less with anything ? "The help I get while upcycling comes from friends bringing me their old clothes and things to sew with rather than throw them away! I often get handed a bag of things with the words, "I thought you could make something with these"! I've started to turn this around and use the things they give me to make gifts for them that they can then use themselves. I've started doing this to stop my house being overwhelmed with other people's old clothes etc"! Do you have anything like a maximum budget for materials or there is no such thing ? What is the highest amount of cash you've spent to finish a project ?
"No, I don't have a maximum budget for materials! As I said most of the products I use are brought to me by my friends so I don't really need to spend cash on my upcycling projects".
What do you define as your most successful upcycling/recycling project ? "My most successful upcycling project is definitely my Eco-friendly shopping bags. This is a bag that took several years to design and create exactly as I wanted it for my needs. I use mine every week now when I do my grocery shopping! Basically it's a stylish handbag, made from old denim jeans and fabric scraps, that has a hidden pocket in the bottom where there is a bag of reusable shopping bags stored (made from old sheets). I wanted a way to never forget my reusable bags when I went shopping, and this was the solution. There are also reusable fruit and vegetable produce bags in the side pockets, made from old net curtains, and an additional handibag in the handbag, made from an old pillowcase, in case you buy extra things! I created tutorials for making all of these bags and put them in an e-book which I sell for the price of a cup of coffee and donate money to the WWF from sales. I wanted to encourage others to upcycle too and help reduce the need for plastic bags. I don't really make any money from this book, the income just covers the selling costs and the remainder goes to the WWF. I guess this is kind of my own little 'campaign' to raise awareness of upcycling". Have you ever thought about starting a campaign to raise awareness of the upcycling idea ? "I try to raise upcycling awareness through my blog and social media platforms. As my blog grows so does hopefully my reach of people that I can spread the word to and encourage to use the resources we have on hand rather than always look to buy new". If you had only three sentences to inspire a group of people to start recycling, what would they be ? "Use what you've got. The answer is to not always spend money. You can do or create anything you set your mind to" . Can you describe how does the repurposing of items make you feel ? "Repurposing materials makes me feel good about what I'm doing. I feel like I'm setting a good example for my kids and treating our world with the respect it needs and deserves. If I can make a small difference and inspire even one person to reuse things rather than throw them away, then I feel like what I'm doing is worthwhile. Of course I would love to make a big difference and inspire hundreds, thousands and even millions of people to upcycle, and use what they've got. So I'll continue upcycling and sharing my work with whoever shows an interest" !

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Upcycling Artists You Should Definitely Know About

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The reason we started writing this blog post about those creative upcycling artists is actually the previous one, called " What is upcycling ". The aim of our latest blog post was to build more awareness about the topic. Suddenly, during the research about the creative reuse process a.k.a upcycled art, an idea popped up in our minds.

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Packaging of the World - Creative Package Design Gallery

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Artists: Gerlinde Gruber & Christine Strempel
Art Director, Stand Design: Matthäus Jiszda
Client: Mayr-Melnhof Packaging
Fair: Interpack 2014
Location: Austria
Project Type: Commercial Work

ARTWORK FOR MMP

Comprising about 1700 packages from the world wide production of Mayr-Melnhof Packaging

This 8 x 4 m big mural was exhibited for the first time on the MMP stand at the fair Interpack 2014 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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untitled, 2014

Cardboard on Wood
800 x 400 cm

More than 1700 pieces of cardboard boxes pile up like street canyons to an 32 qm big mural.

The basic construction, 12 boards à 200 x 133 cm, fades for the eyes of the viewer under this colorful cardboard city.

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Artists: Gerlinde Gruber & Christine Strempel Art Director, Stand Design: Matthäus Jiszda Client: Mayr-Melnhof Packaging Fair: Interpack 2014 Location: Austria Project Type: Commercial Work ARTWORK FOR MMP Comprising about 1700 packages from the world wide production of Mayr-Melnhof Packaging This 8 x 4 m big mural was exhibited for the first time on the MMP stand at the fair Interpack 2014 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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The fashion industry is notorious for its massive waste problem; the big business is frequently called out for being one of the largest polluters globally. According to , nearly three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being produced. Beyond this, the Environmental Protection Agency found in 2013 that there were 15.1 million tons of textile waste, of which 12.8 million were discarded completely, while the average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles each year. For many consumers, these alarming numbers are only really just starting to sink in, but much of the fashion industry is still several years away from solving these issues.

Cécile Poignant, a trend forecaster who works alongside Li Edelkoort, says that as our collective awareness of the negative impacts of the fashion industry grows, it is causing more brands to find new solutions. "We no longer have a choice - brands must [get on board] if they want to keep their customers because it's not only trendy but it's necessary," she affirms.

Although conversations regarding the serious impacts of climate change and the urgent need for more sustainable systems have been steadily growing among mainstream brands, a batch of smaller, emerging labels have recently been employing the upcycling process in new ways, sparking a trend that's gaining serious momentum. With this, Poignant says that beyond wanting to buy stuff that doesn't make a person feel guilty, more consumers are showing a desire for alternative, creative fashion that is made in limited numbers. The rise of these upcycled garments not only contribute to sustainable shopping as a whole, but also serve as art pieces, cultural commentary and a sense of connection.

Femail is one such brand making clothing items that blur the lines between fashion design and textile art. For co-founders Camilla Carper and Janelle Abbott, upcycling is just one of the many artistic tools they use to respond creatively to the world around them. Living in two separate cities on the West Coast, they call their production process "reactive collaboration," in which one collaborator begins creating an item with discarded garments by hand and then sends the work in progress to the second person through the postal service. The process is ongoing - akin to a fashion design team sending sketches or specs back and forth over email - until they feel an item is completely finished.

For the duo, upcycling is a deeply personal pursuit: While the world continues to accumulate wasted textiles, Abbott believes it doesn't make sense to achieve their vision by seeking out new materials. "Both Camilla and I have expressed the fact that we see no other option in life. It's the obvious choice to use what's available for us," she says. "We both naturally reach towards what we have in our closets, in thrift stores, literally on the street or items people have given us."

By focusing on filling voids instead of adding more waste to the world, Femail promotes the notion that clothing should be produced by giving old items a new life so that it doesn't end up in a landfill. Like many labels today, each collection has a deeper message, but Femail takes their practice one step further by building out full installations where their garments can live and be shown on display. An item created last year, for example, features a collar from Abbott's grandmother who had recently passed away, as well as a pair of child-sized leggings that were turned into sleeves and other miscellaneous scraps. The work was shown as part of an installation at the Bellevue Arts Museum, in which clothing items were suspended from the ceiling to represent the connection of death and rebirth, and "how we are constantly compiling scraps of the past to construct the future," says Abbott.

Los Angeles-based creative Annabelle Plee spends time scouring local thrift stores for used T-shirts that she then paints with dye, experimenting with different color combinations and artistic, grid-like patterns. She also takes commissions, creating custom designs on a client's pair of old pants or a jacket. Isa Beniston, who's also based in LA, founded Gentle Thrills, a brand that makes and sells "wearable drawings" or artistic garments made from upcycled cashmere, wool sweaters and scraps. Some of her one-off neon, airbrushed pieces are made from vintage Levi's jeans.

There's an element of upcycling to 24-year-old Nicola Luey's custom designs; the Auckland, New Zealand-based designer paints on secondhand denim and adds embellishments, such as beads, sequins and pom poms. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind garment that is given a totally original design. Think scribbles of girls rocking out on guitars, words written in big bubble letters, pastel-toned ice cream cones and lots of rainbows. There's a refreshing sweetness and vibrancy to her wearables, which make them stand out against the current denim market that's largely saturated with more basic, minimalistic designs.

Don Kaka, who first launched his collection in New York but is now based in LA, approaches clothes like an artist. "I consider each piece a painting because they are one-of-ones that I do whatever I want with," he says. This often includes non-uniform stitching, unique cuts and different blends of fabrics. Kaka recently turned an old fireproof military blanket into a hoodie and combined a pair of used suede women's boots and a leather belt to make a messenger bag. Often, once he finishes a jacket or hoodie, he will immediately get sick of the way it looks and upcycle the item into something entirely new, making his creative practice a constant process of undoing and redoing.

While some of these brands use social selling platforms, such as Instagram and Etsy, to promote and move their products, Café Forgot is a new kind of retail concept that sells Femail and other comparable designers known to recycle old items and turn them into conceptual fashion pieces. Founded by best friends Vita Haas and Lucy Weisner, Café Forgot operates as an occasional pop-up shop that most recently resided within art book store Picture Room in Brooklyn, as well as additional vacant retail spaces across New York City.

Haas and Weisner were inspired to launch the retail business in 2017 as a way to support their friends who were making clothes and accessories but did not have a physical outlet for their work. "Our goal was to create a dynamic space to show and share truly interesting fashion and to hold special events to introduce these designers to a wider community," explained the duo over email. Café Forgot carries designers who re-work already-made clothing, some of which don't come from a traditional fashion background, including Kira Scerbin, Molly Rose Lieberman and Lou Dallas, who incorporate second-hand garments into canvases for their paintings and embroidery artwork.

For many of Café Forgot's designers, upcycling serves as a form of cultural critique. Martina Cox takes thrifted housewife dresses and turns them into what she calls "window dresses" - garments that have a panel of clear plastic smack dab over the breast with small, movable curtains or miniature flower boxes. Because of the nature of the original garment, says Haas and Weisner, Cox's pieces are comments on the constraints of femininity in our culture.

The duo also believes that discussions around sustainability should extend beyond merely physical materials. For this reason, they see Café Forgot as an exercise in community-building, providing an experimental and open space where they invest their energy in supporting a collective of sustainable designers who not only support each other, but thrive through intimate and lasting relationships. In the past, Haas and Weisner hosted a music performance, a comedy night, a temporary wine bar and produced a high-quality book of photoshoots via Café Forgot. While they say their growth is largely due to their internet presence (and likely that of the brands they sell), they hope to launch their own brand one day and find a permanent space.

According to Dio Kurzawa, the Head of Denim and Sustainability at WGSN, the rise of upcycling among these new designers and businesses is likely due to "a youth-driven consortium within the fashion industry, [which] is quite poised to support brands that create things in a positive way." With this, the process works well for younger, smaller brands who find it easy to buy deadstock or vintage garments for the purpose of upcycling in place of expensive fabrics that often require minimum orders, claims Kurzawa. Moreover, a smaller-scale brand with upcycling baked into its DNA means it's easier to maintain and less expensive to produce, unlike bigger brands who may have trouble adopting these processes due to the traditional setup of their supply chain.

This uptick in younger sustainably minded brands could possibly stem from design schools, too, such as Parsons School of Design and Savannah College of Art and Design, which have been adding more sustainability-focused courses into their curriculums, training their students to adopt new ways of thinking about fashion systems. In April 2017, Brendan McCarthy, the Program Director, of the BFA Fashion Design: Systems and Materiality at Parsons, told , "At Parsons, we really want our approach to sustainability to be holistic - we don't want sustainable design to be just a niche subject you can study, but a part of fashion as a whole." Sustainability isn't just about materials or processes. Instead, the school's program teaches young designers to think critically about how fashion is made and consumed, and to reconsider both its processes and outcomes.

Though, it's not just the process of upcycling that appeals to younger customers who mostly care about their environmental impact, it's also about the look and feel of upcycling, as well as a newfound connection to the clothing and the people making them. While many of these fashion brands use older garments and materials to make new items, they're not only fostering a movement that is eco-friendly, but also one in which reinvented clothing appeals to younger generations simply because they look cool.

While the idea of wearable art, or art made from fashion, isn't totally new (for instance, artists Keith Haring and Joseph Beuys used clothing items to make cultural commentary), when customers buy one of these emerging designers' items, they are essentially buying an art piece that's one of a kind. In this way, upcycling fashion is bringing a sense of specialness back to clothing that has long been lost among fast fashion and mass-market brands.
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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's Behind the Rise of Upcycled Garments?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fashion industry is notorious for its massive waste problem; the big business is frequently called out for being one of the largest polluters globally. According to , nearly three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being produced.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The fashion industry is notorious for its massive waste problem; the big business is frequently called out for being one of the largest polluters globally. According to , nearly three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being produced. Beyond this, the Environmental Protection Agency found in 2013 that there were 15.1 million tons of textile waste, of which 12.8 million were discarded completely, while the average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles each year. For many consumers, these alarming numbers are only really just starting to sink in, but much of the fashion industry is still several years away from solving these issues.

Cécile Poignant, a trend forecaster who works alongside Li Edelkoort, says that as our collective awareness of the negative impacts of the fashion industry grows, it is causing more brands to find new solutions. "We no longer have a choice - brands must [get on board] if they want to keep their customers because it's not only trendy but it's necessary," she affirms.

Although conversations regarding the serious impacts of climate change and the urgent need for more sustainable systems have been steadily growing among mainstream brands, a batch of smaller, emerging labels have recently been employing the upcycling process in new ways, sparking a trend that's gaining serious momentum. With this, Poignant says that beyond wanting to buy stuff that doesn't make a person feel guilty, more consumers are showing a desire for alternative, creative fashion that is made in limited numbers. The rise of these upcycled garments not only contribute to sustainable shopping as a whole, but also serve as art pieces, cultural commentary and a sense of connection.

Femail is one such brand making clothing items that blur the lines between fashion design and textile art. For co-founders Camilla Carper and Janelle Abbott, upcycling is just one of the many artistic tools they use to respond creatively to the world around them. Living in two separate cities on the West Coast, they call their production process "reactive collaboration," in which one collaborator begins creating an item with discarded garments by hand and then sends the work in progress to the second person through the postal service. The process is ongoing - akin to a fashion design team sending sketches or specs back and forth over email - until they feel an item is completely finished.

For the duo, upcycling is a deeply personal pursuit: While the world continues to accumulate wasted textiles, Abbott believes it doesn't make sense to achieve their vision by seeking out new materials. "Both Camilla and I have expressed the fact that we see no other option in life. It's the obvious choice to use what's available for us," she says. "We both naturally reach towards what we have in our closets, in thrift stores, literally on the street or items people have given us."

By focusing on filling voids instead of adding more waste to the world, Femail promotes the notion that clothing should be produced by giving old items a new life so that it doesn't end up in a landfill. Like many labels today, each collection has a deeper message, but Femail takes their practice one step further by building out full installations where their garments can live and be shown on display. An item created last year, for example, features a collar from Abbott's grandmother who had recently passed away, as well as a pair of child-sized leggings that were turned into sleeves and other miscellaneous scraps. The work was shown as part of an installation at the Bellevue Arts Museum, in which clothing items were suspended from the ceiling to represent the connection of death and rebirth, and "how we are constantly compiling scraps of the past to construct the future," says Abbott.

