CASE STUDY

THE FASHION INDUSTRY OF TODAY

Changing the system will unlock billion dollar economic opportunities.

Globally, the USD 1.3 trillion clothing industry employs more than 300 million people along the value chain; the production of cotton alone accounts for almost 7% of all employment in some low-income countries.

Clothing represents more than 60% of the total textiles used and in the last 15 years, clothing production has approximately doubled, driven by a growing middle-class population across the globe and increased per capita sales in mature economies. At the same time, clothing use has declined by almost 40%. Both developments are mainly due to the ‘fast fashion’ phenomenon, with quicker turnaround of new styles, increased number of collections offered per year, and often, lower prices.

By moving to a circular system the industry can unlock a USD 560 billion economic opportunity. Realising this opportunity requires new business models and collaboration across the value chain (e.g. production, marketing, and after-sales care), to keep safe materials in use.

THE VISION OF A NEW TEXTILES ECONOMY

Creating business models which are restorative and regenerative.

The overarching vision of a new textiles economy is that it aligns with the principles of a circular economy: one that is restorative and regenerative by design and provides benefits for business, society, and the environment. In such a system, clothes, textiles, and fibres are kept at their highest value during use and re-enter the economy after use, never ending up as waste. A new textiles economy is an attractive vision of a system that works

Realising this vision of a new global textiles system relies on three focus areas:

New business models that increase clothing use

Safe and renewable inputs

Solutions so used clothes are turned into new

LEADERS IN CIRCULAR FASHION WHERE YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT THEM…

The entire sector, under scrutiny from responsible investors, is (slowly) moving towards circular thinking. Paradoxically, considering its status as a fast fashion giant, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) appears to be one of the leaders in this field. H&M is a partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a pioneering circular economy organisation, and has recently revisited its business model with a focus on circularity. H&M uses artificial intelligence to predict customer behaviour, produce the right quantities and avoid unsold stock, which many brands still burn. The eco-design of products is an important pillar in rendering reuse or recycling easier: the goal is to recycle 30% of materials in clothing design by 2025 (18% in 2021). The company also offers repair services for used clothes and is developing rental platforms (these services are not yet widely available). It also allows customers to bring their used clothes back to its shops.

5 ways the fashion industry can be more sustainable

The fashion industry is with no doubt, known for its huge increasing waste of textiles and the constant growth of consumption, but the future is not all this dark.

As a part of the new generation and for the future of fashion we have to be able to work in the industry in a revised and more sustainable way to not lose the passion and love of fashion itself.

1. Invest in garments and clothing that will last

The first and probably most obvious change starts with us as the consumer. The fashion industry is built and is driven from the needs and response of the audience. As an example, monthly trends come and go at such a fast pace that no customer would really want to spend a reasonable price on quality.

Real original personal style is the answer: creating your very own personal style means you can be browsing and shopping at your own pace.

This in turn makes the purchases more conscious and will reduce consumption, which the brands will recognise and produce less. Invest in garments and in a quality that will last. It pays to invest, be able to enjoy the piece for a lifetime.

2. Produce less

The fashion industry produces too much, which then cannot be sold, it seems like an easy problem to fix. Although huge brands are built on profit and therefore the production cost is so low that profit is made with any purchased item, big high street brands especially.

Change will need to start from the top, the big fashion houses and designers must cut down their collections so this reduction will be echoed on the high-street. The high street will not be imitating as many trends which means less clothing will be produced. But also production should be moved to where the customers and and audience lives. Save on the shipping and enhance quality of working.

3. Re-use materials, off-cuts and fabrics

As a designer: stop using virgin resources. The fashion industry is an amazing way for creatives to communicate. With every new collection a designer can offer you a new dream, desired aesthetic and a fresh personality.

But with time garments and styles come back or are only inspired by fashion we have seen before. This is when we need to revise completely.

With reusing, deconstructing and recycling second hand materials, as anything like offcuts and remnants of other fashion houses or firms.

Repurposing old archived stock of material as well as a focus on experimentation with unconventional materials will create something new. Using materials in this way requires even more innovative design skill and technical knowledge, challenging designers to use this material approach to create refined and timeless pieces.

