Fashion. For a future.

Tag: Slow fashion

  • New Year health kick? Time to ditch your toxic activewear.

    January – time to get your sweat on. But if it’s a health kick you’re after, you may want to re-examine your wardrobe. A recent study by the University of Birmingham proved for the first time that PFAS – the forever chemicals building up in our environment with links to cancer, hormone disruption and low infant birth weight – can be absorbed from clothing through the skin. On top of that, the new, shorter chain PFAS the chemicals industry is switching to following bans on longer chain fluorocarbons, are more effective at crossing the skin barrier.

    For sportswear, this raises flags. PFAS are present in many of the dyes and invisible finishes we expect of performance materials. Sportswear is often tight, we sweat in it, creating better conditions for osmosis, and the abrasive nature of workouts means the textiles rub against the skin. But when it comes to performance wear, those great synthetic textile revolutions of the 20th century – waterproof Goretex, stretchy Lycra and Spandex, ‘odour, sweat resistant’ nylons – still win out. No one wants a sports bra without support, or a running vest you can’t sweat in. So what are the options?

    There are twin evils when it comes to synthetic materials – the microplastics that these textiles shed, which we know are building up everywhere from the Arctic ice sheet to your mother’s placenta, and the chemical dyes and finishes that are used to increase their performance. “The cheaper the product, the cheaper the chemistry, and that’s where you have concerns about toxicity,” says Matthias Foessel, of Beyond Surface Technologies. Consumers have two options – going natural and regenerative, or sticking around for cleaner, alternative biomaterials.

    Let’s take the latter first – Nanoloom is one of the great hopes to replace the stretch we expect from Lycra and Spandex. Created out of the Nobel prize winning graphene discovery, Nanoloom claims to have a bonding process that allows a high percentage of graphene to be incorporated into yarn. With exceptional moisture wicking, water resistance, durability and stretch, Nanoloom is a non toxic, biodegradable alternative to Elastene. “Stretch and recovery is 100%” says co-founder Victoria Mataczynski, triumphant from a recent trial with Gymshark. The company begins commercial production next year and presents a PFAs free solution to the industry. But competition is tough: “Elastene was innovated in the 70s, so we’re expected to meet a similar standard of production and performance as something that’s been around for decades – and is super cheap.”

    “Some of the new bio-based materials coming to market now are simply better: they outperform legacy (fossil fuel based) materials, they’re cheaper at scale, they’re non toxic, and they’re carbon-negative,” says Nic Gorini, of venture capital firm, Spin Ventures. “Awareness of toxicity of existing materials is going to be a big driver in their uptake in the next decade.”

    Green chemistry pioneers Beyond Surface Technologies have two 100% plant-based water repellency products coming out this year. They also have two 100% biocarbon based moisture wicking finishes already in market: “They are state of the art,” says Foessel, “with performance and durability equal to petroleum finishes,” name checking Patagonia, Lululemon, adidas, PUMA and Fabletics, as brands trialling their cleaner approach.

    While we wait to see if these materials will reach scale, your current best option is to go natural. Don’t be fooled by the ‘benefits’ of recycled polyester – a recent Changing Markets study found recycled polyester sheds more microplastics than virgin. “We are oversold the benefits of specialist performance wear,” says Ed Brial, founder of regenerative cotton solution, Materra, now used by Mango and Ecoalf. “You can go for a run in t-shirt and joggers.” Cotton absorbs water “and can be quite heavy if not woven in the right way, but it doesn’t pick up smells like plastics do, is durable and biodegradable.” Community Clothing’s Patrick Grant agrees: “The men’s 100m record before synthetics stood at 9.95 seconds. Only very few people have run faster. Synthetic sports clothing gives only a slight performance edge.” Grant has developed Community Clothing Organic, a 100% natural, biodegradable sportswear collection, from waistband to stitching thread. Five years of innovation has produced lightweight, fast-drying cotton fabrics, a woven natural rubber and cotton elastic. What’s more it’s affordable – from £30 for a racer back vest.

    Image courtesy of Community Clothing

    Less affordable is merino sportswear, but undoubtedly wool offers incredible benefits in terms of thermo regulation, as well as superior technical advances in weaving, enabling brands like Icebreaker to achieve a 97% merino wool collection. Even more impressive is Mover, a mountaineering company whose range of Ventile cotton and 100% wool outerwear promise superior performance in extreme conditions.

    Brands like Pangaia and BAM offer semi-synthetics in the form of bamboo and corn, which derive their polymers from natural sources, not petrochemicals. Any polymer-based fibre will shed microfibres through wear and washing, but “the important question is what happens to the particles: if a material is biodegradable or compostable, shed fibres can break down under the right environmental conditions,” say Pangaia, whose 365 Seamless Activewear collection is PFAS-free, and certified under OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100. If you are looking for a good stretch legging and sports bra, they offer better options than anything petrochemical derived, and what’s more are finished with the brand’s trademark natural PPRMINT™ oil for odour resistance. 