Los Angeles-based creative Annabelle Plee spends time scouring local thrift stores for used T-shirts that she then paints with dye, experimenting with different color combinations and artistic, grid-like patterns. She also takes commissions, creating custom designs on a client's pair of old pants or a jacket. Isa Beniston, who's also based in LA, founded Gentle Thrills, a brand that makes and sells "wearable drawings" or artistic garments made from upcycled cashmere, wool sweaters and scraps. Some of her one-off neon, airbrushed pieces are made from vintage Levi's jeans.

There's an element of upcycling to 24-year-old Nicola Luey's custom designs; the Auckland, New Zealand-based designer paints on secondhand denim and adds embellishments, such as beads, sequins and pom poms. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind garment that is given a totally original design. Think scribbles of girls rocking out on guitars, words written in big bubble letters, pastel-toned ice cream cones and lots of rainbows. There's a refreshing sweetness and vibrancy to her wearables, which make them stand out against the current denim market that's largely saturated with more basic, minimalistic designs.

Don Kaka, who first launched his collection in New York but is now based in LA, approaches clothes like an artist. "I consider each piece a painting because they are one-of-ones that I do whatever I want with," he says. This often includes non-uniform stitching, unique cuts and different blends of fabrics. Kaka recently turned an old fireproof military blanket into a hoodie and combined a pair of used suede women's boots and a leather belt to make a messenger bag. Often, once he finishes a jacket or hoodie, he will immediately get sick of the way it looks and upcycle the item into something entirely new, making his creative practice a constant process of undoing and redoing.

While some of these brands use social selling platforms, such as Instagram and Etsy, to promote and move their products, Café Forgot is a new kind of retail concept that sells Femail and other comparable designers known to recycle old items and turn them into conceptual fashion pieces. Founded by best friends Vita Haas and Lucy Weisner, Café Forgot operates as an occasional pop-up shop that most recently resided within art book store Picture Room in Brooklyn, as well as additional vacant retail spaces across New York City.

Haas and Weisner were inspired to launch the retail business in 2017 as a way to support their friends who were making clothes and accessories but did not have a physical outlet for their work. "Our goal was to create a dynamic space to show and share truly interesting fashion and to hold special events to introduce these designers to a wider community," explained the duo over email. Café Forgot carries designers who re-work already-made clothing, some of which don't come from a traditional fashion background, including Kira Scerbin, Molly Rose Lieberman and Lou Dallas, who incorporate second-hand garments into canvases for their paintings and embroidery artwork.

For many of Café Forgot's designers, upcycling serves as a form of cultural critique. Martina Cox takes thrifted housewife dresses and turns them into what she calls "window dresses" - garments that have a panel of clear plastic smack dab over the breast with small, movable curtains or miniature flower boxes. Because of the nature of the original garment, says Haas and Weisner, Cox's pieces are comments on the constraints of femininity in our culture.

The duo also believes that discussions around sustainability should extend beyond merely physical materials. For this reason, they see Café Forgot as an exercise in community-building, providing an experimental and open space where they invest their energy in supporting a collective of sustainable designers who not only support each other, but thrive through intimate and lasting relationships. In the past, Haas and Weisner hosted a music performance, a comedy night, a temporary wine bar and produced a high-quality book of photoshoots via Café Forgot. While they say their growth is largely due to their internet presence (and likely that of the brands they sell), they hope to launch their own brand one day and find a permanent space.

According to Dio Kurzawa, the Head of Denim and Sustainability at WGSN, the rise of upcycling among these new designers and businesses is likely due to "a youth-driven consortium within the fashion industry, [which] is quite poised to support brands that create things in a positive way." With this, the process works well for younger, smaller brands who find it easy to buy deadstock or vintage garments for the purpose of upcycling in place of expensive fabrics that often require minimum orders, claims Kurzawa. Moreover, a smaller-scale brand with upcycling baked into its DNA means it's easier to maintain and less expensive to produce, unlike bigger brands who may have trouble adopting these processes due to the traditional setup of their supply chain.

This uptick in younger sustainably minded brands could possibly stem from design schools, too, such as Parsons School of Design and Savannah College of Art and Design, which have been adding more sustainability-focused courses into their curriculums, training their students to adopt new ways of thinking about fashion systems. In April 2017, Brendan McCarthy, the Program Director, of the BFA Fashion Design: Systems and Materiality at Parsons, told , "At Parsons, we really want our approach to sustainability to be holistic - we don't want sustainable design to be just a niche subject you can study, but a part of fashion as a whole." Sustainability isn't just about materials or processes. Instead, the school's program teaches young designers to think critically about how fashion is made and consumed, and to reconsider both its processes and outcomes.

Though, it's not just the process of upcycling that appeals to younger customers who mostly care about their environmental impact, it's also about the look and feel of upcycling, as well as a newfound connection to the clothing and the people making them. While many of these fashion brands use older garments and materials to make new items, they're not only fostering a movement that is eco-friendly, but also one in which reinvented clothing appeals to younger generations simply because they look cool.

While the idea of wearable art, or art made from fashion, isn't totally new (for instance, artists Keith Haring and Joseph Beuys used clothing items to make cultural commentary), when customers buy one of these emerging designers' items, they are essentially buying an art piece that's one of a kind. In this way, upcycling fashion is bringing a sense of specialness back to clothing that has long been lost among fast fashion and mass-market brands.
Sign up for our daily newsletter and get the latest industry news in your inbox every day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's Behind the Rise of Upcycled Garments?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fashion industry is notorious for its massive waste problem; the big business is frequently called out for being one of the largest polluters globally. According to , nearly three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being produced.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TriplePundit • Upcycling: The New Wave of Sustainable Fashion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Upcycling: The New Wave of Sustainable Fashion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sustainable fashion has gone mainstream with big and small brands alike announcing collections using recycled plastics or other synthetic materials. And some brands are going further by implementing upcycling in their annual collections. The main difference between upcycling and recycling is that upcycled clothes have been repurposed from existing clothes whereas recycled clothes are made from materials that have been broken down first. Upcycling is good news for the environment as clothing has the fourth largest environmental impact (after housing, transport and food), according to not for profit UK organisation, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Plan). Over 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in UK landfills annually.

Although upcycling is rapidly gaining in popularity today, it's certainly not a new concept, especially to designers like Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution (with Carry Somers), an organisation that promotes ethical fashion (their first global campaign was #whomademyclothes). Orsola's work promoting sustainable fashion dates back to 1997 when she and her husband Filippo Ricci launched the pioneering upcycling label From Somewhere. The innovative brand used fabric offcuts from luxury designers or old season speedo swimsuits to create imaginative new outfits. Likewise, menswear designer Christopher Raeburn who has been reusing surplus fabrics like army parachutes to create outerwear for more than a decade, is now a global success, with stockists worldwide. Sustainable menswear brands leading the way using upcycling at this month's London Fashion Week Men's included E.Tautz, Vinti Andrews, Studio ALCH, Bethany Williams and Patrick McDowell.

E.Tautz makes clothes to last and certainly doesn't advocate buying new garments each season. The brand wants you to "wear them until they wear out and when they do, fix them." Once they can no longer be fixed, recycle them. The collection on show at London Fashion Week Men's included pieces that have been fixed; darned, patched, mended and maybe even improved. A large number of the pieces in the show were made using textiles recovered from unwanted clothes that were placed in clothing recycling banks across the UK. The brand also enlisted the help of The Royal School of Needlework to resurrect often forgotten skills like darning, mending and patching.

A jacket made from a Met police coat by Vinti Andrews is shown at London Fashion Week Men's January ... [+]
Vinti Andrews

A standout Autumn Winter 2020 look from Vinti Andrews, the London-based brand from Vinti Tan and Paul Andrews, is a padded neon yellow hi-viz jacket, upcycled from used Met police coats. The rest of the collection is made from vintage sportswear and outerwear that has been deconstructed, sampled and cleverly recreated as "new" garments. Colors include neon orange and yellow, neutrals and navy.

All of Bethany Williams's garments are 100% sustainable and made in the UK. The designer was a worthy winner of last year's annual Queen Elizabeth II award for British Design (an award in recognition of young designers who excel in either sustainable practices or community engagement.) Bethany uses wool from Wool and the Gang, a company that offers renewable, biodegradable and dead stock yarns. The denim in her collection is sourced from Chris Carney Collections, a recycling and sorting facility and it's reconstituted for Bethany's designs. And this season she used upcycled classic Adidas Superstar trainers (celebrating their 50th anniversary this year) in her show.

Australian designer Alexandra Hackett's Studio ALCH is now based in London. The designer focuses on the process of deconstruction and reconstruction, to extend the lifespan of pre-existing garments. For her AW 2020 collection, everything was produced entirely from recycled, organic or excess deadstock materials. Both recycled and organic denim was used. ALCH has worked collaboratively with various artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Young Thug and Frank Ocean and regularly works to reconstruct pieces for streetwear label, Patta. For Patta, ALCH deconstructed single units of Patta's Script Logo Weekender Bag and transformed them into functional gilets. The internal and external pockets, buckles and textiles were all been taken directly from the original bag.

British designerPatrick McDowellused vintage hoses, belts and garments upcycled from the London Fire Brigade for his latest collection. Vintage fire brigade buttons have been added to Burberry shirting samples while vintage fire brigade belts have been repurposed along with fingerless fire brigade gloves. In fact all of this emerging designer's garments are crafted from reclaimed fabrics and ethically produced materials and are designed and made in England.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

... Read More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Rise Of Upcycling: Five Brands Leading The Way At London Men's Fashion Week 2020

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sustainable fashion has gone mainstream with big and small brands alike announcing collections using recycled plastics or other synthetic materials. And some brands are going further by implementing upcycling in their annual collections. The main difference between upcycling and recycling is that upcycled clothes have been repurposed from existing clothes whereas recycled clothes are made from materials that have been broken down first.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sustainable fashion has gone mainstream with big and small brands alike announcing collections using recycled plastics or other synthetic materials. And some brands are going further by implementing upcycling in their annual collections. The main difference between upcycling and recycling is that upcycled clothes have been repurposed from existing clothes whereas recycled clothes are made from materials that have been broken down first. Upcycling is good news for the environment as clothing has the fourth largest environmental impact (after housing, transport and food), according to not for profit UK organisation, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Plan). Over 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in UK landfills annually.

Although upcycling is rapidly gaining in popularity today, it's certainly not a new concept, especially to designers like Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution (with Carry Somers), an organisation that promotes ethical fashion (their first global campaign was #whomademyclothes). Orsola's work promoting sustainable fashion dates back to 1997 when she and her husband Filippo Ricci launched the pioneering upcycling label From Somewhere. The innovative brand used fabric offcuts from luxury designers or old season speedo swimsuits to create imaginative new outfits. Likewise, menswear designer Christopher Raeburn who has been reusing surplus fabrics like army parachutes to create outerwear for more than a decade, is now a global success, with stockists worldwide. Sustainable menswear brands leading the way using upcycling at this month's London Fashion Week Men's included E.Tautz, Vinti Andrews, Studio ALCH, Bethany Williams and Patrick McDowell.

E.Tautz makes clothes to last and certainly doesn't advocate buying new garments each season. The brand wants you to "wear them until they wear out and when they do, fix them." Once they can no longer be fixed, recycle them. The collection on show at London Fashion Week Men's included pieces that have been fixed; darned, patched, mended and maybe even improved. A large number of the pieces in the show were made using textiles recovered from unwanted clothes that were placed in clothing recycling banks across the UK. The brand also enlisted the help of The Royal School of Needlework to resurrect often forgotten skills like darning, mending and patching.

A jacket made from a Met police coat by Vinti Andrews is shown at London Fashion Week Men's January ... [+]
Vinti Andrews

A standout Autumn Winter 2020 look from Vinti Andrews, the London-based brand from Vinti Tan and Paul Andrews, is a padded neon yellow hi-viz jacket, upcycled from used Met police coats. The rest of the collection is made from vintage sportswear and outerwear that has been deconstructed, sampled and cleverly recreated as "new" garments. Colors include neon orange and yellow, neutrals and navy.

All of Bethany Williams's garments are 100% sustainable and made in the UK. The designer was a worthy winner of last year's annual Queen Elizabeth II award for British Design (an award in recognition of young designers who excel in either sustainable practices or community engagement.) Bethany uses wool from Wool and the Gang, a company that offers renewable, biodegradable and dead stock yarns. The denim in her collection is sourced from Chris Carney Collections, a recycling and sorting facility and it's reconstituted for Bethany's designs. And this season she used upcycled classic Adidas Superstar trainers (celebrating their 50th anniversary this year) in her show.

Australian designer Alexandra Hackett's Studio ALCH is now based in London. The designer focuses on the process of deconstruction and reconstruction, to extend the lifespan of pre-existing garments. For her AW 2020 collection, everything was produced entirely from recycled, organic or excess deadstock materials. Both recycled and organic denim was used. ALCH has worked collaboratively with various artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Young Thug and Frank Ocean and regularly works to reconstruct pieces for streetwear label, Patta. For Patta, ALCH deconstructed single units of Patta's Script Logo Weekender Bag and transformed them into functional gilets. The internal and external pockets, buckles and textiles were all been taken directly from the original bag.

British designerPatrick McDowellused vintage hoses, belts and garments upcycled from the London Fire Brigade for his latest collection. Vintage fire brigade buttons have been added to Burberry shirting samples while vintage fire brigade belts have been repurposed along with fingerless fire brigade gloves. In fact all of this emerging designer's garments are crafted from reclaimed fabrics and ethically produced materials and are designed and made in England.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

... Read More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Rise Of Upcycling: Five Brands Leading The Way At London Men's Fashion Week 2020

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sustainable fashion has gone mainstream with big and small brands alike announcing collections using recycled plastics or other synthetic materials. And some brands are going further by implementing upcycling in their annual collections. The main difference between upcycling and recycling is that upcycled clothes have been repurposed from existing clothes whereas recycled clothes are made from materials that have been broken down first.

# data[].attributes.body
interview with Sarah Page (managing director of Plumbs)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Working towards a sustainable future - an interview with Sarah Page, managing director of Plumbs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The environmental benefits of upcycling are mammoth, aside from minimising the volume of discarded materials and waste being sent to landfill each year, it also reduces the need for production using new or raw materials which means a reduction in air pollution, water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and often a conservation of global resources.

