Shoes are another story. With the move from having just practical footwear as our grandparent’s generation would have done. So an increase in disposable income has brought fast fashion to footwear. Increasing the use of leather and synthetics ten-fold.
Society has pushed for more transparency in everything from politics to food production. So fashion brands the world over are embracing the challenge of finding (and using!) fabrics that are better for the environment. Swedish powerhouse, H&M was one of the first to introduce eco pieces with other fabrics featured in its Conscious range. The dresses, tops, and shoes were made exclusively from recycled and different materials including glass and oranges. A bold step for high street fashion.
You can embrace the eco-fabric revolution too with these different options.
Seaweed
SeaCell from Nanonic is made from organic seaweed and is a soft fabric with a silky feel. Nanonic are not the only ones who have looked to the oceans for solutions. New York-based AlgiKnit has also found that seaweed makes a fine substitute material. Specifically, kelp and one or two other types are used. In their case, it’s yarn or BioYarn as it has fast become know”, says Dave Hodgson, eco blogger at 1Day2write.com and Nextcoursework.com.
Both of the seaweed materials have been tried and tested by designers. German designer, Luisa Kahlfeldt uses SeaCell in her Sumo Diaper range whilst AlgiKnit has found its way into footwear.
Apple and Pineapple
Handbag lovers will be happy to learn that innovators like Piñatex and Nuuwaï have created vegan leather alternatives from pineapple and apple respectively. Piñatex was one of the feature fabrics of H&M’s 2019 capsule and lends itself well to stitching and print. Nuuwaï’s bags and accessories are right on trend and set to be future favorites of the fashion elite.
Food Waste
We already know that oranges are good for our immune system but it turns out that they are good for the Amazon rainforest’s immune system too. In the mid-1990s one thousand truckloads of waste orange peel were spread over a barren area of the rainforest. Fifteen years later, the peel has restored the site into a lush jungle again. Proof that food waste is an overlooked resource with a lot of potential.
Orange Waste
Oranges are just one of the food waste types being turned into fashion fabrics too. Italian business, Orange Fiber has created silk-like fabrics from juice that would have been thrown away without their intervention. Using it to make chic boho pieces with a focus on Italian quality.
“Sustainable fashion fabrics feel like a new concept but the truth is that they have been around for decades. Issac Nichelson has been championing alternative fabrics for nearly thirty years now,” says Bethany Jones, fashion writer at Writemyx.com and Britstudent.com. She is right of course, the conversation around alternative fabrics started a long time ago. Nichelson’s company Circular Systems has been proactive in its efforts to find a solution. Innovating with Agraloop where they turn food waste like banana tree trunks and sugar cane bark into ‘high-value natural fibre products’.
Recycled Fabrics
The fashion industry creates 92 million tons of waste every year. Much of this comes from offcuts and trends that didn’t sell. Look to designers like Kim Cathers, Canada, for pieces that use reclaimed textile but still look great. I’d high street fashion is your thing then start asking store assistants to point you to their sustainable collections. The more demand there is in store, the faster recycled and different textiles will become the norm in all fashion.
The world is moving toward plant-based lifestyles at a rapid speed. We should be rejoicing in this fact. Will we be in time to save the planet? Not. But at the very least, it is an algae-clad step in the right direction.
Beatrice is a professional copywriter at Originwritings.com and Academicbrits.com specializing in all kinds of topics. She is always open to share her personal experience at Phdkingdom.com and give some advice to beginner writers uncovering all the peculiarities of creating content that sells.