    Image courtesy of PANGAIA

    When it comes to footwear, the matrix gets more complicated. Shoes often contain up to 20 component parts, and durability is the priority. No one wants a mushroom leather running shoe that falls apart in a few months. At barefoot health brand Vivobarefoot, durability is the priority. “With all the effort and resources it takes putting shoes together, they need to last a long time,” says Charlotte Pumford, Vivobarefoot’s sustainability lead. Instead, shoes are designed for disassembly and repair.

    That said, the company is constantly trialling new materials, working with NFW’s natural rubber Pliant and leather alternatives Mirum and Hyphalite, as well as algae derived leather alternative, Algenesis. But until those biomaterials compete on durability, recycled polyester wins. “Everything is tested robustly against European and California specific legislation, which is pretty strict,” says Pumford, “although we go beyond just legal limits.” Prioritising foot health and limiting impact is a constant balance: “Our mission is to reconnect people back to nature: we enable feet to biomechanically do what they are meant to do.” Professional athletes, personal trainers and fitness experts agree, and while there are now over 90 barefoot brands following in Vivo’s wake, “using less certified and cheaper materials, we remain stoic in our mission.”

    “People do not react well to wearing shoddy plastic on our bodies. We should be worried and concerned,” says Brial, “for human health, planetary health, and the health of workers.”

    “Polyester took 50 years to get there, with a really big oil lobby behind them and lots of evil marketing to get people to use it,” says Vivo design consultant Aisha Kuijk. “We have to form a rebellion – our own lobby – to push it through. We have something to fight for!”

    Tiffanie is an author, activist and founder of the Rule of Five campaign and the sustainable luxury concept @agora-ibiza. You can read more of her work on Substack at It’s Not Sustainable

  • MFW’s Return Sets a Progressive Tone

    MFW’s Return Sets a Progressive Tone

    With a ten-year hiatus now firmly in the rear view, the conclusion of Manchester Fashion Week’s self-assured revival marks the beginning of a whole new chapter, showcasing an impactful, sustainability-driven ethos that has eluded major fashion weeks like London and New York.  

    Although, of course, it isn’t really elusive if you aren’t even looking for it.  

    With its focus on sustainability – present in both the engaging panel talks and the main event runway – and a renewed commitment to the grass roots, MFW’s return was a wake-up call: there is so much to see when you look North.  

    Rightly, then, the tone was set on day one by a panel which proclaimed Manchester to be a “catalyst city” – not ephemeral, as the status quo London set might suggest, but critical in establishing a future for fashion and the fashion industry globally.  

    Here, Eco Age CEO John Higginson made a statement that would resonate across the week: “Manchester is a city of makers and innovators. This week is about doing the work in public. We are connecting heritage, skills and innovation to build models that last. 

    “Runways matter, but measurable impact matters more. If we leave this week with clearer commitments on local production, circularity and fair work, then we have done our job.” 

    “The re-emergence of Manchester is really important for the UK’s fashion industry because we need to showcase sustainable alternatives – different ways, not just of making fashion but consuming fashion.” – Carry Somers, Founder of Fashion Revolution

    Focusing on Manchester’s more egalitarian approach, the event’s Executive Producer, Gemma Gratton, aptly adds: “Manchester leads when it is practical, honest and bold. We built this programme around learning as much as showing. Education, workshops and open debate sit alongside the runway because that is how real change lands.” 

    ADORAFLORA by Drew Kent at Manchester Fashion Week 2025, Photographed by Ines Bahr.

    Where the panel’s optimistic, open dialogue laid the groundwork, Liverpool-born designer Drew Kent built on that foundation with ADORAFLORA: a layering- and modularity-driven statement on what Kent calls “eco-fabulous queer maximalism.” 

    Speaking to Eco Age, Kent notes the fashion industry’s historic imbalance, touching on a key theme of MFW: “A lot of the time people here are from working class backgrounds, like myself, and I feel like you can tell that throughout the collections. Sometimes, with massive amounts of funding, you don’t get the same vibe showing through.” 

    And perhaps nowhere, across three triumphant days dedicated to a city’s enduring spirit and evolving approach, was this democratic ethos clearer than when volunteer Pip was handed a garment and an invitation to walk by Safia Minney MBE in a clear subversion of fashion’s archaic power structures.  