Environmental benefits of Upcycling

1. Saving materials from landfill
These days, many brands and designers are making very cool stuff from old stuff. Plenty of items that were once en route to landfill have been reclaimed by some very creative people.

2. Reducing what goes into landfill
We've become so used to things being mass manufactured and made in a heartbeat that we buy things as quickly as we throw things away.

3. Minimal use of natural resources
Upcycling existing resources means that we don't have to use any new raw materials in the production process. Did you know that it takes 2,700 liters to produce the cotton needed to make a single t-shirt?

Social and Economic Benefits of Upcycling

1. Celebrating artisanal work and old school craftmanship
Behind every upcycled product, there is a maker who strongly believes in a level of craftsmanship that we just don't see very much anymore.

2. Supporting local and rural industry
Another social and economic benefit of upcycling is that it supports small local businesses as well as rural village industries.

3. Reduced manufacturing costs
If designers make items from reclaimed materials, this can drastically reduce their manufacturing costs.

Personal benefits of Upcycling

1. Doing your bit for Mother Nature
Nothing beats that warm and fuzzy feeling you get inside when you've done something great for the planet.

2. Crafty repair skills
Repairing an item and giving it a new life is a great skill and a wonderful feeling.

3. One-of-a-kind items
Whether you're upcycling things yourself or buying products from designers, it's always nice to know that you have something that is completely unique.

Here is an optional video where Prof Fergus Lyon and Adeyemi Adelekan, experts in the field of sustainability and circular economy talk about generalities of upcycling, what it is and why it is important.

This is an additional video, hosted on YouTube.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The environmental benefits of upcycling are mammoth, aside from minimising the volume of discarded materials and waste being sent to landfill each year, it also reduces the need for production using new or raw materials which means a reduction in air pollution, water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and often a conservation of global resources.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Recycling has been used for years by companies in an attempt to reduce their negative impact on the environment. Recently, many businesses have been turning to upcycling to achieve this goal in an alternative and more impactful manner.

What is recycling?

Recycling primarily entails breaking down old items into their raw materials to create new items, such as plastic, glass, paper, etc. Recycling is an incredibly important process that people use to reduce the negative impact of new production on the environment. This is a common method of helping the environment that many people learned as kids, along with reusing and reducing their consumption of goods. Most of our waste is discarded in a landfill or incinerator, but recycling offers a different option for materials to be used again. Depending on the material being recycled, there can be a need to use new or "virgin" materials along with the recycled ones to meet quality standards for a product. For example, certain amounts of new plastic (depending on the product) are used in manufacturing along with the recycled plastic.

What is upcycling?

Similar to recycling, the process of upcycling takes previously used products and converts them into new products. However, unlike recycling, upcycling reduces, and in many cases eliminates, the need for additional energy and natural gas consumption in the supply chain. Also, upcycling strives to not use new materials to improve the finished product. Upcycled objects are of equal or greater quality and value than the original. An example of upcycled fashion products would be when a company takes the cloth from old rice or flour bags and turns it into shirts, headbands, etc.

Is one better than the other?

Recycling occurs in a plant and requires energy to break down products. It is a more responsible method of managing discarded materials than burying them in a landfill or burning them. However recycling does require resources to carry out, unlike upcycling, which ideally occurs without adding strain to the environment as products are reused from its original state, and don't need to be broken down. So, there is no need for excess energy consumption when upcycling. Also, people can upcycle at home, with few or no additional tools or cost. And as a reminder, typically the most environmentally preferable option is reducing waste at the source before either upcycling or recycling would occur.

How can small businesses get involved?

Many businesses are incorporating upcycling as a part of their efforts to have a more green/sustainable business model. Honest Tea and Clif Bar are two companies that utilize the services of TerraCycle in an effort to provide upcycling options for their consumers. TerraCycle offers a range of recycling and upcycling programs for companies and individual consumers to participate in. Honest Tea's Honest Kids drink pouches are part of a program in which a consumer can send the pouches to Terra Cycle, where they will be cleaned, sanitized and used for other purposes, such as being sewn into backpacks. Clif Bar is part of a similar program, where the consumer can send their used granola bar wrappers (and other Clif Bar product containers) to TerraCycle for free to be repurposed into different products, like shoes or shower curtains. Both of these programs offer incentives for the consumers, which encourages them to continue participating.

Businesses can also upcycle as part of their merchandise creation, instead of outsourcing their used products to be upcycled. Soul Flower Organic Clothing has a selection of upcycled clothes which are made from unwanted materials, such as the plastic from old soda bottles, which are turned into fibers to make shirts and sweaters. While upcycling is an environmentally beneficial option, recycling still has many benefits and is far more useful in sustainability efforts than throwing things into the trash. We're pleased to see more businesses moving towards sustainability in these and even more ways.

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Recycling has been used for years by companies in an attempt to reduce their negative impact on the environment. Recently, many businesses have been turning to upcycling to achieve this goal in an alternative and more impactful manner. Recycling primarily entails breaking down old items into their raw materials to create new items, such as plastic, glass, paper, etc.

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200 Best Sustainability - Sophies Board images in 2020

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May 18, 2020 - Explore r_tweddell's board "Sustainability - Sophies Board" on Pinterest.

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Victor + Rolf couture collection 2016 fall 

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Victor + Rolf couture collection 2016 fall 

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upcycling

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Viktor & Rolf Fall 2016 Couture Collection

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Viktor & Rolf Fall 2016 Couture collection, runway looks, beauty, models, and reviews.

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Zara spotlights sustainable fashion with its second Join Life x TRF collection. Captured in the snow, model Jean Campbell wears outerwear made from 100% recycled and recyclable polyester material. Puffer jackets, anorak parkas and leggings come in a color palette of silver, black and khaki green. The layered looks are perfect for the cold weather months ahead.

Related: Zara Takes On the Military Trend With SRPLS Collection

Zara Join Life x TRF Collection

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Jean Campbell Models Zara's Sustainable Outerwear

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Zara spotlights sustainable fashion with its second Join Life x TRF collection. Captured in the snow, model Jean Campbell wears outerwear made from 100% recycled and recyclable polyester material. Puffer jackets, anorak parkas and leggings come in a color palette of silver, black and khaki green.

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and what we can do to make a difference

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WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FASHION? — Sustainable Fashion Matterz

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What is Sustainable Fashion? Brands & Consumers. Pros and Cons of Second Hand, Slow-, Vegan, Organic, Clothing Swaps and Upcycling. Here is: How to be Sustainable!

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Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments, and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, including "cutting CO2 emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring that garment workers are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions".

In 2020, it was found that voluntary self-directed reform of textile manufacturing supply chains by large companies to reduce the environmental impact was largely unsuccessful. Measures to reform fashion production beyond greenwashing requires policies for the creation and enforcement of standardized certificates, along with related import controls, subsidies, and interventions such as eco-tariffs.

In the early 1990s, roughly coinciding with the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Rio Earth Summit, 'green issues' (as they were called at the time) made their way into fashion and textiles publications. These publications featured well-known companies such as Patagonia and ESPRIT, who's founders Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, were outdoorsmen who witnessed the environmental harm of overproduction and overconsumption. Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard were early to note that exponential growth and consumption are not sustainable. In the late 1980s, they brought environmental concerns into their business models, commissioning research into the impact of fibres used in their respective companies. For Patagonia, this resulted in a lifecycle assessment of four fibers: cotton, wool, nylon, and polyester. For ESPRIT, the focus was on cotton -representing 90% of their production at the time-and finding better alternatives to it. A primary focus on materials' provenance, impact and selection, fibre and fabric processing is still the norm in sustainable fashion 30 years on.

In 1992, the ESPRIT e-collection based on the Eco Audit guide by the Elmwood Institute, was developed by head designer Lynda Grose and launched at retail. In 2011 the brand Patagonia ran an ad and a PR campaign called "Don't Buy This Jacket" with a picture of Patagonia merchandise. This message was intended to encourage people to consider the effect that consumption has on the environment, to purchase only what they need.

In parallel with industry, research around sustainable fashion has been in development since the early 1990s, with the field now having its own history, dynamics, politics, practices, sub-movements and evolution of analytical and critical language. The field is broad in scope, including technical projects that seek to improve the resource efficiency of existing operations, the consideration of brands and designers working within currently understood frameworks as well as those which look to fundamentally re-imagine the fashion industry, including the growth logic.

In the European Union, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations required in 2007 that clothing manufacturers and importers identified and quantified the chemicals used in their products. In 2012, the world's largest summit on fashion sustainability was held in Copenhagen, gathering more than 1,000 key stakeholders in the industry to discuss the importance of making the fashion industry sustainable. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition also launched the Higg Index, a self-assessment standard designed to measure and promote sustainable supply chains in the apparel and footwear industries. Founded in 2011, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition is a nonprofit organisation whose members include brands producing apparel or footwear, retailers, industry affiliates and trade associations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, academic institutions and environmental nonprofits. The Global Change Award, is an innovation challenge created by the H&M foundation.

Retailers must take responsibility for the social and environmental cost of clothes. They should use their market power to demand higher environmental and labour standards from suppliers. Offering rental schemes, lifetime repair and providing the consumer with more information about the sourcing and true cost of clothing are all measures that can be more widely adopted. Shifting business practice in this way can not only improve a business' environmental and social impact but also offer market advantage as they respond to the growing consumer demand for responsible, sustainable clothing.

Environmental Audit Committee of the UK Parliament, "Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability"

In 2019, the UK Parliament's Environment Audit Committee published a report and recommendations on the future of fashion sustainability, suggesting wide-ranging systemic change, not least government regulation and tax-incentives for sustainable practices, such as lowered VAT for repair services. The report highlights the need for wide political and social changes to push the fashion industry towards more sustainable practices and levels of consumption, with the goal of "less harm" being too low to be of any helpful consequence. In the same year, a group of researchers formed the Union for Concerned Researchers in Fashion (UCRF) to advocate for radical and coordinated research activity commensurate with the challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. In the fall of 2019, the UCRF received the North Star Award at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards during Milan Fashion Week.

Fashion industry followers believe the business sector can act more sustainably by pursuing profit and growth. This is done while adding increased value and wealth to society and the global economy. The goal of sustainable fashion is to create flourishing ecosystems and communities through its activity. The movement believes that clothing companies should incorporate environmental, social, and ethical improvements on management's agenda. This may include: increasing the value of local production and products; prolonging the lifecycle of materials; increasing the value of timeless garments; reducing the amount of waste; and reducing the harm to the environment as a result of production and consumption. Another goal is to educate people to practice environmentally friendly consumption by promoting the "green consumer", which can allow the company itself to gain more support and a larger following. Providing more sustainable option decrease the huge amounts of clothing that end up in landfills.

Consumption geared towards saving money, lowering utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting the country's energy needs is described as green consumerism. In recent years there has been an increase in research centered around consumer reactions to the advent of green products within fast fashion. Critics doubt the effectiveness that this has, but companies have already begun slowly transitioning their business models to fit a more eco-friendly and sustainable future. Thus the industry has to change its basic premise for profit, yet this is slow coming as it requires a large shift in business practices, models and tools for assessment. This became apparent in the discussions following the Burberry report of the brand burning unsold goods worth around £28.6m (about $37.8 million) in 2018, exposing not only overproduction and subsequent destruction of unsold stock as a normal business practice, but behavior amongst brands that actively undermine a sustainable fashion agenda.

The challenge for making fashion more sustainable often requires systematic reinvention, and this call for action is not new. The UCRF has argued that the industry focus remains the same ideas originally mooted in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Union observes, "so far, the mission of sustainable fashion has been an utter failure and all small and incremental changes have been drowned by an explosive economy of extraction, consumption, waste and continuous labor abuse."

A frequently concern of those working in the area of sustainable fashion is whether the field itself is an oxymoron. This reflects the seemingly irreconcilable possibility of bringing together fashion (understood as constant change, and tied to business models based on continuous replacement of goods) and sustainability (understood as continuity and resourcefulness). The apparent paradox dissolves if fashion is seen more broadly, as a process not only aligned to expansionist business models and consumption, but instead as mechanism that leads to more engaged ways of living.

Challenges associated with implementing sustainability in fashion design are shaped by the perceptions, attitudes, and involvement of fashion design practitioners in sustainability. Both design and designer roles are key to inspiring sustainable design practices; their role can contribute to sustainability by shaping design production practices and influencing consumption processes.

Traditional textile manufacturing in Teotitlán del Valle. Clothes made with techniques like this are considered more sustainable than fast fashion.

Protesters holding a placard linking fast fashion to climate change.

One of the most apparent reasons for the current unsustainable condition of the fashion system is related to the temporal aspects of fashion; the continuous stream of new goods onto the market, or what is popularly called " fast fashion." The term fast fashion is used to refer to the fast paced production of goods at an unethical level which often has a negative impact on the environment. As a way to conform to the latest fashion styles and keep consumers wanting new garments, current fast fashion trends pre-suppose selling clothing in large quantities. Due to fast fashion being affordable and able to keep up with the trends, there has been an increase in apparel consumption. Consumption has risen to 62 million tonnes annually and is projected to reach 102 million tonnes by 2030. This type of fashion is produced in vast quantities with low-quality materials and are sold through chains such as H&M, Zara, Forever21, Shein, etc. Fast-fashion retailer Shein is one of the most visited fast-fashion websites in the world and ships to 220 countries. However, there are questions about Shein's ethics and sustainability as it was responsible for about 706 billion kilograms of greenhouse gases in 2015 from the production of polyester textiles and uses up hundreds of gallons of water per garment. Additionally, leaving an aftermath of 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide while missing 45% of the UN's goal to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. In January 2021, Shein offered over 121,000 garments made from polyester, making up 61% of their clothing total. The fashion industry has a value of three trillion dollars. It is two percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) - the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period. Out of the three trillion dollars, the majority is made of fast fashion.

However, the "fast" aspect of consumption is primarily a problem for the environment when done on a massive scale. As long as fast conspicuous consumption was reserved to the rich, the global impact was not reaching public attention or seen as a problem. That is, "fast" shopping sprees of haute couture is not seen as a problem, rather it is celebrated (for example in movies such as Pretty Woman), whereas when people with less means shop fast fashion, it is seen as unethical and a problem. Today, the speed of fast fashion is common across the whole industry as exclusive fashion replicates the fast fashion chains with continuous releases of collections and product drops: the quality of a garment does not necessarily translate to a slower pace of consumption and waste. These releases are only exasperated by the acceleration of fashion trends. As micro-trends are only lasting an average of 3 years, the demand for clothes has also accelerated.

