Fashion

The Durability Myth: How Fast Fashion Is Rebranding As High-Quality.

UTOPIA-The-Edit — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:02:50 +0000

The Durability Myth: How Fast Fashion Is Rebranding As High-Quality.

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Fashion

Fast Fashion

Sustainable fashion

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Sustainable Fashion

Story from: UTOPIA-The-Edit

It seems simple to separate the fast from the fashion: SHEIN is the devil incarnate, and your local earth-toned boutique that stocks small designers is the only way forward.

However, there exists a foggy middle ground, littered with brands attempting to convince consumers of their high quality.

Polished merchandising, sleek mannequins and vague marketing copy are all employed in an attempt to point towards the direction of our favourite buzzword: sustainability.

Fast fashion brands like Zara, H&M, and Abercrombie & Fitch have re-marketed themselves in recent years as higher-quality alternatives to the demonised brands that first spring to mind when we hear the words ‘fast fashion.’

Consumers should not be so easily convinced, since the perception of these garments as durable is antithetical to the push for sustainability in fashion.

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Sarah Moran ⬤ Author

Sustainable Fashion Runways: An Interview with Louise Boughton

UTOPIA-The-Edit — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:32:55 +0000

Sustainable Fashion Runways: An Interview with Louise Boughton

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Story from: UTOPIA-The-Edit

Behind The Scenes

I was eager to delve into the world of sustainability within the fashion runways and gain an insider’s perspective on the happenings behind the scenes at fashion shows.

In my interview with Louise Boughton @louiseboughton_, an accomplished Irish fashion illustrator and live event artist, she offered compelling insights into the intersection of sustainability and fashion.

Louise’s hands-on approach involves creating freehand sketches and mixed media pieces during live fashion runways, skilfully capturing the ambience, and reflecting the broader political, cultural, and environmental context.

...

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Aoife Rooney ⬤ Author

Using tech for transparency in fashion

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 18 May 2023 13:26:02 +0000

Using tech for transparency in fashion

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Clothing and textiles are a fundamental part of our everyday lives and a vital sector within the global economy.

However, our current means of making, consuming, wearing, and discarding clothing is evidently no longer working. According to Business Wire, sustainability is rated as a vital purchase criterion for 60 per cent of consumers across the globe while they are demanding transparency from brands and looking for green credentials.

However, according to the Fashion Revolution 2022 Fashion Transparency Index, 50 per cent of the world’s biggest fashion companies disclose little or no information about their supply chain.

Only 12 per cent of fashion brands across the globe offer information concerning their raw material suppliers.

Without transparency, shoppers struggle to assess a brand’s environmental and social footprints and determine whether its statements are genuine or greenwashing.

What could bridge the transparency gap between eco-conscious consumers and fashion brands?

Can it be as simple as a QR code?

An Irish start-up, Ecode, thought so when they came up with the idea to empower consumers through their app to scan, learn, get rewards, connect, repair, recycle, and ultimately, change fashion.

Ecode was founded by three students, Elise Vens, Emmet Lowry and Nathan Gaborieau.

The three met during their Master’s in Sustainability at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where they extensively studied the fashion supply chain's detrimental social and environmental effects.

Ecode founders Elise Vens, Emmet Lowry and Nathan Gaborieau.

They make an international team as Elise is from The Netherlands, Nathan is from France, and Emmet is Irish.

Elise Vens, Co-Founder of Ecode, explains how their initial idea took off: “We immediately pinpointed circularity as the driver of change and started working on a tool that would give shoppers more insight into what they're buying while empowering the consumer to be an actor of the change.

We realised this greatly benefits fashion brands in determining the lifespan of their items and increasing their products’ durability.

By gaining insight into these life cycles, Ecode has the power to help brands monitor their CSR improvements. Hence, our slogan became ‘enabling circularity in fashion’.”

In November 2021, the Ecode team participated in Trinity’s Provost Challenge, a three-day hackathon whereby students were challenged to ideate and develop a business idea where they came second.

Speaking on why they chose to focus on fashion specifically, Elise says: “For one of our courses, we had the opportunity to research the social and environmental impact of the fashion industry.

We were shocked to find out that this industry is the second-largest polluter on earth after the oil industry. A few weeks later, Trinity’s Provost Challenge was announced with the theme ‘How do you combat fast fashion?’.

We immediately realised this was our cue and submitted our idea for Ecode. Ecode can fundamentally change the fashion industry for the better, from a linear consumption towards a circular model of doing business.

We’ve recognised that the barrier to transformation is frequently not a lack of will but rather a lack of accessibility and connections between actors.”

Ecode`s solution is based on using QR codes in fashion items to increase transparency and circularity. Image: unsplash

Elis adds: “Ecode aims to integrate the entire landscape of actors in circularity. We connect stakeholders such as brands, consumers, recyclers, repairers, and resellers.

Ecode is not only offering a QR code, but an entire ecosystem that can collectively create change by interacting with one another, bringing the option of circularity to everyone’s doorstep.”

Afterwards, they decided to apply for Trinity’s LaunchBox Student Accelerator 2022 and were awarded the first prize, which provided immense validation for their project. In January of 2023, they received the Acting for the Environment Prize from Enactus France, an international social entrepreneurship project presentation competition for university students.