    “Safia is an incredible innovator and voice for female artisans in fashion supply chains across the world. To work alongside her styling each of the pieces was such an honour,” offered Pip. Both elated by the experience and emboldened by her part in the presentation, she adds:  “Manchester is rooted in craftsmanship and diversity. The rebirth of MFW signifies Manchester’s allegiance to sustainable fashion and the opportunities for innovation that’s brewing in the city.” 

    Elsewhere, Manchester-rooted Janey Cribbin’s latest collection, MANCUNIA UGLY, repurposed upcycled automotive interiors into genderless apparel artefacts. Her work here reflected earnestly on Manchester’s history of DIY car culture and its unapologetic maximalism without ever diverting into nostalgia, putting the future at the fore with a focus on material circularity.  

    V.A.LE AW25 Haute Couture at Manchester Fashion Week, Photographed by Ines Bahr

    Salford-based label V.A.LE, created by designer Viet Anh Le, notably delivered another presentation which deftly and articulately connected haute couture with deadstock materials, proving that luxury and waste are not a necessary or inevitable partnership.  

    In presentations by the likes of Ślipa and À Couvert, much weight was given to the craft of handmade fashion – both as a tribute to the city’s enduring legacy on that front and to mindfully-made garments’ place in a more sustainable fashion ecosystem.  

    On this theme, Fashion Revolution founder Carry Somers offers Eco Age some further insight: “The re-emergence of Manchester is really important for the UK’s fashion industry because we need to showcase sustainable alternatives – different ways, not just of making fashion but consuming fashion.” 

    MFW also pulled from Liverpool and North Wales, with deadstock outerwear outfit BEPO and slow-made label MAKE IT WET each proving that London is far from the be-all and certainly not the end-all where fashion’s most forward-facing work is concerned.  

    Bepo AW25, created by Ben and Natalia Taylor, photographed bt Ines Bahr at Manchester Fashion Week 2025

    Working on this same understanding of a need to break accepted norms, “Fashion’s Unfinished Empire” – a workshop led by Safia Minney MBE and (un)sustainability consultant Lavinia Muth – focused on dismantling the colonial legacy and mindset ingrained in the industry’s supply chains.  

    Later, an event hosted by the Future Fashion Fair – led by Carry Somers, with Safia Minney of Fashion Declares and Eco Age’s own Paul Foulkes-Arellano – opened up a dialogue with the public in a crucial element of engagement, far from the usual exclusionary nature of the world’s various fashion weeks. 

    “Manchester will always do things differently. When you’re on the outside of what people consider the epicentre, you develop your own way of doing things.” – Meme Gold, artist and designer

    In speaking with attendees of all kinds, one thing becomes clear: not only was MFW’s return not a blip, it was also not to be deemed a renaissance for the city.  

    Instead, as designer and artist Meme Gold notes, the event highlighted people that have too-long been given too little of the spotlight: “Manchester will always do things differently. When you’re on the outside of what people consider the epicentre, you develop your own way of doing things. We keep it moving without everyone else’s cogs and wheels. That’s just the fabric of the city, that’s what we do.” 

    MFW paints its home city as a genuine leader, rather than an outlier. Not an anomaly or an oddity, but an aspiration.  

    Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.

  • A Colour to Dye For

    A Colour to Dye For

    Colour isn’t just a matter of taste – it’s a matter of toxicity. Synthetic, carcinogenic colour is killing us, and it’s killing the planet too. 

    Nowhere is this more relevant than fashion, where 800,000 tonnes of dye is used every single year and 90% of all clothing is dyed synthetically, using around two thirds of all dye produced. 

    In just one example, synthesised indigo contains formaldehyde, aniline and hydrogen cyanide. All chemicals which, in any other context, we would know to stay well away from. Yet we put them on our skin. 

    Why?  

    Dr Benjamin Droguet, Founder & CEO of next-gen pigment innovator Sparxell, speaking exclusively to Eco Age, explained: “The fundamental chemistry behind the colours in our daily lives hasn’t evolved since the 19th century. We’re still relying on the same toxic dyes, mined metals, and mineral-based pigments that were developed at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,

    The talk of London’s recent Future Fabrics Expo, Droguet’s company isn’t just opining on the problem – it’s producing the solution. 

    Sparxell’s collaboration with designer Patrick McDowell is proof not only that plant-based pigments are effective, but also that they’re beautiful and desirable on an aesthetic level. 

    Patrick McDowell’s collaboration with planet-based pigment innovator Sparxell, showcased at London’s Future Fabrics Expo 2025.

    “Pigments and dyes are foundational to fashion,” notes Julie Verdich, Director of Partnerships and Product at Octarine Bio, a Danish innovator in the space. “They shape aesthetics, identity, and desirability — but the way we produce and use them hasn’t meaningfully changed in over a century.” 