In addition to its negative environmental impact, fast fashion is unethical. Keeping up with fashion trends causes clothing to be produced in a harmful manner. "Fast" clothing is made with synthetic fibers as opposed to natural fibers. The synthetic fibers are made using the Earth's fossil fuels. Almost sixty percent of clothes are made this way. Since people spend so much money on these types of clothes and purchase them so frequently, landfills are filling up quickly. Over sixty percent of clothes made every year end up in landfills as consumer waste, and almost twenty percent of the world's waste is constituted by fashion products. Therefore, because fast fashion frequently introduces new collections, consumer consumption increases. Consequently, leading consumers to view low-cost apparel as disposable since there are continuous releases of products. Production of these types of clothing is also commonly exploitative, with most factories that produce "fast" clothing employing workers on low wages in exploitative environments. Workers from Shein are reported to make as little as ~4 cents per garment produced, as well as operating on 18-hour workdays with 1 day off per month. Exploitative fast fashion production is prevalent in countries like China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Hard labor was always around in the fashion industry dating back to when slave labor helped factories gather their materials. People making these clothes today suffer from harsh working conditions, low wages, and risks to health and safety.

"Slow" fashion

" Slow fashion" is a proposed sustainable alternative to fast fashion. The term was coined by Kate Fletcher of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and inspired by " slow food".

Slow fashion challenges growth fashion's obsession with mass-production and globalized style. It becomes a guardian of diversity and changes the power relations between fashion creators and consumers, therefore forging new relationships and trust that are only possible at smaller scales. It fosters a heightened state of awareness of the design process and its impacts on resource flows, workers, communities, and ecosystems.

A slow-fashion garment often consists of durable materials, traditional production techniques, or design concepts that are seasonless or will last for more than a season. Several points of the production chain are affected by slowness. Textile workers in developing countries earn higher wages because of slow fashion. For end-users, slow fashion means that the goods are designed and manufactured with greater care and high-quality products. From an environmental point of view, it means that there are less clothing and industrial waste that is removed from use following transient trends. Throughout the process, durability is considered; emotionally, materially, aesthetically, or by including services that extend the garment's life. Additionally, creative ideas and product innovations constantly redefine slow fashion, so using a static, single definition would ignore the evolving nature of the concept.

Examples of stability of expression over long times are abundant in the history of dress, not least in ethnic or folk dress, ritual or coronation robes, clerical dress, or the uniforms of the Vatican Guard. The emphasis on slowness in branding is thus an approach that is specific for a niche in the market (such as Western-educated middle-class) that has since the 1990s become dominated by "fast" models. One of the earliest brands that gained global fame with an explicit focus on slow fashion, the Anglo-Japanese brand People Tree, embraces the concept of ethical trade, manufactures all products in accordance with ethical commerce standards, and supports local producers and craftsmen in developing countries. The People Tree brand is known as the first fashion company to receive the World Fair Trade Organization product label in 2013, demonstrating their dedication to fair trade and the environment.

The environmental impact of fashion also depends on how much and how long a garment is used. With the fast fashion trend, garments tend to be used half as much as compared to 15 years ago. It has been estimated that each year around $172 million worth of garments is expected to be discarded, many of them after being worn only once. There has been a 7.1 kg increase in global per-capita textile production from 1975-2018. This would not only an increase in textiles but an increase in the amount of water pollution from dying and treating the textiles. The increase can be contributed to the need for consumers to keep up with the latest fashion trends and the quick disposal of clothing. This is due to the inferior quality of fabrics used but also a result of a significant increase in collections that are being released by the fashion industry. To combat this issue at hand, longer lasting materials and products are being promoted to increase sustainability.

Typically, a garment used daily over years has less impact than a garment used once to then be quickly discarded. Studies have shown that the washing and drying process for a pair of classic jeans is responsible for almost two-thirds of the energy consumed through the whole of the jeans' life, and for underwear about 80% of total energy use comes from laundry processes. The dyeing process also contributes close to 15%-20% of wastewater. For this reason, innovative techniques are being introduced to reduce energy and water consumption, such as utilizing CO ₂ in the dyeing process where heat and pressure turns liquid CO ₂ into dye used for various garments. Thus, use and wear practices affect the lifecycles of garments and needs to be addressed for larger systemic impact.

However, there is a significant difference between making a product last from making a long-lasting product. The quality of the product must reflect the appropriate fit into its lifecycle. Certain garments of quality can be repaired and cultivated with emotional durability. Low-quality products that deteriorate rapidly are not as suitable to be "enchanted" with emotional bonds between user and product. It is important to notice that choosing and promoting "emotional bonds" with consumer objects is an endeavor more easily done under circumstances of excess, as the needy have no other option than to keep and care for their belongings.

The fashion industry has a disastrous impact on the environment. In fact, it is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. And, the environmental damage is increasing as the industry grows. The textiles and fashion industries are amongst the leading industries that affect the environment negatively. One of the industries that greatly jeopardize environmental sustainability is the textiles and fashion industry, which thus also bears great responsibilities. Globalization has made it possible to produce clothing at increasingly lower prices, prices so low, and collections shifting so fast, that many consumers consider fashion to be disposable. However, fast, and thus disposable, fashion adds to pollution and generates environmental hazards, in production, use, and disposal. The globalization of the textile and fashion industry has also contributed to the uneven distribution of such environmental hazards and consequences. Developing countries who typically produce the textile and clothing bear the burden for developed countries who largely consume the products.

Putting the environmental perspective at the center, rather than the logic of the industry, is thus an urgent concern if fashion is to become more sustainable. The Earth Logic fashion research action plan argues for "putting the health and survival of our planet earth and consequently the future security and health of all species including humans, before industry, business, and economic growth." In making this argument the Earth Logic plan explicitly connects the global fashion system with the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C.

Furthermore, the Earth Logic fashion research action plan sets out a range of possible areas for work in a sustainable fashion that scientific and research evidence suggests are the most likely to deliver a change of the scale and pace needed to respond to challenges like climate change. Earth Logic's point of departure is that the planet, and its people, must be put first, before profit. It replaces the logic of economic growth, which is arguably the single largest factor limiting change towards sustainable fashion, with the logic that puts earth at its center.

The clothing industry has one of the highest impacts on the planet. Cotton requires approximately 15,000 liters of water to grow for a pair of jeans. High water usage, pollution from chemical treatments used in dyeing and preparation and the disposal of large amounts of unsold clothing through incineration or landfill deposits are hazardous to the environment. There is a growing water scarcity, the current usage level of fashion materials (79 billion cubic meters annually) is very concerning because textile production mostly takes place in areas of fresh water stress. Only around 20% of clothing is recycled or reused, huge amounts of fashion product end up as waste in landfills or are incinerated. It has been estimated that in the UK alone around 350,000 tons of clothing ends up as landfill every year. According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization committed to promoting and supporting sustainable development, "At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. This causes irreversible damage to people and the environment, and still two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint will occur after it is purchased." The average American throws away nearly 70 pounds of clothing per year. Around 5% of the total waste worldwide stems from the textile industry, the clothing section of the textile industry has elevated the amount of waste contributing to global waste.

There is increasing concern that microfibers from synthetic and cellulosic fabrics are polluting the earths waters through the process of laundering. Microfibers are tiny threads that are shed from fabric. These microfibers are too small to be captured in wastewater treatment plants filtration systems and they end up entering our natural water systems and as a result, contaminating our food chain. One study found that 34.8% of Microplastics found in oceans come from the textile and clothing industry and the majority of them were made of polyester, polyethylene, acrylic, and elastane; but a study off the coast of the UK and US by the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in May 2020 suggested there are at least double the number of particles as previously thought. Eliminating synthetic materials used in clothing products can prevent harmful synthetics and microfibers from ending up in the natural environment. While some clothing companies and NGOs support the use of washing bags to filter out microfibers in washing machines and thus reduce microfiber release, microfibers are also shed during wear and disposal. Plastic debris covers the surface of the whole ocean. If no progress is made to reverse the damage, it is calculated that there will be an increase of 850 Mts of plastic debris in the ocean by 2050.

"Fossil fashion"

In February 2021, Changing Markets Foundation released a report on the fashion industry's dependence on oil extraction. The report analyses the current production model across the fashion industry is dependent on massive fossil-fuel extraction to fuel the production of fibers. The report spotlights how the production of the most popular fibers, primarily polyester, is reliant on oil extraction. Production of polyester has grown ninefold since the 1970s, and is the fastest growing component in fashion production. The popularity of polyester is due to its low price, but also the fiber's flexibility as a material. The report suggests, synthetic fibers in the textile industry currently accounts for 1.35% of global oil consumption, and this is projected to more than double in the coming years: "BP's energy scenario presumes plastic production will account for 95% of future growth in demand for oil demand, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts petrochemicals will represent up to 50% of growth in oil demand by 2050 and 4% in the projected growth of gas demand." (p. 8)

One of the main social issues related to fashion concerns labor. Since the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, labor rights in the fashion industry has been at the center of this issue. The 2013 Savar building collapse at Rana Plaza, where 1138 people died, put the spotlight once again on the lack of transparency, poor working conditions and hazards in fashion production. Attention is increasingly being placed on labour rights violations in other parts of the whole fashion product lifecycle from textile production and processing, retail and distribution and modeling to the recycling of textiles. Whilst the majority of fashion and textiles are produced in Asia, Central America, Turkey, North Africa, the Caribbean and Mexico, there is still production across Europe where exploitative working conditions are also found such as in Leicester in the UK Midlands and Central and Eastern Europe.

The environmental impact of fashion also affects communities located close to production sites. There is little easily accessible information about these impacts, but it is known that water and land pollution from toxic chemicals used to produce and dye fabrics and have serious negative consequences for the people living near factories.

Supply chain transparency has been a recurring controversy for the fashion industry, especially since the Rana Plaza accident. The issue has been pushed by many labor organizations, not least Clean Clothes Campaign and Fashion Revolution. Over the last years, over 150 major brands including Everlane, Filippa K, and H&M have answered by publicizing information about their factories online. Every year, Fashion Revolution publishes a Fashion Transparency Index which rates the world's largest brands and retailers according to how much information they disclose about their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact. The top scorers of the 2019 Fashion Transparency Index included Adidas, Reebok, Patagonia, and H&M. The high place of several fast fashion retailers caused controversy regarding the parameters used for such rankings.

While social "inclusivity" has become almost a norm amongst brands marketing ethical and sustainable fashion, the norm for what is considered a "beautiful" and "healthy" body keeps narrowing down under what researchers have called the current "wellness syndrome." With the positive thinking of inclusivity, the assumption is that a consumer can be whatever he or she wants to be, and thus if the person is not living up to the ideals it is the person's own fault. This optimism hides the diktat of aesthetic wellness, which turns inclusion into an obligation to look good and be dressed in fashionable clothes, a "democratic" demand for aesthetic as well as ethical perfection, as argued by philosopher Heather Widdows.

China has emerged as the largest exporter of fast fashion, accounting for 30% of world apparel exports. The country exports over approximately $159 billion USD worth of clothing garments annually. However, some Chinese workers make as little as 12-18 cents per hour working in poor conditions. Each year Americans purchase approximately 1 billion garments made in China. Today's biggest factories and mass scale of apparel production emerged from two developments in history. The first involved the opening up of China and Vietnam in the 1980s to private and foreign capital and investments in the creation of export-oriented manufacturing of garments, footwear, and plastics, part of a national effort to boost living standards, embrace modernity, and capitalism. Second, the retail revolution within the U.S. (example Wal-Mart, Target, Nike) and Western Europe, where companies no longer manufactured but rather contracted out their production and transformed instead into key players in design, marketing, and logistics, introducing many new different product lines manufactured in foreign-owned factories in China. It is the convergence of these two phenomena that has led to the largest factories in history from apparels to electronics. In contemporary global supply chains, it is the retailers and branders who have had the most power in establishing arrangements and terms of production, not factory owners. Fierce global competition in the garment industry translates into poor working conditions for many laborers in developing nations. Developing countries aim to become a part of the world's apparel market despite poor working conditions and low pay. Countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh export large amounts of clothing into the United States every year.

At the heart of the controversy concerning "fast fashion" lies the acknowledgment that the "problem" of unsustainable fashion is that cheap, accessible, and on-trend clothes have become available to people of poorer means. This means more people across the world have adopted the consumption habits that in the mid-20th century were still reserved for the rich. To put it differently, the economic concern of fashion is that poor people, or populations in developing economies, now have access to updating their wardrobes as often as the rich, or consumers in Western economies. That is, "fast" fashion is only a problem when poor people engage in it. In alignment with this, the blame for the proliferation of poor-quality, high-quantity and cheap fashion is often put on poorer consumers.

In order to promote more sustainable forms of consumption, there is a multitude of emerging business models that challenge the prevalent ready-to-wear model. Here is an example of a study that provides insight into innovative business models in the fashion industry that are geared towards sustainability.

A number of emerging business models go under the name of " circular fashion," inspired by the circular economy. While there are many models under development, some are gaining more traction. Much of the work on circular fashion builds on ideas and initiatives explored in the 1990s and onwards, by scholars such as Lynda Grose, Kate Fletcher, Rebecca Earley, Mathilda Tham, and Timo Rissanen, especially the thinking around the "metabolism" of garments and wardrobes, "zero waste" production, and the focus on the whole life cycle of garments. The popular terminology around circular fashion, reached the mainstream through a report that has come to define the field, the 2017 "A New Textile Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future" by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The " cradle-to-cradle" model, a circular system named after the influential 2002 book with the same name by German chemist Michael Braungart and US architect William McDonough has been a popular inspiration amongst proponents of circular fashion, it is not easy to achieve. Most textile fibers in consumer fashion are amalgamations of various materials to achieve flexible or aesthetic properties, and thus not optimal for circular reproduction. Industrially shredded fibers often need addition of new materials to achieve elasticity or durability. Up until now, most companies contributing to circular fashion are either mechanical or chemical textile recyclers such as Lenzing, Recover Textile Systems, Renewcell, Evrnu, Spinnova or Infinited Fiber Company. Although all work with textile waste as their raw material, it is often from pre-consumer origins as it is easier to sort and process. More recently, some industry initiatives to develop and scale pre-consumer and post-consumer textile recycling have been emerging around the globe, particularly as a response to new legislation. On March 30, The European Commission published the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, a new strategy that lays out key principles to drive change in the textiles industry. The European Commission's vision of the future of the textiles industry in Europe lays on several pillars that include recycled textiles, ecodesigns, waste management, transparency, labelling, microplastics and extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Biomimicry, natural cycles, and processes

Biomimicry suggests a perspective emphasizing the "Wisdom of Nature" where the industry looks into materials in tune with natural cycles. Biomimicry replicates the cycles of nature, seeking to infinitely reuse materials to make commerce compatible with nature. Fashion from the viewpoint of biomimicry tries to make fashion work as a sustainable ecosystem, aligning with natural systems in harmony with the biosphere. Materials should be bio-compatible, combining biodegradable fibers with processes of fermentation and gasification, or materials that have been seen as waste could act as a more sustainable method to making new clothing.

