Sustainable trends in textile production
The fact that the fashion industry needs to become more sustainable is repeatedly reminded with the relevant figures. For example, the latest report from the Global Fashion Agenda states that the fashion industry is responsible for ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also states that if we continue in this way, emissions will not fall by 2030, but will actually rise by a third. The report also states that sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in the purchasing decisions of around two-thirds of consumers.
Of course, things can’t go on as before – that’s the basic tenor. In addition to new collections and drops, the inboxes of the editorial offices are now also full of information about sustainable plans, goals and innovations. This is where the most important trends of the future can be found.
1. The new natural fibers
No system is sustainable if it is to work in high quantity. Not even organic cotton, for which a lot of water is needed in cultivation. The possibilities from nature are, after all, much more versatile, as numerous material innovations show. From silk-like fabrics made from rose petals at Bite Studios or from orange peels to leather made from pineapple fibers and jeans made from hemp at Levi’s. UGG has just launched the Plant Power Collection, which is 99.7 percent plant-based and climate-neutral – including soles made from cane sugar and fluffy plush made from cellulose fibers from the eucalyptus tree (from responsible forestry).
2. Biodiversity
According to a UN report, around one million species are threatened with extinction within the next few decades. What does this have to do with fashion? Among other things, the industry appropriates land to grow cotton and raise cows that are slaughtered not only for meat but also for leather. It cuts down forests for the production of viscose and pollutes water through dyeing processes and microplastics from synthetic fibers (which sounds tiny, but accumulates to half a million tons per year). “Biodiversity” is therefore one of the three major themes of the Fashion Pact initiated in 2019. The fashion group Kering, which owns Gucci and Saint Laurent, among others, recently presented its own strategy for more biodiversity by 2025. In May, the UN Biodiversity Summit will take place in China.
3. Upcycling
Upcycling has become one of the buzz words in sustainability over the past year. This makes it no less necessary to recycle leftover fabrics and garments. Many young labels like Ahluwalia and Louise Lyngh Bjerregaard have already based their collections on this principle; big houses like Balenciaga, Maison Margiela and Loewe have sporadically integrated upcycling into their collections. One of the most exciting designers currently recycling fabrics for her designs is Marine Serre – her exclusive capsule collection for Mytheresa includes a top and pants made from upcycled leather and a dress made from old bed sheets. Luxury upcycled accessories are offered by James Castle and Clare Langhammer, who transform discarded silk scarves from Hermès and Co. into scrunchies and – strictly limited – into scrunchie hair bands.
4. Resale
To prolong the life of clothes and accessories, you don’t necessarily have to recycle them right away – you can also resell them for now. This is particularly true for luxury fashion that is produced to a high standard and is intended to be long-lasting anyway. According to the Boston Consulting Group, the resale market is expected to grow by 15 to 20 percent per year through 2025. The popularity of resale platforms has led, among other things, to Gucci announcing a cooperation with The RealReal in the fall and its parent company Kering acquiring a five percent stake in Vestiaire Collective in early March.
5. Recyclable clothing
The circular economy, or recycling of clothing and materials, is one of the most important visions for the future. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, however, less than one percent of clothing worldwide is recycled into new clothing; the Global Fashion Agenda’s 2020 report shows that brands have achieved only 64 percent of their circular economy goals. At least 20 percent of clothing, however, should be recycled to somehow meet the climate goal of 1.5 degrees by 2030. To close the loop, we need not only fashion made from recycled materials – but also fashion that can be recycled. From Levi’s, Closed and Tommy Hilfiger, there are the first jeans with which this is possible. The H&M Foundation, together with the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, is developing the “Green Machine” project, which aims to separate polyester and cotton fibers in a garment. In large quantities, this would be a decisive breakthrough for a circular fashion industry.
6. Print-on-Demand-Fashion
Kornit Digital, developer of digital textile production technology, recently released its 2020 Impact and Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) report. It reports that the fashion business overproduces by about 30% and is responsible for 20% of the world’s wastewater per year. This makes the fashion and textile industries among the most polluting in the world, which is not encouraging for the environment.
The fashion production model is not unlike that of the newspaper industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Newspaper publishing used to be based on the classic industrial model, where economies of scale were used to reduce unit costs. Huge web presses for newspapers produced huge volumes of goods at minimal unit costs. That changed with the advent of the World Wide Web in 1994, so run lengths and waste are much lower today. Until online competition for readers forced a change, overproduction was justified by the foundation of newspaper publishers’ business model: Advertising revenue. A highly lucrative business justified excessive printing and waste. Today’s fashion and textile industries follow a similar scale-based model, and the serendipity of fast-moving and often unpredictable fashion trends is used to justify overproduction. This needs to change.
Proponents of digital printing for textile production are confident that the on-demand model, combined with advanced printing technology, can do to textile production what it did to the newspaper industry. It could completely transform it, allowing the idea of on-demand fashion production to gain traction.
On the plus side, online should result in fewer unwanted garments being produced based on the need for clothing. Integrate the model with an online marketplace for second-hand goods, and things look very compelling, especially for planetary sustainability. Digital textile printing reduces water use by 95% and energy use by 94%. Kornit says its systems can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 82%. The company expects to produce about 2.5 billion “apparel items” by 2026, with no overproduction. The Kornit report estimates that direct digital production will save 4.3 trillion liters of water per year. If all goes according to plan, 17.2 billion kilograms of GHG emissions will also be saved.
The water savings result from the switch to printing inks away from dyeing and the various associated processes used to produce fabrics. The graphic arts industry is already on the right track when it comes to the environmental impact of materials used in print production. Add to the mix the reduction in shipping emissions associated with transporting textiles and apparel around the globe, and a shift to on-demand digital fashion all looks very positive. There’s also the benefit of making apparel production much more accessible to small businesses interested in providing services to their local economies.
However, it will be neither easy nor quick to discourage consumers from using the traditional fashion fulfillment model. The speed of digital printing needs to be much higher to deliver volume, especially on fabrics like linen and silk in different weights. There is also the established business to contend with. But turning interests with longstanding analog traditions on their heads may be easier than expected. It will come down to a confluence of different possibilities: Business model, design and creativity, technology, and most importantly, consumer support.
Find out what measures UpNDownSports and Spreadshirt have taken for sustainable textile production!