4. Go vintage

As a consumer and a follower of fashion you should know that there are still possibilities to go shopping and treat yourself or your loved ones to new pieces of clothing in a sustainable way.

Go vintage! This is the easiest and most effective way to make the fashion industry more sustainable. Soon will you realise that a wide selection of high-end, quality fashion vintage pieces can still be found due to the great manufacture besides being timeless, still in trend and affordable, it ticks all the boxes.

5. Know your facts

The fifth way to make this fashion industry more sustainable is to know your facts. By knowing those big and shocking numbers it is easier to convince yourself to be a part of the change for a more sustainable future in fashion.

Understanding sustainable fashion also gives you the chance to spread this word, increase the awareness and stop greenwashing, which disables an efficient growth of solutions and a presentation of results. It is a threat to the fashion system.

Zero waste fashion

Zero waste fashion, as the name implies, is the process of designing and making clothing without wasting any fabric. This could mean that the garment pattern is designed in such a way to utilize every last bit of fabric – the pattern pieces fit together perfectly, kind of like pattern tetris. It could mean that garments are designed and cut in a way that creates “scraps” in useful shapes and sizes that can be used to make other, smaller products. Or, zero waste fashion could be a brand that cuts garments in the traditional way but utilizes all of their offcuts – whether it be to make additional products or to recycle their scraps into new fabric.

Zero waste fashion can look different for each brand or individual adopting the zero waste mentality, but the core concept is eliminating waste from the garment production process.

Zero waste fashion is not new

While the term “zero waste” is a relatively new one within the fashion industry, the concept of zero waste fashion has been around for centuries. Before fabric and garment production became as industrialized as it is today, it was typically frowned upon to waste fabric when making clothing. Traditional utilitarian garments across many cultures were created through zero waste practices. Examples include the Japanese Kimono and the Indian Saree. Even in ancient Greece and Rome, clothing was typically made from loosely draped rectangles or other simple shapes that didn’t waste much, if any, fabric.

However, with fast fashion taking over the industry, the benefits of zero waste garment production were temporarily lost in western culture. Thankfully, increased attention on sustainability across many different industries is bringing low-waste practices back into fashion.

FabricSight approach Zero Waste

Another side of the zero waste concept is how some brands, independent designers or other professionals can source materials.

At FabricSight we offer two main ways to do this:

DeadStock Fabrics or Selected Surplus: most of the deadstock fabrics you will find come directly from top notch European fabric factories based in Italy, Spain and Portugal. Thanks to strong partnerships we have with such mills, we are able to offer high quality surplus fabrics at competitive prices and without MOQ (minimum order quantity). Why producing more when what you need has already been produced?

Re-orderable: these are fabrics that are always available to order starting from 1 meter.  This means our customers are able to order just the needed amount, as there is no MOQ, so they won’t have surplus on any of these beautiful fabrics.

Most of these fabrics are available in good ranges of colors and are certified by well known certifications that ensure their sustainability.

Zero waste fashion

Each year, the fashion industry creates huge amounts of fabric and garment waste that gets added to our landfills, contributing to carbon emissions and global warming. However, it’s not just avoiding adding to our growing landfills that makes zero waste fashion a more environmentally friendly option. Using zero waste pattern cutting results in brands needing less yardage of fabric to produce the same number of garments – which means ordering less fabric over time, reducing the resources used to produce fabric.

Benefits of zero waste fashion design

There are many benefits to using zero waste processes to create clothing. Here are just a few.

• Less waste destined for landfills.
• Less fabric needed to produce the same number of garments.
• More efficient production.
• Save money by ordering less fabric and reducing waste in the production process.
• Explore creative and unique designs that aren’t available elsewhere.
• Communicate your dedication to reducing waste through marketing to reach the right customers.

Drawbacks of zero waste fashion design

While zero waste design and practices are a great basis to create a sustainable fashion brand on, there are a few drawbacks that you’ll need to consider.

Designs may be limited – if you have a design in mind but can’t come up with a creative way to make it zero waste, you may have to remove a design you love from consideration.

Traditional pattern-making processes and techniques will not necessarily work for zero waste designs.

If your goal is to limit the amount of fabric you waste, you’re also limiting the amount of fabric you order and use – meaning some fabric suppliers who are focused on their profits may not want to work with you.