Fashion companies are also innovating by incorporating biotechnology materials for the production of products such as sustainable fashion and sportswear, leading to a reduction in the impact of climate change. Biofabrication refers to the process of using microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, algae, and fungi, to produce materials and ingredients used by humans, ranging from fuel to food to fibers. With the aim of harnessing biology and microorganisms, biofabrication aims to produce high-value ingredients without relying on fossil or limited land resources. American fashion designer and CEO of Biofabricate, Suzanne Lee, is developing biofabricate materials for the fashion world and gathering experts in the area to explore the possibilities of this new materials: "We've already seen various automotive concept cars with interiors made from biomaterials rather than animal or petrochemical materials. But it's probably going to be a while before it goes mainstream in the automotive sector because the volumes are so huge."

Multi-national clothing retailers are making progress in sustainable clothing production utilizing biofabrication materials. In 2022, Zara offered party dresses made of polyester produced from bio ethanol created from the carbon emissions of a steel mill. Similarly, H&M Move has partnered with LanzaTech, a breakthrough material science company that diverts carbon emissions from the atmosphere, traps them, and transforms them into thread. Although the technology is still in its early stages, it has the potential to be transformative in the coming decades.

Rental models are gaining popularity across the industry, a model that has traditionally been used in attire for masquerades or special events, such as weddings. The idea is that sharing garments ultimately lowers the volume of new purchases and disposal of clothing, which means less waste. Rent the Runway is a company building on the "Rent a Closet" approach to consumption, where a consumer leases a garment instead of purchasing it. Fashion rental is a model expected to grow over 10% annually until 2027 across the fashion industry, thus also increasing sales (and expected waste) of garments. Renting and sharing clothing is also known as CFC (collaborative fashion consumption) but its environmental impact and mitigation of pollution are debated. While convenient for the consumer, reducing the number of items housed in the wardrobe, the environmental impact of rental may however not be reduced as much as advertised. Transportation between users and storage, dry-cleaning, and re-packaging causes more environmental impact than reselling or hand-me-downs. As noted by Levänen et al. (2021), the lowest global warming impacts are achieved be reducing consumption, followed by reusing and recycling, whereas rental services are likely to increase customers' consumption, logistics, and use, making sharing and rental scenarios having the highest Global Warming Potential.

As noted by sustainability researcher Timo Rissanen, it is the total amount of clothing units in circulation that needs to be reduced, as well as their environmental impact during their life cycle, and rental services could, if improved, play a role in that.

Other resale models also contain elements of upcycling and repairs. Repairing and reselling used clothing has less environmental impact than creating, processing, dying, cutting, sewing, and shipping new clothing to the consumer. Through the upcycling process for clothing, the end-of-life management process of clothes is not applied because it extends the life of a clothing article instead of being disposed into a landfill.

A more technologically minded trend is "innovative recycling", which seeks to view waste itself as a source of value. Within the fashion industry, some[who? ] manufacturers have created incentives for consumers to participate in the recycling of their clothing. Innovative recycling is also aimed at clothing stores themselves, who do not always have sustainable methods to properly dispose of boxes and plastic bags; innovative recycling also looks at the packaging that clothes come in having been sent from manufacturers. A change in approaches towards recycling within the fashion industry could potentially greatly impact the amount of waste the industry creates.

Using digital technologies and blockchain can promote more "Connected Clothes" which allows for more opportunities in digitalizing clothing for personalization, life-tracking, and traceability of its origin.

Open-source content has become a popular reference with designers sharing patterns and designs, connecting to the success of the open-source software movement. By sharing designs freely, using digital technology, the aim is to make consumers more engaged in the design, production, and lifetime use of the garment. While the terminology is new, the concept builds on the sharing of patterns across European courts in 16th century (such as Kleidungsbüchlein or Trachtenbuch (usually translated as "Book of Clothes") of Melchior Lorck, and the wide range of sewing magazines, such as Burda Style, in the early 20th century. By making garments more open and adaptable across their lifecycle, the hope is that "garments can be multi-functional, beyond simply clothing our bodies; that fashion should be both useful and inventive; and that what we wear should relate to the world around us." Examples of open-source fashion range from freely available patterns and production techniques, platforms for exchanging materials and patterns, and maker spaces.

A large amount of clothing purchased annually is discarded and eventually ends up in landfill. Sustainability advocates highlight reselling and donating old clothes and buying secondhand fashion as an approach to sustainable fashion.

Some efforts have been made to recycling textiles and clothing, as the technology to do this has existed for centuries. However, only around 1% of recycled clothes are turned into new items, primarily due to the difficulty and high cost of separating mixed and blended textiles. Most discarded clothing is recycled for other uses, such as building insulation or carpet.

Textile recycling firms process about 70% of the donated clothing into industrial items such as rags or cleaning cloths. However, 20-25% of the second-hand clothing is sold into an international market. Where possible, used jeans collected from America, for example, are sold to low-income customers in Africa for modest prices, yet most end up in landfill as the average US sized customer is several sizes bigger than the global average.

Typically, upcycling creates something new and better from the old, used or disposed of items. The process of upcycling requires a blend of factors like environmental awareness, creativity, innovation, and hard work and results in a unique sustainable product. Upcycling aims at the development of products truly sustainable, affordable, innovative, and creative. For example, shirts can be upcycled into a value-added product like a unique handmade braided rug, whereas the opposite of upcycling is downcycling such as cleaning rags made from worn T-shirts.

It is meant to be innovative by making certain materials into something re-usable and improved, which gives companies and manufacturers higher values for their products. Recycling is a big factor in sustainability, so creating new materials to avoid mass pollution can help improve the economy.

The advantages of circular fashion include: reduced dependency on imported raw materials, creation of eco- friendly industries and jobs, eco-friendly brands benefit from a better public image, and reduction in environmental damage caused by resource extraction. On the other hand, disadvantages include dependency on the consumer's actions, creating a new business model on the basis of recycled is tough, and the entire cycle requires integrating product life cycle from raw material to disposal.

Clothes swap in Wrocław, Wyspa Tamka. Event is manifesting slow fashion movement, focusing on Fashion Revolution actions

Clothing swapping can further promote the reduction, reuse, and recycling clothing. By reusing clothing that has already been made and recycling clothing from one owner to another, source reduction can be achieved. This moves away from usage of new raw materials to make more clothing available for consumption. Through the method of clothing swapping, an alternative resource for consumers to ultimately save in regards to money and time is provided. It reduces transportation emissions, costs, and the time it takes to drive and search through the chaos of most clothing stores. Swapping clothes further promotes the use of sustainable online shopping and the internet as well as an increase of social bonds through online communication or effective personal communication in "clothing swap parties." The EPA states, that by reusing items, at the source waste can be diverted from ending up in landfills because it delays or avoids that item's entry in the waste collection and disposal system.

There are negative social and environmental impacts at all stages of the fashion product life: materials production and processing, manufacture of garments, retail and marketing, use and maintenance, and at the discard phase. For some products, the environmental impact can be greater at the use phase than material production, leading for instance to the suggestion to wash clothes less.

Sustainability and Style event held during Berlin Fashion Week 2016.

Consumer engagement challenges the "passive" mode of ready-to-wear fashion where consumers have few interfaces and little incentive to be active with their garments; to repair, change, update, swap, and learn from their wardrobe. This type of consumer engagement, aiming to promote fashion as an ability rather than primarily as a commodity, has been referred to as "fashion-ability." The term "folk fashion" has been used in the emphasis on craft engagements with garments where the community heritage of skills are in focus. There are currently many designers trying to find ways that experiment with new models of action that deposes passivity and indifference while preserving the positive social dynamics and sensibilities fashion offers, often in relation to Alvin Toffler's notion of the " prosumer" (portmanteau of producer and consumer). Notions of participatory design, open source fashion, and fashion hacktivism are parts of such endeavors, mixing techniques of dissemination with empowerment, reenchantment and Paulo Freire's " Pedagogy of the Oppressed." An example of such consumer engagement can be Giana Gonzalez and her project "Hacking Couture", which has tested such methods across the world since 2006. As highlighted in the research of Jennifer Ballie, there is also an increasing interest across industry to produce unique experiences amongst users, connecting co-design with social media apps and tools to enhance the user experience of consumers. A recent example has been the Open Source Fashion Cookbook, by the New York-based brand ADIFF, showing how consumers can recycle materials, share and modify patterns, and co-create more engaging forms of fashion consumption.

Enhancing the lifespan of products have been yet another approach to sustainability, yet still only in its infancy. Upmarket brands have long supported the lifespan of their products through product-service systems, such as re-waxing of classic outdoor jackets, or repairs of expensive handbags, yet more accessible brands do still not offer even spare buttons in their garments. One such approach concerns emotionally durable design, yet with fashion's dependency on continuous updates, and consumer's desire to follow trends, there is a significant challenge to make garments last long through emotional attachment. As with memories, not all are pleasant, and thus a focus on emotional attachment can result in favoring a normative approach to what is considered a good enough memory to manifest emotionally in a garment. Cultural theorist Peter Stallybrass approaches this challenge in his essay on poverty, textile memory, and the coat of Karl Marx.

There is a broad range of organizations purporting to support sustainable fashion, some representing particular stakeholders, some addressing particular issues, and some seeking to increase the visibility of the sustainable fashion movement. They also range from the local to global. It is important to examine the interests and priorities of the organizations.

Fashion Revolution is a not-for-profit global movement founded by Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro which highlights working conditions and the people behind the garments. With teams in over 100 countries around the world, Fashion Revolution campaigns for systemic reform of the fashion industry with a focus on the need for greater transparency in the fashion supply chain. Fashion Revolution has designated the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh as Fashion Revolution Day. Fashion Revolution Week takes place annually during the week on which the anniversary falls. Over 1000 events take place around the world, with millions of people engaging online and offline. Fashion Revolution publishes the Fashion Transparency Index annually, ranking the largest fashion brands in the world on how much they disclose about their policies, practices, procedures and social and environmental impact.

Red Carpet Green Dress, founded by Suzy Amis Cameron, is a global initiative showcasing sustainable fashion on the red carpet at the Oscars. Talent supporting the project includes Naomie Harris, Missi Pyle, Kellan Lutz and Olga Kurylenko.

Undress Brisbane is an Australian fashion show that sheds light on sustainable designers in Australia.

Global Action Through Fashion is an Oakland, California-based ethical fashion organization working to advocate for sustainable fashion.

Ecoluxe London, a not-for-profit platform, supports luxury with ethos through hosting a biannual exhibition during London Fashion Week and showcasing eco-sustainable and ethical designers.

The Ethical Fashion Initiative, a flagship program of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and World Trade Organization, enables artisans living in urban and rural poverty to connect with the global fashion chain. The Initiative also works with the rising generation of fashion talent from Africa, encouraging the forging sustainable and fulfilling creative collaborations with artisans on the continent. The Ethical Fashion Initiative is headed by Simone Cipriani.

Eco Age, a consultancy company specializing in enabling businesses to achieve growth and add value through sustainability, is an organization that promotes sustainable fashion. Its creative director, Livia Firth, is also the founder of the Green Carpet Challenge which aims to promote ethically made outfits from fashion designers.

Trans-America Trading Company is one of the biggest of about 3,000 textile recyclers in the United States. Trans-America has processed more than 12 million pounds of post-consumer textiles per year since 1942. At its 80,000-square-foot sorting facility, workers separate used clothing into 300 different categories by type of item, size, and fiber content. About 30% of the textiles are turned into absorbent wiping rags for industrial uses, and another 25-30% are recycled into fiber for use as stuffing for upholstery, insulation, and the manufacture of paper products.

ViaJoes - Sustainable clothing manufacturer producing eco-friendly fabrics from recycled cotton and other sustainable products confirmed to GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standard International Working Group standard

In fashion, the consideration of sustainability of materials is critical. The renewability and source of a fiber, the process of how a raw fiber is turned into a textile, the impact of preparation and dyeing of the fibers, energy use in production and preparation, the working conditions of the people producing the materials, and the material's total carbon footprint, transportation between production plants, chemicals used to keep shipments fresh in containers, shipping to retail and consumer, how the material will be cared for and washed, the processes of repairs and updates, and what happens to it at the end of life. The indexing of the textile journeys is thus extremely complex. In sustainability, there is no such thing as a single-frame approach. Issues dealt with in single frames will almost by definition lead to unwanted and unforeseen effects elsewhere.

Overall, diversity in the overall fiber mix is needed; in 2013 cotton and polyester accounted for almost 85% of all fibers, and thus their impacts were, and continue to be, disproportionately magnified. Also, many fibers in the finished garments are mixed to acquire desired drape, flexibility or stretch, thus affecting both care and the possibility to recycle the material in the end.

Natural fibers are fibers which are found in nature and are not petroleum-based. Natural fibers can be categorized into two main groups, cellulose or plant fiber and protein or animal fiber. Uses of these fibers can be anything from buttons to eyewear such as sunglasses.

Other than cotton, the most common plant-based fiber, cellulose fibers include: jute, flax, hemp, ramie, abaca, soy, maize, banana, pineapple. Bacterial cellulose is currently being tested and better developed as a new fiber alternative.

