Table of Contents
1. Sustainable Green Techniques in Fashion and Textiles
THEORY:
The fashion and textile industry is one of the largest and most dynamic sectors globally, significantly impacting economies, cultures, and the environment. However, the industry’s rapid growth and consumer-driven nature have led to substantial environmental challenges. Sustainable green techniques in fashion and textiles have emerged as vital solutions to mitigate these challenges. These techniques encompass a range of practices aimed at reducing environmental impact, enhancing resource efficiency, and promoting ethical standards throughout the lifecycle of fashion products. This section explores various sustainable approaches in the fashion and textile industry, including materials selection, water conservation, waste reduction, and recycling, highlighting their importance and implementation.
1.1. Materials Selection
One of the most critical aspects of sustainable fashion is the selection of eco-friendly materials. Traditional textiles, such as cotton and polyester, have significant environmental footprints due to water-intensive farming practices and chemical use. Sustainable alternatives include:
- Organic Cotton: Grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, reducing harmful environmental impacts and promoting soil health.
- Hemp: A versatile and hardy plant that requires minimal water and pesticides, making it an excellent sustainable fiber.
- Bamboo: Known for its rapid growth and minimal need for pesticides, bamboo can be processed into a soft, biodegradable fabric.
- Recycled Fibers: Utilizing post-consumer and post-industrial waste, such as recycled polyester from plastic bottles, reduces the need for virgin materials.
- Innovative Materials: Advances in technology have led to the development of bio-based materials like Piñatex (derived from pineapple leaves) and Mylo (made from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms).
1.2. Water Conservation
Water is a crucial resource in the fashion and textile industry, from growing natural fibers to dyeing fabrics. Implementing water conservation strategies can significantly reduce the industry’s environmental impact:
- Water-Efficient Crops: Choosing crops that require less water, such as hemp and rain-fed cotton, reduces water consumption in the farming stage.
- Waterless Dyeing Techniques: Innovations like AirDye technology and supercritical CO2 dyeing eliminate the need for water in the dyeing process, reducing pollution and water usage.
- Closed-Loop Water Systems: Recycling and reusing water within manufacturing processes can minimize freshwater usage and wastewater generation.
- Efficient Irrigation Systems: Implementing drip irrigation and other efficient watering systems in agriculture conserves water and reduces runoff.
- Wastewater Treatment: Advanced treatment technologies ensure that water released from textile factories is clean and safe, preventing water pollution.
1.3. Waste Reduction and Recycling
The fashion industry generates vast amounts of waste at every stage, from production to post-consumer disposal. Effective waste management strategies are essential for sustainability:
- Zero-Waste Design: This approach involves designing patterns that utilize nearly all the fabric, reducing offcuts and textile waste.
- Upcycling: Transforming discarded materials into new, high-quality products extends the lifecycle of textiles and reduces waste.
- Recycling Programs: Brands can implement take-back schemes where consumers return old garments for recycling or repurposing.
- Circular Fashion: Promoting a circular economy in fashion involves designing for longevity, repairability, and recyclability, ensuring materials remain in use for as long as possible.
1.4. Ethical Production and Fair Trade
Sustainability in fashion also encompasses social aspects, ensuring fair labor practices and supporting communities:
- Fair Trade Certification: Ensuring workers receive fair wages and work in safe conditions.
- Ethical Sourcing: Choosing suppliers that adhere to sustainable and ethical standards.
- Transparency: Brands being open about their supply chains, production practices, and sourcing to build consumer trust and accountability.
1.5. Consumer Awareness and Behavior
Educating consumers about sustainable fashion practices can drive demand for greener products and encourage responsible consumption:
- Sustainable Fashion Education: Programs and campaigns that inform consumers about the benefits of sustainable fashion.
- Eco-Labels: Certifications and labels that guide consumers in making environmentally friendly choices.
- Second-Hand and Rental Markets: Promoting thrift shopping, clothing swaps, and rental services to extend the life of garments.
1.6. Examples of Green Techniques in Fashion and Textiles
THREE PRACTICAL EXAMPLES:
Sustainable green techniques in fashion and textiles are essential for mitigating the industry’s environmental impact and fostering a more sustainable future. By focusing on eco-friendly materials, water conservation, waste reduction, ethical production, and consumer education, the industry can transform its practices and contribute to global sustainability goals. Embracing these approaches not only benefits the environment but also enhances brand reputation, meets consumer demand for ethical products, and ensures long-term viability in an increasingly eco-conscious market.
1.6.1. Natural Dyes and Low-Impact Dyeing
Irina Tosheva is an innovative designer known for her fashion pieces, the desire she possesses to make changes through fashion, to enable quality, to contribute to the economy, ecology and harmony in society.
