This study focuses on the amount of waste management by the fashion industry and its environmental consequences. Several fashion industries recycle garbage to create distinctive fashion designs.
As a result of the widespread call for environmental protection, many businesses are creating better waste management strategies, and the fashion industry has started employing diverse waste materials to produce clothing. The fight against a wasteful, disposable culture is being led by the fashion industry.
Use of waste in fashion Fashion companies are utilizing the leftovers obtained from the preparation of Kombucha tea to design leather-like fabric that is used to manufacture vests and shoes (McCann, Jane, and David). The recipe for 1 gallon of Kombucha includes I gallon of filtered water, one cup of sugar, one cup of Kombucha, one scoby, four green tea bags, eight black tea bags and one gallon of filtered water.
Coffee grounds are being used to make synthetic fiber required in the manufacture of apparel.
Crab byproducts are used to manufacture chitosan; a polymer used to produce belts, wallets, and chitoskin shirts
Milk has been used to Qmilk biodegradable yarn which is currently being used in the paper, carpets, and bedding textiles.
Non-food trash materials
Several Hong Kong designers are using bamboo scaffolding to manufacture shoes and develop insoles.
Adidas has also heightened its seriousness of promoting sustainability by producing new pairs of trainers made of yarn spun from ocean trash.
Fashion materials made from Trash
The newspaper dress has been obtained from used newspapers.
Denim jeans are made from recycling polythene material
Wallets are made from polymer developed from the sea waste
Companies using it
Bionic Yarn
The sustainable textile producer based in China uses recycled plastic bottles to establish yarns and fabrics required for the manufacture of various fashion designs. The bottles are often collected and the chopped up, melted and finally spun into yarn which is later used in the firm to prepare environmentally friendly fabric.
Environment
Environmental Impact
With the global outcry of the increasing levels of pollution due to poor waste management, the move by the fashion industries to recycle most of the waste products is highly welcomed (Ryan). The new shift ensures that waste products do not end up polluting the environment but are channeled back to the industries to produce eco-friendly fashion designs.
Sustainability
The process of recycling waste materials and developing fashion designs ensures that all the waste material from other industries form the raw materials for another level (Crang et al., 17). In this manner, nothing goes to waste since every type of waste is a raw material for another level of production. The process helps in ensuring that the environment is conserved in all ways possible.
Industry Disruption
Different supply chains
Recycling of raw materials by fashion design industries causes a shift in supply chains. Waste materials are obtained cheaply, and fashion industries will abandon their suppliers, opting for cheaper sources of raw materials.
Cotton/materials
A high percentage of clothing is made from cotton, and thus the shift by fashion industries to waste material will impact negatively on the growth of the cotton industry.
Conclusion
The recycling of waste materials by fashion design industries not only promotes environmental conservation but also results in reduced cost of production. Waste materials are easy to obtain compared to the conventional raw materials such as cotton and wool. Fashion industries must move in quickly to utilize all the waste materials from other industries to come up with eco-friendly fashion designs and support environmental conservation.
Works Cited
Crang, Mike, et al. "Rethinking governance and value in commodity chains through global recycling networks." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 38.1 (2013): 12-24.
McCann, Jane, and David Bryson, eds. Smart clothes and wearable technology. Elsevier, 2009.
Ryan, Susan Elizabeth. "Hyperdressing: Wearable Technology in the Time of Global Warming." ISEA 21 International Symposium on Electronic Art, Vancouver, August. 2015.
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