Cotton is one of the most chemical-intensive crops in the world, but growers in California have reduced their dependence on these chemicals. Conventionally grown cotton uses approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and more than 10% of the world's pesticides. However, growing and processing this particular fiber crop is largely unsustainable. For every pound of cotton harvested, a farmer uses up 1/3 lb of chemical, synthetic fertilizer. As a whole, the US cotton production makes up 25% of all pesticides deployed in the United States. Worldwide, cotton takes up 2.4% of all arable lands yet requires 16% of the world's pesticides. The cotton hulls contain the most potent insecticide residues. They are often used as cattle feed, which means that consumers are purchasing meat containing a concentration of pesticides. The processing of cotton into usable fibers also adds to the burden on the environment. Manufacturers prefer cotton to be white so that cotton can easily be synthetically dyed to any shade of color. Natural cotton is actually beige-brown, and so during processing, manufacturers would add bleach and various other chemicals and heavy metal dyes to make cotton pure white. Formaldehyde resins would be added in as well to form "easy care" cotton fabric.

To reduce the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals, companies have produced genetically modified (GMO) cotton plants that are resistant to pest infestations. Among the GMO are cotton crops inserted with the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene. Bt cotton crops do not require insecticide applications. Insects that consume cotton containing Bt will stop feeding after a few hours, and die, leaving the cotton plants unharmed.

However, there are concerns regarding Bt technology, mainly that insects will eventually develop resistance to the Bt strain. According to an article published in Science Daily, researchers have found that members from a cotton bollworm species, Helicoverpa zea, were Bt-resistant in some crop areas of Mississippi and Arkansas during 2003 and 2006. Fortunately, the vast majority of other agricultural pests remain susceptible to Bt.

Micha Peled's documentary exposé Bitter seeds on BT farming in India claimed to reveal the true impact of genetically modified cotton on India's farmers, with a suicide rate of over a quarter-million Bt cotton farmers since 1995 due to financial stress resulting from massive crop failure and the exorbitantly high price of Monsanto's proprietary BT seed, although the evidence does not support this claim as the suicide rate of Indian famers has decreased since the introduction of Bt cotton. The film also refutes false claims purported by the biotech industry that Bt cotton requires less pesticide and empty promises of higher yields, as farmers discover the bitter truth that in reality, Bt cotton in fact requires a great deal more pesticide than organic cotton, and often suffer higher levels of infestation by Mealybug resulting in devastating crop losses, and extreme financial and psychological stress on cotton farmers. Due to the biotech seed monopoly in India, where Bt cotton seed has become the ubiquitous standard, and the organic seed has become absolutely unobtainable, thus coercing all cotton farmers into signing Bt cotton seed purchase agreements which enforce the intellectual property interests of the biotech multinational corporation Monsanto.

Organic cotton

Organic cotton yarn

Organic cotton is grown without the use of any genetic modification to the crops, without the use of any fertilizers, pesticides, and other synthetic agro-chemicals harmful to the land. All cotton marketed as organic in the United States is required to fulfill strict federal regulations regarding how the cotton is grown. This is done with a combination of innovation, science, and tradition in order to encourage a good quality of life and environment for all involved. Organic cotton uses 88% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton.

Naturally colored cotton

Cotton is naturally grown in a variety of colors. Typically, cotton color can come as mauve, red, yellow, and orange hues. The use of naturally colored cotton has long been historically suppressed, mainly due to the industrial revolution. Back then, it was much cheaper to have uniformly white cotton as a raw source for mass-producing cloth and fabric items. Currently, modern markets have revived a trend in using naturally colored cotton for its noted relevance in reducing harmful environmental impacts. One such example of markets opening to these cotton types would be Sally Fox and her Foxfiber business-naturally colored cotton that Fox has bred and marketed. On an additional note, naturally colored cotton is already colored, and thus do not require synthetic dyes during process. Furthermore, the color of fabrics made from naturally colored cotton does not become worn and fade away compared to synthetically dyed cotton fabrics.

Soy fabrics are derived from the hulls of soybeans-a manufacturing byproduct. Soy fabrics can be blended (i.e. 30%) or made entirely out of soy fibers. Soy clothing is largely biodegradable, so it has a minimal impact on environment and landfills. Although not as durable as cotton or hemp fabrics, soy clothing has a soft, elastic feel. Soy clothing is known as the vegetable cashmere for its light and silky sensation. Soy fabrics are moisture absorbent, anti-bacterial, and UV resistant. However, soy fabrics fell out of public knowledge during World War II, when rayon, nylon, and cotton sales rose sharply.

Hemp, like bamboo, is considered a sustainable crop. It requires little water to grow, and it is resistant to most pests and diseases. The hemp plant's broad leaves shade out weeds and other plant competitors, and its deep taproot system allows it to draw moisture deep in the soil. Unlike cotton, many parts of the hemp plant have a use. Hemp seeds, for example, are processed into oil or food. Hemp fiber comes in two types: primary and secondary bast fibers. Hemp fibers are durable and are considered strong enough for construction uses. Compared to cotton fiber, hemp fiber is approximately 8 times the tensile strength and 4 times the durability.

Hemp fibers are traditionally coarse and have been historically used for ropes rather than for clothing. However, modern technology and breeding practices have made hemp fiber more pliable, softer, and finer.

Bamboo

Kombucha (SCOBY)

Furnished by a grant from the US. Environmental Protection Agency, associate professor Young-A Lee and her team are growing vats of gel-like film composed of cellulose fiber, a byproduct of the same symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeast (abbreviated SCOBY) found in another of the world's popular "live culture" foods: kombucha. Once harvested and dried, the resulting material has a look and feel much like leather. The fibers are 100 percent biodegradable, they also foster a cradle-to-cradle cycle of reuse and regeneration that leaves behind virtually zero waste. However, this material takes a long time to grow about three to four weeks under lab-controlled conditions. Hence mass production is an issue. In addition, tests revealed that moisture absorption from the air softens this material makes it less durable. Researchers also discovered that cold conditions make it brittle.

Other alternative biodegradable fibers being developed by small companies include:

leather alternative using pineapple leaves;

bio-composites, fabrics, and leather alternative using various parts of coconut;

fabric and paper made from banana plant stalks and stems.

garmets made from tencel fibers.

Protein fibers originate from animal sources and are made up of protein molecules. The basic elements in these protein molecules being carbon, hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen.

Cashmere is obtained from the fine, soft hairs of a cashmere goat's underbelly coat. This specific breed of goat is found throughout Asia. Due to the rarity of the breed, four goats are needed to produce enough cashmere for one sweater. Initially, cashmere was relatively expensive, but due to increased demand, the industry is beginning to take a toll on animals and the land. More and more goats are needed which results in more mouths to feed. Overpopulation of the goats degrades the land due to increased grazing. The cashmere industry is becoming more and more controversial with the questioning of the working conditions of goat herders and the underpaying of farmers. Oxfam reported in Spring 2021 on a project in Afghanistan being undertaken jointly with the Burberry Foundation and PUR Projet, working with goat farmers to improve their business operations and make the Afghan cashmere industry more sustainable.

Italian company Zero Grado Espace has developed MuSkin, an alternative to leather made from the cap of the phellinus ellipsoideus mushroom, a parasitic fungus that grows in subtropical forests. It is water repellent and contains natural penicillin substances which limit bacteria proliferation.

Wild Rubber, developed by Flavia Amadeu and Professor Floriano Pastore at the University of Brazil, is an initiative that promotes wild rubber material which comes from the sap or latex of the pará rubber tree that grows within a biodiverse ecosystem in the Amazon Rainforest, Acre, Brazil. It is tapped by local communities who typically have a close relationship the forest and will gather medicinal plants or wild food during their tapping rounds.

Qmilch GmbH, a German company has innovated a process to produce a textile fiber from casein in milk but it cannot be used for consumption. Qmilk fiber is made from 100% renewable resources. In addition, for the production of 1 kg of fiber Qmilch GmbH needs only 5 minutes and max. 2 liters of water. This implies a particular level of cost efficiency and ensures a minimum of emissions. Qmilk fiber is biodegradable and leaves no traces. In addition, it is naturally antibacterial, especially against the bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is ideal for people that suffer from textile allergies.

Fabrics made from Qmilk fiber provide high wearing comfort and a silky feel. The organic fiber is tested for harmful substances and dermatologically tested for the wearer's skin and body compatibility 0% chemical additives.

Manufactured fibers sit within three categories: Manufactured cellulosic fibers, manufactured synthetic fibers and manufactured protein fiber (azlon). Manufactured cellulosic fibers include modal, Lyocell (also known under the brand name Tencel), rayon/viscose made from bamboo, rayon/viscose made from wood and polylactic acid (PLA). Manufactured synthetic fibers include polyester, nylon, spandex, acrylic fiber, polyethylene and polypropylene (PP). Azlon is a manufactured protein fiber. Rayon/ viscose is a fiber out of pulp highly used in fast fashion as it is cheaply manufactured. To extract rayon/viscose, plantations cut down 30% of endangered and ancient forests threatening the life of ecosystems.

PET plastics are also known as Polyethylene terephthalate(PETE). PET's recycling code, the number within the three chasing arrows, is one. These plastics are usually beverage bottles (i.e. water, soda, and fruit juice bottles). According to the EPA, plastic accounts for 12% of the total amount of waste we produce. Recycling plastic reduces air, water, and ground pollution. Recycling is only the first step; investing and purchasing products manufactured from recycled materials is the next of many steps to living sustainably.

Recyclables at transfer station, Gainesville, Florida

Clothing can be made from plastics. Seventy percent of plastic-derived fabrics come from polyester, and the type of polyester most used in fabrics is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET plastic clothing come from reused plastics, often recycled plastic bottles. The Coca-Cola Company, for example, created a "Drink2Wear" line of T-shirts made from recycled bottles. Generally, PET plastic clothing are made from recycled bottles as follows: plastic bottles are collected, compressed, baled, and shipped into processing facilities where they will be chopped into flakes, and melted into small white pellets. Then, the pellets are processed again, and spun into yarn-like fiber where it can be made into clothing. One main benefit of making clothes from recycled bottles is that it keep the bottles and other plastics from occupying landfill space. Another benefit is that it takes 30% less energy to make clothes from recycled plastics than from virgin polyesters.

The global political economy and legal system supports a fashion system that enables fashion that has devastating environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts to be priced at a lower price than fashion which involves efforts to minimize harm in the growth, manufacturing, and shipping of the products. This results in higher prices for fashion made from reduced impact materials than clothing produced in a socially and environmentally damaging way (sometimes referred to as conventional methods).

3D seamless knitting is a technology that allows an entire garment to be knit with no seams. This production method is considered a sustainable practice due to its reduction in waste and labor. By only using the necessary materials, the producers will be more efficient in their manufacturing process. This production method is similar to seamless knitting, although traditional seamless knitting requires stitching to complete the garment. In contrast 3D seamless knitting creates the entire garment, eliminating additional work. The garments are designed using 3D software unlike traditional flat patterns. Shima Seiki and Stoll are currently the two primary manufacturers of the technology. The technology is produced through the use of solar energy, and they are selling to brands like Max Mara.

Zero waste design in fashion is a concept that aims to reduce material waste throughout the textile and fashion production process. Although the concept has existed for a number of years on the grounds of reducing costs through reducing waste, zero waste design is increasingly being integrated into fashion production for environmental reasons. Zero-waste pattern making designs patterns for a garment so that when the pattern pieces are cut, no fabric is wasted.

Traditional methods of dyeing textiles are incredibly harmful towards the earth's water supply, creating toxic chemicals that affect entire communities. An alternative to traditional water dyeing is scCO ₂ dyeing (super critical carbon dioxide). This process creates no waste by using 100% of the dyes, reducing energy by 60% with no auxiliary chemicals, and leaving a quarter of the physical footprint of traditional dyeing. Different names for this process are Drydye and Colordry. Another company called Colorep has patented Airdye, a similar process that they claim uses 95% less water and up to 86% less energy than traditional dyeing methods.

No brand is considered by environmental experts to be fully sustainable, and controversy exists over exactly how the concept of sustainability can be applied in relation to fashion, if it can be used at all, or if labels such as "slow" and "sustainable" fashion are inherently an oxymoron. Brands that sell themselves as sustainable often lack systems to deal with oversupply, take back used clothes, fully recycle fibers, offer repair services, or even support the life of the garment during use (such as instructions on washing, care and repair). Almost no brands offer replacement parts, such as buttons, straps or pockets, for their garments.[citation needed ]

Some brands that sell themselves as sustainable are listed below;

Eastern European prisoners are designing sustainable prison fashion in Latvia and Estonia under the Heavy Eco label,[252] part of a trend called "prison couture".[253]

Other sustainable fashion brands include Elena Garcia, Nancy Dee, By Stamo, Outsider Fashion, Beyond Skin, Oliberté, Hetty Rose, DaRousso, KSkye the Label,[254] and Eva Cassis.[181][255][256][257][258][259][260]

The brand Boll & Branch make all of their bedding products from organic cotton and have been certified by Fair Trade USA.[261]

The Hemp Trading Company is an ethically driven underground clothing label, specializing in environmentally friendly, politically conscious street wear made of hemp, bamboo, organic cotton and other sustainable fabrics.[262]

Patagonia, a major retailer in casual wear, has been selling fleece clothing made from post-consumer plastic soda bottles since 1993.[23]

The Golden Book Gown made of recycled and discarded paper book pages.

There is no certain stable model among the designers for how to be sustainable in practice, and the understanding of sustainability is always a process or a work-in-progress, and varies by who defines what is "sustainable;" farmers or animals, producers or consumers, managers or workers, local businesses or neighborhoods. Thus critical scholars would label much of the business-driven discourse on sustainability as "greenwashing" as under the current economic paradigm, "sustainability" is primarily defined as keeping the wheels of perpetual production and consumption turning; to keep the "perpetuum mobile" of fashion running and in perpetual motion.

There are some designers that experiment in making fashion more sustainable, with various degrees of impact;

Ryan Jude Novelline created a ballroom gown constructed entirely from the pages of recycled and discarded children's books known as The Golden Book Gown that "prove[d] that green fashion can provide as rich a fantasia as can be imagined."

Eco-couture designer Lucy Tammam uses eri silk (ahimsa/peace silk) and organic cotton to create her eco friendly couture evening and bridal wear collections.

Amal Kiran Jana is a designer from India and the founder of Afterlife Project which is a sustainability development project supporting global and unique designers in 360 degrees.

Stella McCartney pushes the agenda for sustainable fashion that is animal and eco-friendly. She also uses her name and her brand as a platform to push for a greener fashion industry. The brand uses the EP&L tool which was created to help companies understand their environmental impact by measuring greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, water pollution, air pollution and waste across the entire global supply chain.