In her work with VET students, she teaches them to dye the textile with the Shibori technique. The shibori technique is considered one of the oldest dyeing techniques in Japan dating back to the 7th century. The term “shibori” means “squeezing, turning, pressing.” Most often, the fabric is twisted, folded, sewn or tied with strings, ribbons, clamps, etc., with which the material itself then acquires shades of the given color.
She uses the prepared material and dyes it with rice husk, straw, onion peel and turmeric. Irina Tosheva first gives an excellent introduction to Shibori and the way it is done. Each participant receives their own material and a separate coloring technique. What is the next step? Get ready to see beautiful pieces of clothing with a unique design from the Shibori technique.
Her educational activities are supported by the programme Education for Employment in North Macedonia – E4E, a project supported by the government of Switzerland.
1.6.2. Fashion, textile & rice waste
Using rice waste for textile making is an innovative approach to sustainable fashion. Rice husks and straw, typically discarded during rice processing, can be transformed into fibers suitable for fabric production. This process not only reduces agricultural waste but also provides a renewable and biodegradable alternative to conventional textiles. By incorporating rice waste into textile manufacturing, the industry can lessen its environmental footprint, promote resource efficiency, and support circular economy practices.
Irina Tosheva, as a workshop mentor, introduces VET students to making creations from recycled material. The young people learn how to weave their own fabrics from rice waste, i.e. rice straw. Accordingly, they exoerience the benefits as follows:
- Waste reduction: Transforming rice husks and straw into textiles helps reduce agricultural waste, minimizing the environmental impact of rice production and contributing to a more sustainable agricultural system.
- Resource efficiency: Utilizing by-products of rice processing for textile production maximizes resource use, turning what would otherwise be waste into valuable raw materials, thereby enhancing overall efficiency.
- Environmental sustainability: Rice waste-derived fibers are biodegradable and renewable, providing an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic textiles that can reduce reliance on fossil fuels and decrease pollution.
- Economic opportunities: Developing technologies and industries around rice waste for textiles can create new economic opportunities for farmers and businesses, fostering innovation and supporting rural economies.
1.6.3. Biodegradable and Compostable Materials
The fashion and textiles industry is continuously exploring innovative methods to produce sustainable and eco-friendly materials. One such advancement is the use of kombucha, a fermented tea, to create biodegradable and compostable leather alternatives. This emerging technique presents a promising solution to reduce the environmental impact of traditional leather production.
Benefits
- Sustainability: Kombucha leather is produced from bacterial cellulose, a natural and renewable resource. This process significantly reduces the reliance on animal hides and the associated environmental issues of traditional leather production, such as deforestation and water pollution.
- Biodegradability: Unlike synthetic leather, kombucha leather is fully biodegradable and compostable. This ensures that at the end of its lifecycle, the material can decompose naturally without leaving harmful residues, contributing to a circular economy.
- Low environmental impact: The production of kombucha leather requires minimal water and energy compared to conventional leather tanning processes, which are notorious for their high resource consumption and toxic chemical usage.
- Customization and versatility: Kombucha leather can be easily customized in terms of texture, thickness, and color. This versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, from fashion accessories to upholstery, without compromising on aesthetic appeal or functionality.
BioHide consists of three girls in STEM science. a biotechnologist, a mechanical engineer and biochemistry and physiology engineer. They have been together since their early days in primary and secondary education, so their idea was born after such private and professional friendships. They have always had great respect and love for nature, and in particular for animals, so somehow they got inspiration for their eco-leather. They were mostly inspired by one of their grandmothers, who grows kombucha at home, so the three of them started thinking about how to use the cellulose that is formed as a biproduct in the process of the production of the fermented kombucha drink. They process the cellulose and get their final product – bio leather.
It has the same functionality as traditional and artificial leather, but it is biodegradable and produced without endangering animals.
After several semi-successful attempts, they began to see the potential in their experiments, considering that the trend and demand for biodegradable sustainable materials, but also the demand for ethically produced materials, has been growing in the world for years.
There are already huge companies that produce such materials, including bio-leather from various organic sources such as grapes, tomatoes, etc.
Kombucha is also already used as an alternative for leather, but very little and mainly by designers and researchers, and its potentials are far from being discovered and commercialized. They aim to change that and their material from the early stages of prototyping has shown great potential or even better characteristics than skin. Kombucha is ideal for this kind of material because the process means zero-waste, that is, they leave no trace on the environment and all ingredients are reused. Additionally, the material itself is biodegradable and during the decomposition process it even nourishes the soil.
All the components of this innovative material are completely organic and do not use any kind of plastic or any other pollutant.