    It’s a familiar story where fashion is concerned, petrochemical materials having become the industry standard and a sustainability scourge. 

    When it comes to pigment, however, the problem is much less widely discussed. And, on the rare occasions that the issue is given airtime, the focus is often on the ultra-pervasive Carbon Black. 

    “Carbon Black is a heavy petroleum burned at really high temperatures. It’s essentially soot from oil. “It’s a great colorant for things like paints, plastics, inks and cosmetics.” explains Scott Fulbright, CEO and Founder of algae dye innovator Living Ink. 

    It is also a known carcinogen and the result of a resource-intensive and environmentally destructive process.

    “Synthetic dyes are cheap, predictable, and industrial, which works if you’re trying to make hundreds of thousands of identical products.” – Saeed Al-Rubeyi, Story mfg. Co-Founder

    By comparison, we rarely hear about how water from garment production is “returned” to nature, filled with heavy metals, powerful chemicals and microfibers. These polluted waters impact soil health, infiltrate and decimate waterways and are known to seriously harm wildlife. 

    “The global textiles and apparel sector utilises approximately a quarter of global chemical output, and upwards of 8,000 synthetic chemicals, across fibre, yarn, dyes, washes, finishes, and other upstream processes. Dyes themselves account for approximately one third of fashion’s upstream negative impact.”

    For every tonne of textiles produced, 200 tonnes of water is used. Even after treatment, 90% of discharged dye reportedly remains chemically unchanged. “The textile industry,” Droguet adds, “uses over 10,000 different chemicals in colouration processes, releasing 1.5 million tonnes of toxic dyes into the environment annually.”

    That’s poisoned water, coming right back to the planet and back to people. So, why isn’t it a priority? 

    “When people hear ‘plastic pollution,’ they immediately visualise tangible objects like bottles and bags,” Droguet agrees, “But people don’t think about what goes into creating that beautiful pair of blue trousers or that attractive gold and glossy wrapping. They see the end result, commoditised and standardised, not the chemical process behind it.”

    An insight into Story mfg.’s natural dyeing processes – a far cry from the mass-produced, synthetic standard for the fashion industry.

    Consumers, however, are just the final part of a long chain. Asked why switching up the pigment process in favour of more natural elements isn’t a fashion industry priority, Story mfg. co-founder Saeed Al-Rubeyi points to a systemic issue: “Because it’s hard, expensive, and slow. That’s everything most brands try to avoid. Synthetic dyes are cheap, predictable, and industrial, which works if you’re trying to make hundreds of thousands of identical products.” 

    Known for their “slow fashion” approach and a preference for working with what the planet has to offer, Story mfg. is committed to not following that same pattern: “We use natural dyes because they make sense: ethically, environmentally, and aesthetically.”

    This same mentality led London-based Patrick McDowell to his collaboration with Sparxell: “We wanted to showcase the pigments in the most beautiful and compelling way so we created a beautiful one-off gown with a special floral placement highlighting the pigments link to the natural world.” 

    Droguet adds: “We’re replacing this outdated chemistry with bio-inspired solutions that work with nature rather than against it. Our bio-inspired approach harnesses the same structural colour principles found in nature (think butterfly wings and peacock feathers) – brilliant, vibrant colours that are completely non-toxic and biodegradable. It’s time the colour industry caught up with what nature perfected millions of years ago.”

    For McDowell, though, it was most vital to “show the world that this innovation is available and accessible to the industry,” he says, highlighting the fact that meaningful change almost always comes from within. 

    “Pigments and dyes are foundational to fashion… They shape aesthetics, identity, and desirability — but the way we produce and use them hasn’t meaningfully changed in over a century.” – Julie Verdich, Director of Partnerships and Product, Octarine Bio

    Designer and director Jeff Garner is well-versed in the problem of pigment. His documentary film, “Let Them Be Naked,” is a deep dive on this complex issue and one of very few such reports intended for the broad audience which most needs to hear it. 

    He told Eco Age: “There is a war at hand between the balance of the needs of the individual and the needs of the community, between selfish desires and stewardship – short term versus long term.” 

    Considering the potential for a more conscious framework, Garner adds: “Regulators of our fashion industry have applied the end-of-pipe solution, attempting to require the manufacturers to follow protocol… but this does not work. We need a solution on the front end: to reward companies for working to resolve and implement change themselves. Regulations are too hard to enforce and susceptible to corruption. If the design of the system was good, regulations wouldn’t be necessary. A new system needs to be put in place!”

    In shifting the pressure onto the system and onto their peers this way, Garner, McDowell and their collaborators are setting both a precedent and a challenge. 

     The only question now is will they accept? 

    Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.