Gabriela Hearst during her tenure at Chloé and under her own name has made sustainability a key focus of her work. The runway presentation for her Spring/Summer 2020 eponymous collection was certified carbon neutral. Gabriela Hearst also avoids single use plastic in retail and supply chain networks, using compostable polymers and recycled cardboard. While she was at Chloé, the label became the first major luxury brand to receive a B Corp certification.

The increase in western consumers' environmental interest is motivating companies to use sustainable and environmental arguments solely to increase sales. Because environmental and sustainability issues are complex, it is also easy to mislead consumers. Companies can use sustainability as a "marketing ploy" something that can be seen as greenwashing. Greenwashing is the deceptive use of an eco-agenda in marketing strategies. It refers mostly to corporations that make efforts to clean up their reputation because of social pressure or for the purpose of financial gain. Companies continuing to be using greenwashing in turn hurts companies that are true to their environmental goals, losing their competitive edge to bigger corporations.

A major controversy on sustainable fashion concerns how the "green" imperative is used as a cover-up for systemic labor exploitation, social exclusion and environmental degradation, what is generally labelled as greenwashing. Market-driven sustainability can only address sustainability to a certain degree as brands still need to sell more products in order to be profitable. Thus, almost any initiative towards addressing ecological and social issues still contributes to the damage. In a 2017 report, the industry projects that the overall apparel consumption will rise by 63%, from 62 million tons today to 102 million tons in 2030, thus effectively erasing any environmental gains made by current initiatives.

Used clothing is sold in more than 100 countries. In Tanzania, used clothing is sold at Mitumba markets ( Swahili for "bundles"). Most of the clothing is imported from the United States. However, there are concerns that trade in secondhand clothing in African countries decreases development of local industries even as it creates employment in these countries. While the reuse of materials brings resource savings, there are some concerns that the influx of cheap, second-hand clothing, particularly in Africa, has undermined indigenous textile industries, with the result that clothing collected in the West under the guise of 'charitable donations' could actually create more poverty. The authors of Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste warn that in the long run, as prices and quality of new clothing continue to decline, the demand for used clothing will also diminish.

Black, Sandy (2008). Eco-chic : the fashion paradox, London: Black Dog. ISBN 1-906155-09-7. OCLC 966078563.

Black, Sandy (2013). The sustainable fashion handbook, New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500290569. OCLC 939743661.

Choi, Tsan-Ming; Cheng, T. C. Edwin, eds. (2015). Sustainable fashion supply chain management: from sourcing to retailing. Springer series in supply chain management. Vol. 1. New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12703-3. ISBN 9783319127026. OCLC 907012044.

Friedman, Vanessa (May 7, 2022). "Redefining 'Sustainable Fashion'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Gardetti, Miguel Ángel; Torres, Ana Laura, eds. (2013). Sustainability in fashion and textiles: values, design, production and consumption. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing. ISBN 9781906093785. OCLC 827952084.

Shell, Hanna Rose (2020). Shoddy : From Devil's Dust to the Renaissance of Rags. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9-780226-698-22-9.

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Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments, and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, including "cutting CO2 emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring that garment workers are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions".

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If you're in the ethical fashion world you may have come across new activewear brand . The brand was set up last year by social media influencer Grace Beverly and has become immensely popular since its first release. The brand is represented as a sustainable alternative to stylish active wear, made up of 92% recycled materials.

Whenever I want to look a little more into a brand my first stop is always Good on You, the app that provides all the info on brands sustainability and ethics. TALA is rated as 'Good' on Good on You, which is the second highest rating. It has a lot of great environmental credentials; as I mentioned it's made up of 92% recycled materials, and it seems that every care has been taken to make the packaging, as well as all the other little bits that come along with a fashion product, sustainable. Notably, the tags that turn into plants!

They also sell a fibre filter bag; acknowledging the huge issue of microfibres and attempting to do their bit about the problem, which is definitely a great step.

Good on You states that TALA's labour rating is 'It's a start'. The garments are made in Portugal, which is medium risk country for labour abuses, they trace part of their supply chain and carry out some auditing. This is definitely a good start and much better than a lot of other brands, but definitely an area where a little more improvement could happen. They do not have evidence that their workers are paid a living wage.

Activewear is one of those areas where you oftentimes end up having to buy new; second hand isn't really an option here as most people's old activewear is pretty worn out by the time they're finished with it. TALA is working harder to be better for the planet than other popular activewear brands like Nike and Gymshark.

Something that's always interesting to observe with sustainable brands is the marketing, and this is where I always find myself in a real dilemma. A sustainable fashion brand needs to sell well in order to stay afloat and make sustainable fashion more accessible to everyone but at the same time, marketing in a way that makes people want to buy clothing unnecessarily results in damage to the environment.

TALA definitely markets in a way that makes you really want to buy their clothing; but I think it's impossible for a sustainable brand to strike the balance between having products that people want to buy, but not so much that they buy them when they don't need them.

On reading a few comments on one of TALA's Instagram posts, I did see quite a few people stating that they had bought items and they had ripped or broken quite soon after. I haven't bought any of their clothes myself so I can't really say anything about the quality, but it did make me wonder if they are prioritising this. I also noticed one commenter saying that the fact that TALA releases new collections around every two weeks makes it look as though it's acting very similarly to fast fashion brands. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues; as if it does it seems that TALA is neglecting the notion of slow fashion, which in my opinion is essential to be a truly sustainable brand. It doesn't matter how sustainable your materials are if you're producing at an unsustainable rate.

On another note, a positive of TALA is that it markets and sells to all different sizes; with the clothes ranging from a UK size 4-20 they are inclusive of a wide variety of shapes. They also don't shy away from using models that don't fit the conventional thin fitness model image in their marketing and website images; which is something that is rare to see but really important.

I can also admire that it is run by a young female; it's concerning how male dominated the fashion industry is, so I always think it's great to support female-led businesses.

I believe that TALA is having a positive effect, encouraging people who would otherwise buy from brands that have no eco credentials whatsoever to a brand that is making a significant effort. They definitely have a few shortfalls that need to be addressed but I would potentially consider buying from them in the future. I would definitely like their labour credentials to a be a little more cemented before I did make a purchase, and I'd really like to see them truly embody slow fashion.

Have you shopped at TALA or would you consider shopping there in the future?

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If you're in the ethical fashion world you may have come across new activewear brand . The brand was set up last year by social media influencer Grace Beverly and has become immensely popular since its first release. The brand is represented as a sustainable alternative to stylish active wear, made up of 92% recycled materials.

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While it's key we engage with the ethics of the fashion industry in order to encourage positive change, not everyone may have the emotional bandwidth to take on more bad news right now. With an NHS at breaking point, many people's jobs and livelihoods at risk and a general sense of uncertainty sweeping the world, small pieces of good news can make all the difference.

I'm not in a wardrobe update phase at the minute. Like so many people, I'm sure, the desire for new outfits has faded away along with the possibility of leaving the house. I am not one to look cute for the sake of grocery shopping. That said, working on Fashion Revolution's showcasing initiative, Fashion Open Studio, leaves no shortness of inspiration when it comes to designers making beautiful clothes with responsibility at the forefront. It's also the first year we've taken the initiative international, with designers from 13 different countries on the programme. My current favourites are Sona Asemani and BODICE.

I'm trying to be waste-minimal in the kitchen, as much as possible. My flat only has a tiny mini fridge, so stockpiling groceries is off the table. Instead, I'm aiming to use everything we can squeeze in there as efficiently as possible. It's led to some weird recipe combinations but overall less waste. In my wardrobe, I'm hoping time in lockdown gets me mending a few pairs of socks and fixing a couple of other items. Right now, though, my energy is focused on prepping for Fashion Revolution Week, so taking part in our #LovedClothesLast initiative will have to wait for me until after the big week.

It feels like brands big and small, armed with the reality that now isn't the time to reinvent our style, have switched their comms and marketing to teach people how to better care for their clothes from home. As we move forward, I hope this kind of content continues and the big brands use their resources to help customers make their products last a lifetime.

Though this Fashion Revolution Week will be different than any one previous, it's clear now more than ever that we need to call for a radical shift in the way we produce and consume clothing. The coronavirus pandemic has left millions of people who make our clothes in crisis. It's also exposed the flawed system in which business-as-usual leaves the most vulnerable people in the supply chain even worse off during times of crisis.

Though this Fashion Revolution Week may not have all of the physical events, swaps and workshops we usually see, we are hoping that more people than ever before will take to social media to demand an industry that values people and planet over profit and growth. To that end, we've created a digital activism guide to help people take part from their screens.

From widened social inequality to the climate emergency, fashion faces huge challenges ahead but as always we believe that our power is in our persistence and that if we love fashion, we should use our voices to demand a more responsible industry.

I am supporting brands that inspire me and which prioritise sustainability. It feels really good to be able to support brands through this time of crisis. It's more important than ever to highlight the notion of voting with your money - the businesses you buy from directly favour the kind of future you want to build! So when possible, buy from businesses that are prioritising the areas you're passionate about. For me this is climate change, responsible production and brands that have a story behind them (pun intended!). Recently these have included TogetherBand, Underprotection and Ocean Bottle.

Aside from working on Stories Behind Things, I've been trying to utilise this stillness and reflection to restructure my goals and intentions for the year. Taking care of one's mental health during a time like this is more important than ever. Of course it goes without saying that some days, like many others, I wake up with a bubbling sense of anxiety for the crisis we are moving through. My advice for days like this would be to slow down, stay away from screens and be kind to yourself.

Many companies have had to make huge pivots during this period and Stories Behind Things has been going through the same. We've had project and event postponing or cancellations across the next few months, so I'm using this time to plan for when normality stabilises again.

The sense of community and more meaningful connection that has emerged online! It's SO powerful. I can see there's been a rise in honest conversation, genuine support and possibly a...kinder digital landscape?

It's been such an honour to have been involved and follow the growth of the movement closely year on year, both personally and through Stories Behind Things partnerships. Fashion Revolution cofounders Orsola and Tamsin remain huge inspirations for me! The message I would send is to get involved in a way that's comfortable for you - know that your voice makes a difference and there are so many ways you can add to this momentum of positive change. From attending events and volunteering to online support like sending a tweet to a brand asking where your clothes are made. The list is endless! Head to Fashion Revolution to read more about the many ways to get involved.

We're getting really into meal planning at my boyfriend's - putting spring onions back into water to grow, being mega into leftovers and making sure there's no food waste. I'm also trying to keep buying anything to a minimum; luckily I brought all my shampoo bars and non-plastic cosmetics when I moved temporarily. I'm also not showering every day (lol) to save water. I am really missing my Oddbox waste fruit and veg subscription as I left London last month. I was already pretty green before but being even more so now without travelling!

Living wages for all! Bring down the current fast fashion system! Aim for circularity!

I'm going through all my unwanted fabric and clothing and making little creative projects from them. I have a lot of deadstock trims that I want to be reused so have created a series called SEWcial Distancing where I share DIY projects to do at home. They are all about upcycling your current items or hand-making things from cast-offs while being creative and sustainable at home. I'm always assessing my habits and trying to reduce how much plastic I use. Currently I'm learning about how I can make my beauty regime more plastic-free. I have bars for my deodorant, shampoo, conditioner and hand soap but am looking into balms and moisturisers which are plastic-free.

Conscious consumption! With the rise in online sales last month for fast fashion brands, I feel it's sad and clear that when we purchase things, we're still only thinking of ourselves. The wider impact of the purchase is still not considered by so many people, such as the resources required for the material, the labour to produce the item, the workers who pack and distribute the item and the long-term life of the garment. The first step is being aware and conscious of how you consume and who it affects. From there we can start to make small changes to our purchasing decisions which will lead to wider changes in how we consume.

I am repurposing fabric and toiles to make face masks. Using every single ingredient and reducing food waste even further. I have done two food shops in the month I've been home, which as a plant-based eater who likes fresh veg and fruit can be a little hard but I've turned everything into other things: fruit has gone into banana bread (predictably), smoothies and juices, veg that was about to turn went into soups, curries and chilli and I've frozen herbs in oil for future recipes. Everything I buy has to multitask. I have also only driven twice, which feels like an accomplishment outside of London.

The many studios making scrubs for the NHS via Scrub Hub and the designers making masks for their communities and care homes - I've even made a few for my family and neighbours.

It's also been nice to see big and small brands share concise and impactful news. I believe in using your platform well, however big or small.

As we are going through - and eventually as we come out of - this seismic event, let us all be wiser still with our purchasing and with how we live. It is more important now than ever to be conscious about how our decisions affect others and the planet. Be aware of what brands did and said during this time of crisis.

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5 Activists On Positivity & Progress In Fashion

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To celebrate Fashion Revolution Week 2020, we asked five of our favourite fashion activists to tell us which brands they're supporting during lockdown, what's making them feel hopeful in fashion right now, and who we should be following to make our Instagram feed a more positive place.

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charity devoted to helping the world become more sustainable

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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Mission

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Since its launch, the Foundation has emphasised the real-world relevance of the circular economy framework, recognising that business innovation sits at the heart of economic transitions. The Foundation works with its Global Partners (BlackRock, Danone, DS Smith, Google, H&M Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, Philips, Renault, SC Johnson, Solvay, and Unilever) to develop scalable circular business initiatives and to address challenges to implementing them.

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Ellen Macarthur Foundation

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Fashion is a vibrant industry that employs hundreds of millions, generates significant revenues, and touches almost everyone, everywhere. Since the 20th century, clothing has increasingly been considered as disposable, and the industry has become highly globalised, with garments often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold worldwide at an ever-increasing pace. This trend has been further accentuated over the past 15 years by rising demand from a growing middle class across the globe with higher disposable income, and the emergence of the 'fast fashion' phenomenon, leading to a doubling in production over the same period.

The time has come to transition to a textile system that delivers better economic, societal, and environmental outcomes. The report A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion's future outlines a vision and sets out ambitions and actions - based on the principles of a circular economy - to design out negative impacts and capture a USD 500 billion economic opportunity by truly transforming the way clothes are designed, sold, and used.

Beyond laudable ongoing efforts, a new system for the textiles economy is needed and this report proposes a vision aligned with circular economy principles. In such a model, clothes, fabric, and fibres re-enter the economy after use and never end up as waste. Achieving a new textiles economy will demand unprecedented levels of alignment. A system-level change approach is required and one which will capture the opportunities missed by the current linear textiles system.

