Sustainability Gamechangers: The Innovations Set to Shape the Future of Fashion This November
Image Credit: Spinnova straw-based textiles
In a new monthly column, Techstyler founder Brooke Roberts-Islam curates a ‘must-know’ list of the innovations set to shape the future of sustainable fashion. Dedicated to positive change, Brooke highlights what is being done right now to transform the fashion industry.
The challenges we face, as fashion industry professionals and consumers, are vast and complex when it comes to changing consumption behaviours and designing and implementing sustainable solutions to save our planet. As individuals, this can feel like an insurmountable task, but there are teams of scientists, designers, engineers and organisations around the world who are making vast strides towards a truly sustainable fashion future.
The global fashion supply chain typically operates in an opaque manner, which has historically been a barrier to traceability and authentication of the origins of materials. As a result, it can be difficult to prove whether materials are from ecologically sound and sustainable sources. This means that sustainably produced fibres, although they are the gold standard, can not always easily prove their provenance. This, in turn, means there risking a reduced incentive for creating sustainable fibres from a business point of view. Imagine being able to trace the origins of textiles fibre throughout the supply chain from source to the final garment.
Good news. A US company is patenting a process to tag the DNA in cellulose materials so that they can be tracked across the supply chain, delivering 100% transparency from raw fibre, through to end of garment life. It is the ultimate tool for transparency and proof of provenance of all cellulose-based textiles (ie. cotton, viscose, lyocell, linen, hemp) and it beats blockchain because there’s no risk of human error (as blockchain relies on human input and validation).
We are all by now familiar with the recycling of plastic PET bottles to turn into yarns for clothing and footwear, however these recycled fibres are now expanding into a new segment – insulation. Primaloft has partnered with Parley for the Oceans to develop insulation made from repurposed plastic bottles found on the coasts of remote islands. Insulation for outerwear is a relatively new waste stream for recycled materials that could see the lifespan of recycled garments increased (due to use in outerwear garments, which we tend to keep and wear for longer). Outerwear is also laundered less, so results in reduced micro-plastic shedding into wastewater compared to when recycled PET is used in everyday clothing.
One of the smartest ways to go zero waste is to use digital garment sampling in place of physical sampling. This is already in use at some brands, but software company Browzwear have taken this a step further by working with a jeans finishing company to create digital denim ‘washes’ and ‘effects’ that mimic physical denim treatments. Browzwear 3D digital design software now integrates photographic-quality rendering of Jeanologia’s water and chemical-free laser finishes, reducing the need for physical samples to test the final jean look. This saves time, money, and textile waste, as well as carbon emissions from transporting samples across the globe. After 20 years of implementing software solutions, the adoption of Browzwear’s 3D design in place of physical sampling is picking up speed in line with growing sustainability pressures across the industry. This means that digital design has the power to provide immediate and drastic (and measurable)carbon emission reductions.
Also in the jeans sphere, DryIndigo technology is a denim dyeing process invented in by Tejidos Royot in Spain, that has saved more than one million liters of water since launching in 2018. DryIndigo uses 0% water in the dyeing process and reduces energy consumption by 65% during manufacture. It uses 89% less chemical products, and completely eliminates waste water discharge. Producing a single pair of jeans with conventional dyeing methods uses approximately the same amount of water that an average person would drink in seven years. DryIndigo technology, and its growing adoption in manufacturing, means it has the potential to turn one of the world’s most unsustainable (but loved) fashion products into a sustainable wardrobe hero.
In terms of turning waste into high value products and advancing the circular economy, Spinnova have developed the world’s first straw-based textile which performs similarly to other plant-based textiles, but is much lower impact in terms of growth and extraction from the land. Straw has the potential to replace a portion of cotton production because exists globally as a byproduct of grain growth in agriculture. At the moment this straw is mostly burned or left to biodegrade, so this is an opportunity to harness unused low-impact waste and reduce the water-intensive and nutrient depleting production of cotton.
With much of the sustainability discourse centered on the challenges and problems, these innovations demonstrate significant progress and cause for optimism. Stay tuned for the next edition of sustainability game-changers in December.
Learn about how 3D digital design and augmented reality can slash textile waste in fashion.
Can artificial intelligence combat oversupply and minimise deadstock in fashion? Read Brooke’s column.
Find out how Citizen Wolf’s Zoltan Csaki is designing out waste using high-tech tailoring.