A brand become “zero waste”

As a fashion brand, adopting a zero waste approach is a great way to connect with sustainability-minded customers as well as do your part to reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the environment. Here are a few ways you can move your fashion brand towards a more sustainable, zero waste system.

• Creatively design patterns so that they fit together perfectly to use an entire piece of fabric.
• Make secondary products from any unavoidable leftover pieces of fabric. Examples are smaller items like bags or scrunchies, pieced together items such as a patchwork top, or items like throw pillows that can be stuffed with small scraps.
• Shred any tiny, unusable scraps and recycle them into new, unique fabrics that can go back to the beginning of the process and be used for new designs.
• Don’t over-order or over-produce – try to order only as much fabric as you need and produce only as many garments as you need. Massively overestimating your needs wastes resources and creates more waste.
• Try a made-to-order system. As a way to avoid issues caused by not overestimating fabric and garment production needs, try producing each garment after it has been ordered. Your sustainability-focused customers will appreciate your goals to eliminate waste and be happy to wait for their new, quality piece.
• Pair a zero waste system with sustainable, ethically sourced fabrics. We offer a huge selection of gorgeous, sustainable fabrics.

Designing zero waste patterns

Designing zero waste patterns is different than traditional methods of designing and drafting sewing patterns. Instead of starting from the design idea and sketch and considering the pattern and fabric requirements last, your process will be flipped to start with planning the pattern and lastly considering the look of the finished piece.

This process will use your creativity in a different way than traditional design. Instead of focusing your creativity on the silhouette and design details, you will be focused on creating unique and different patterns that fit with your no-waste ideals and that can also become flattering and wearable pieces.

5 awesome zero waste sewing patterns

Here are a few great options for zero waste sewing patterns that would be a great introduction to no-waste sewing:

• Zero Waste Suede Trench Coat by Milan AV-JC

Milan AV-JC is a brand run by Mylène L’Orguilloux, who designs and provides open source zero waste sewing patterns. She believes that traditional design is a part of the issue when it comes to the wastefulness of the fashion industry, so wants to bring zero waste designs to more people. Her suede trench coat pattern is a stylish, belted trench with a classic silhouette. However, though the silhouette is classic, the pattern and construction are not, as they utilize zero waste techniques such as skipping the lining, facings, and edge finishings.

• Maynard Dress by Elbe Textiles

Elbe Textiles is a sewing pattern company based in Australia. They provide sewing patterns with the goal of encouraging more people to sew and to help consumers to see that ethical and environmentally friendly fashion is possible by making your own clothing. While not all of Elbe Textile’s patterns are zero waste, they do have a great one, the Maynard Dress pattern. This dress is a stylish, asymmetrical wrap dress with a v-neckline and a relaxed fit.

• Zero Waste Workwear Jacket by Birgitta Helmersson

Birgitta Helmersson is a sewing pattern and clothing designer based in Sweden who designs beautiful zero waste patterns and garments. You can purchase thoughtful, quality, no-waste clothing from her shop or browse through her selection of zero waste patterns, including the Workwear Jacket pattern. This jacket is a loose fitting, utilitarian coat with a button front, collar, and three front pockets. Birgitta Helmersson’s patterns do not come with printable pattern pieces, instead they include instructions to draw the pattern pieces onto the fabric before cutting.

• Zero Waste Wrap Skirt by Make/Use

Make/Use is a project led by Holly McQuillan that was started with the goal of reducing waste in the fashion industry. One way they work towards that goal is by providing information on creating garments using methods that reduce or eliminate waste and by encouraging modification by the end consumer to extend the garment’s life. On their website, Make/Use offers several zero waste patterns, including a wrap skirt pattern. The wrap skirt design is simple and timeless, yet stylish.

• Zero Waste Shirt by Schnittchen Patterns

Schnittchen Patterns is an indie pattern company based in Munich, Germany that creates fashionable, modern patterns. Their focus is on empowering creativity through sewing and making the process of creating a garment as simple as possible through detailed sewing instructions and tutorials. They currently offer two zero waste sewing patterns, including their “Zero Waste No. 2” shirt pattern. The shirt is a simple but modern shape with gathering at the hem of the center front and back. It also features an adorable pocket with a ruffle detail.