Read the full news release
Learn more about Make Fashion Circular

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Circular Fashion - A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion's future

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Fashion is a vibrant industry that employs hundreds of millions, generates significant revenues, and touches almost everyone, everywhere. Since the 20th century, clothing has increasingly been considered as disposable, and the industry has become highly globalised, with garments often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold worldwide at an ever-increasing pace.

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Can the Fashion Industry ever be sustainable?

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Can the Fashion Industry ever be sustainable?

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The fashion industry has some truly major sustainability problems in its midst. By 2030, it is predicted that the industry's water consumption will grow by 50 percent to 118 billion cubic meters (or 31.17 trillion gallons), its carbon footprint will increase to 2,791 million tons and the amount of waste it creates will hit 148 million tons.

These predictions come despite the significant progress being made by brands and retailers to minimize their impact. Many brands are using sustainable cotton initiatives to reduce water, energy and chemical use, new dyeing technology to reduce water consumption by up to 50 percent, as well as numerous energy and chemical saving schemes throughout the supply chain. In the UK, the result of this work is percolating through to retailers, with a reduction in the carbon and water footprints per ton of clothing of 8 percent and 7 percent respectively since 2012.

Yes, the industry is working to reduce the environmental footprint of its products. But the problem has now shifted to the consumption side: the insatiable appetite for fashion means people are buying more and more clothes. Since 2012, there has been a 10 percent increase in the amount of clothing purchased in the UK alone. And not only are consumers buying more; the rate at which their clothing gets discarded is becoming increasingly quicker as they chase the latest fashion trends. It is estimated there is over £30 billion ($38 billion) of clothing sitting in wardrobes across the UK that has not been worn for over 12 months.

Fast fashion is seen by many as the fundamental cause of many of the sustainability issues the industry faces. And so it has been suggested by numerous commentators, academics and NGOs that ethical consumption can and will lead to a paradigm shift in behavior. Over time, it is thought that slow fashion may become the norm, with consumers wearing classically styled garments that last for years instead of months or weeks.

This might serve to minimize the need to make new purchases of the latest fashion fad, therefore reducing impacts. The logic of this argument is predicated on the idea that consumers are rational animals with behavior that is controlled and predictable.

But the growth of ethical consumption has not materialized in mainstream fashion. Ethically-minded brands believe the single biggest issue stopping them becoming more sustainable is the consumer; either through their lack of awareness of the issues faced by the industry or through an unwillingness to pay the premium for sustainable products.

Can ethical consumption really exist in the mainstream fashion market? Psychology and behavioral science may suggest that ethical fashion consumption is a pipe dream. We believe our purchasing decisions are based on rational, conscious and well thought out deliberations, but in reality, the complexity of human behavior and the fundamental nature of fashion implies that ethical consumption may not be an attainable goal.

Fashion and ego

Why is this the case?

First, it is important to explain that marketing tools such as the questionnaires and surveys used to predict the growth of ethical consumption are problematic. They are good for identifying purchasing intentions but poor predictors of actual behavior.

Surveys tend to illicit a response that presents the participant in a positive light: non-ethical shoppers tend to state they are ethical to protect their external image. And surveys are reliant on the participant being truthful and knowledgeable about their behavior. How truthful we are is debatable and research shows we are not as knowledgeable as we think we are about the drivers for our behavior.
Our behavior is far more selfish than we might like to believe. Rational models of consumption are based on the idea that individuals make choices that balance costs and benefits. An ethical consumer will make rational judgements about purchases on the best outcome in terms of costs and benefits for them and the environment.
But consumption, and in particular fashion consumption, is quite irrational. Purchase decisions are more likely to be driven by desires linked to pleasure and excitement. Fashion is a social activity for setting our status (the egoistical drivers) but it is also an activity that is driven by emotional desires such as the fantasy, excitement and aspirations of living a better, more fulfilling life.

These hedonistic subconscious forces are what make shopping for clothes exciting and pleasurable. They create a less rational approach to consumption which ultimately reduces the influence of rational thoughts about ethics and the environmental consequences of our purchases.

Fast and ethical fashion

Ethical campaigners, journalists and even some brands have argued that consumers would be able overcome these subconscious forces of fun and excitement if they had more information about the ethical issues. But evidence shows that this does little to increase ethical behavior. In fact, more information tends to reduce the influence of ethical issues due to the complexity of the issues.

This complexity is doubled by the amount of conflicting information produced by NGOs, the media and brands themselves: cotton is bad for the environment; microfibers are poisoning the oceans; bamboo is ethical ( it's not). When the experts can't agree on the big issues for fashion, it's that much easier for the consumer to turn a blind eye and buy that new shirt.
An alternative, radical approach may be to recognize that humans have always used fashion to satisfy emotional, egoistical desires. So, the challenge should be shifted from trying to control these primeval, irrational behaviors to finding a systemic and ethical approach to embrace them.
Can we find sustainable solutions that actually move ever closer to a disposable fashion industry? The desire for new clothes is something that may be impossible to change. So instead of trying to appeal to the consumer's supposed ethical streak, perhaps brands should aim instead to use new technology and business models to design products that can be recycled or re-engineered into new styles with minimal use of virgin materials, water, energy and chemicals.

In this model, we would not aim to change thousands of years of evolution in the space of a generation, but use innovation and creativity to make industry bend to our inherent needs. It is a major technical and commercial challenge, but shifting to such a consumer-driven model may open up new opportunities for business, as well as becoming more sustainable.
Mark Sumner is a lecturer in Sustainablity, Fashion and Retail at the University of Leeds.

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Can the Fashion Industry Ever Really Be Sustainable? | The Fashion Law

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The fashion industry has some truly major sustainability problems in its midst. By 2030, it is predicted that the industry's water consumption will grow by 50 percent to 118 billion cubic meters (or 31.17 trillion gallons), its carbon footprint will increase to 2,791 million tons and the amount of waste it creates will hit 148 million tons.

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Forbes Facts on reatilers becoming more sustainable + Upcycling of plastic into yarns

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Forbes Facts on reatilers becoming more sustainable + Upcycling of plastic into yarns

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As sustainability continues as a top trend in the retail industry, retailers and brands are adapting to stay relevant and offer sustainable solutions to their consumers. Customers are taking note: 93% of global consumers expect more of the brands they use to support local social and environmental issues, according to a report by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). The report also found that an estimated 68 million adult Americans base purchasing decisions on their values - personal, social, and environmental - and say they will spend up to 20% more on environmentally sound products.

A survey published by Element Three and SMARI supported that same idea: sustainability was a product attribute that 87% of US Millennial internet users would be willing to pay more for. Consumers are aligning what they're buying with their lifestyle. They're willing to spend more to know that the items they're purchasing are environmentally sound. They're looking for products with clear brand messaging - products that clearly deliver sustainability attributes and meet their social and environmental standards.

Retailers and brands of all sizes can take steps to become more sustainable by implementing green initiatives. In retail it's key to keep a forward-thinking approach. Technology is helping retailers reduce their carbon footprint, identify trends and utilize predictive analytics to create products the customer wants. Embracing technology like digital product testing, barcode scanners and cloud-based warehouse management helps reduce waste and leads retailers down a more sustainable path. And, there's a whole new side of sustainability that retailers are starting to develop.

Enter the newest sustainability trend within the retail industry: upcycling. Upcycling is reusing discarded objects or materials to create a product of higher quality or perceived value than the original. Upcycling reduces cloth and textile waste by reusing deadstock or gently used fabric to create new garments and products.

Upcycling can use pre-consumer or post-consumer waste or a combination of the two. There is also a new eco-centric trend that uses plastic bottles to create yarns and materials to produce everything from jackets and t-shirts to shoes and accessories. With the use of new technology innovations like recycling robots with AI, recycling plastics is becoming more efficient and popularly used in consumer products. Prior to the sustainability trend and new development of technology, creating sustainable products out of completely recycled yarns and materials at such a high-quality standard was nearly impossible.

Sharp and Kansai Recycling Systems Co., Ltd. have been expanding closed-loop plastic material recycling technology for years. This process enables the repeated recovery of plastic from used consumer electronic products. They are developing technology that integrates everything from recovery to quality control. This increases the volume of recyclable plastic year after year and contributes to a sustainable recycle-based society.

As the sustainability trend continues, events that follow the circular approach to generate as little waste as possible are coming to fruition. The Circular Fashion Games is a program designed to educate, connect and empower sustainable design. Members including scientists, designers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders guide participants based on circular design principles. Previous sessions delivered concepts such as an online tool that dispensed information about the circularity of its fibers and scored designs based on how recyclable they are. Another idea suggested the use of electrospinning to turn other types of plastics, including ocean microfibers, into fabric.

Many retailers like Tommy Hilfiger, Eileen Fisher and Adidas are jumping on the sustainability trend and creating different ways to recycle old goods.

Tommy Hilfiger is set to launch 100% recycled cotton jeans in spring '19. The sustainable denim is the result of research from the PVH Denim Center in Amsterdam, which is dedicated to setting new standards for producing denim efficiently and in a more environmentally-friendly way.

Eileen Fisher stores feature a Green Eileen project which collects, repairs, and resells used company-brand clothing and donates the proceeds to nonprofit organizations that benefit women and children. I wrote about Eileen Fisher's initiatives in an earlier .

Adidas was recently named one of the most sustainable companies in the world by Dow Jones. Adidas x Parley work to keep plastic from entering our oceans and transform it into high-performance sportswear. They are doubling down on their plan to take plastic out of the ocean by putting it into shoes, aiming to offer consumers real added value beyond the look, functionality and quality of the product. Over the past two years, has produced 6 million pairs of shoes by upcycling collected ocean plastics into yarn to make uppers for shoes, spinning the problem into a solution.

It's clear that consumers are holding the brands and retailers they love to a higher sustainability standard. As retailers learn to leverage consumers' wants and needs for environmentally sound products it looks like the sustainability trend and creation of upcycled products will be here to stay in the retail industry. Technologies are now converging to make this a reality, from efficient recycling and reprocessing to consumer-driven analytics that help retailers create the products customers will want and avoid producing excess inventory of the ones that would just sit on the shelf - and eventually end up in the landfill. Technology innovators need to keep creating ways to help retailers and brands stay relevant to consumers in an increasingly eco-conscious market.

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As sustainability continues as a top trend in the retail industry, retailers and brands are adapting to stay relevant and offer sustainable solutions to their consumers. Customers are taking note: 93% of global consumers expect more of the brands they use to support local social and environmental issues, according to a report by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

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Impactivate | The Impact Investing Exchange

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Sustainability issues in the fashion industry are surfacing across the globe as recent trends contribute to the already large-and growing-social and environmental effects of dressing 7.7 billion humans. At the same time, new initiatives and technological solutions show promise for helping correct course for the future.

Recognizing Fashion's Impact

McKinsey reports that global production of clothing doubled between 2000 and 2014. Over that same period, the average number of garments purchased each year rose by 60%, with consumers keeping each item just half as long as they used to. These trends mean that the impact of producing clothes has reached a new scale.

In terms of the environment, manufacturing clothes from plant-based fibers like cotton requires harmful pesticides and large amounts of water. A T-shirt made with conventional cotton requires 290 gallons of water, while a pair of jeans requires 1,135 gallons. Meanwhile, some synthetic materials are made from nonrenewable resources that can poison bodies of water and food chains. The New York Times suggests that each of the fiber types generally used to make clothing comes with its own environmental trade-offs. For example, the International Wool Textile Association claims that wool products are relatively long-lasting and biodegradable, but the sheep needed to grow the fiber emit greenhouse gases. And no matter how it is made, clothing consumes oil as it is transported across a global supply chain.

The problem worsens as fashion seasons shorten, leading to the frequent release of affordable fast fashion items, which are meant to be worn for just a short period of time and then replaced as trends rapidly change. With fabric recycling almost nonexistent, clothing that is not downcycled into rags ends up in landfills. Clothing production now accounts for 20% of global industrial water pollution and 10% of carbon emissions. The United Nations reports that carbon emissions from the sector are estimated to grow by more than 60% by 2030.

The garment industry also impacts the people who work within it. Poor working conditions for the industry's 75 million employees have been well-documented. According to , clothing workers are some of the worst paid in the world, often laboring in exploitative and unsafe conditions. Social responsibility for suppliers took on a new urgency after the 2013 collapse of a clothing factory in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 workers. Despite improvements in building safety, a 2017 University of Sussex study found that garment workers in Bangladesh and India are still subject to long hours, health hazards, and harassment.

Moving Forward with Technology

Concern over sustainability issues in the fashion industry has led to the formation of a growing number of initiatives, many of which rely on digital platforms and new technology to amplify their impact.

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition comprises more than 200 companies from across fashion's global supply chain, including giants like Levi's, Target, and Adidas. The coalition grew out of a challenge from the CEOs of Walmart and Patagonia in 2009 to develop a common index that would measure the environmental performance of clothing products. The resulting Higg Index, used by more than 10,000 manufacturers worldwide, measures the sustainability performance of a given company or product. Running parallel to the Higg Index is the Facility Environmental Module, which provides training and verification to member companies.

In May 2018, the London-based Ethical Fashion Forum launched Common Objective, a new online matching engine that allows clothing industry professionals and companies to create profiles attesting to their ethical standards and sustainability efforts. If a company scores high, Common Objective rewards it with higher visibility in its search engine.

In addition, a Dutch-Indian collaboration between several organizations from both countries is introducing new technological solutions to cut water pollution from leather tanning. Tanning is a major contributor to water pollution in India, Bangladesh, and other countries, where tanneries use toxic chemicals to process and color animal hides into leather. The polluted waste water poisons rivers and groundwater, contaminates food when used for irrigation, and threatens workers' health. Aimed at similar goals, the leather chemical supplier Stahl-along with NGOs Solidaridad and CSR Netherlands-has launched the Green Tanning Initiative to develop environmental improvements in tanning operations in India and Ethiopia.

While clothing manufacturing and fast fashion are not likely to slow down, it is clear that sustainability is gaining ground. In July 2018, 10 UN organizations agreed to create the UN Alliance on Sustainable Fashion, saying they were "committed to changing the path of fashion." The alliance launched formally in March of 2019. With the fashion industry facing pressure from the UN to meet its Sustainable Development Goals, interest in limiting the negative effects of fashion appears to be one trend that will not be going away any time soon.

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Addressing Sustainability Issues in the Fashion Industry

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Sustainability issues in the fashion industry are surfacing across the globe as recent trends contribute to the already large-and growing-social and environmental effects of dressing 7.7 billion humans. At the same time, new initiatives and technological solutions show promise for helping correct course for the future.