Currently, their biggest challenge is developing a BETA version of their application that can be replicated and quickly implemented in different companies to kickstart their revolution towards circularity in fashion. However, the team plans to overcome this hurdle and has big hopes for the project’s application.

Elise explains their plans further:

“Our goal is for Ecode to become the first thing that pops into the mind of consumers when they have to purchase, recycle, and repair clothing.

By making these processes easier for the consumer, we aim to drastically change consumer behaviour. In the next three years, we hope that everyone in Ireland and the rest of Europe will have heard of Ecode and that we will have a growing number of users.”

The amount of textile waste in the EU has doubled over the past 20 years.

With Ecode, the team hope to increase the number of clothes put back into circulation by up to 60 per cent in stores.

They also wish that by informing consumers about the impact of products, they can indirectly reduce the pressure on the planet by placing more environmentally sound products in the spotlight.

Headline image: unsplash

This article is an extract from content originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine - you can read the full article and other features in the magazine.

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Irish social enterprise launched online shop for preloved kids clothes to aid local causes and reduce waste

Anonymous — Mon, 17 May 2021 10:54:12 +0000

Irish social enterprise launched online shop for preloved kids clothes to aid local causes and reduce waste

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Newly launched website sells used kids’ fashion items in Ireland to save them from landfill and help raise funds for local charities, schools and clubs.

COVID-19 has closed charity shops and other discount outlets; however, it has not stopped children from growing.

Nancy Ward, former PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) Chair and a lifelong fundraiser, saw the need for COVID-friendly fundraising in Ireland and created Kids Klothes social enterprise to close the gap.

They launched their website to sell preloved children’s clothes to aid local charities while offering affordable buying options for parents to cut costs and help reduce waste.

Nancy Ward, Founder of Kids Klothes Irish social enterprise

“Most kids’ clothes fashion trends don’t change that much.

These items involve bright or pastel colours with fun animal and or cartoon images.

These pieces will always be ‘cool’ to wear.

And retro is always in fashion.

This idea has been in the making for a while, and we are thrilled to swing open the doors, virtually of course, to welcome and support our customers,” says Nancy Ward, founder of Kids Klothes.

Aimed at Irish families, they encourage people to get involved and raise funds for local charities, schools, clubs through collecting and selling kids clothes and shoes.

They provide support in creating promotional materials for fundraisers and take care of the collection and sales and give back 50% of proceeds on items sold monthly for up to 6 months.

All items available online have been donated to the shop, and to ensure safety, they are kept for a two-week ‘COVID cool off’ period.

There is a great variety of options from ‘new with tags still on’ which have never been worn; ‘like new’ that was worn once or twice, and ‘preloved’ items which show a bit of wear but have more life to be lived.

“Preloved is part of a sustainable movement to help save our planet from the deluge of clothing that goes into landfills each year.

Kids Klothes is allowing those clothes to have a second or third go at life.

The additional benefit of buying from us is that part of the proceeds goes to a local club, school, or charity for their work to support children.

We look forward to expanding the number of organisations we can support with their fundraising efforts as Kids Klothes continues to grow,“ Wards explains.

Parents can easily find quality items, including lots of big brands, and there seems to be something for everyone with more than 600 items listed online and more being added daily.

There is a range of sizes in clothes and shoes from 0 to 12 years, and prices reflect the condition of the item and the brand with prices ranging from €1 to €15 per item.

This option is great for everybody, those who clear out the wardrobe, those we fundraise for, and those who need to purchase items at value pricing while saving the planet from a sustainability perspective.

Headline image: Max Schwoelk from Pexels

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Leading fashion brand launches circular denim collection at large scale

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 17:55:47 +0000

Leading fashion brand launches circular denim collection at large scale

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The 'Jeans Redesign' project is a milestone in Tommy Hilfiger’s vision to create fully circular fashion products.

Tommy Hilfiger, one of the world’s most recognized premium designer lifestyle groups, owned by PVH Corp. announces the launch of its first Jeans Redesign garments made to be more durable and easier to recycle – two critical components in creating a Circular Economy.

Coming up with this special denim range is part of the company's 2019 pledge to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global leader in promoting and mainstreaming the Circular Economy.

“Sustainability has become a driving force for our brand and our business,” said Martijn Hagman, CEO, Tommy Hilfiger Global.

“As a leading fashion brand, we have a responsibility to drive the transition to a circular economy, and we are proud to work alongside the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to achieve this.

This shift requires a full rethink of the fashion value chain, and these pieces are a testament to the skill, expertise and dedication of both teams as we continue to push the boundaries in both design and manufacturing. This is just one step on our path to creating fully circular products.”

The sustainable denim range will be available online and in select stores beginning March 3, 2021.

Seven garments were designed as part of the Jeans Redesign project, including five pairs of jeans and two denim jackets.

Durability, conscious use of materials, recyclability, and traceability were at the heart of the design process.

The Story of the Jeans Redesign - Ellen MacArthur Foundation initiative

This was achieved by rethinking the jeans' design according to circular principles, including using detachable buttons; the replacement of metal rivets with bar tacks; the removal of all metal zippers; removal of the leather patch; and use of 100% organic fabric.

Each piece features wash and care instructions on the pockets, along with advice to repair, donate or recycle the product after use.

“As a denim industry leader, and one of the first brands to sign up to Jeans Redesign, Tommy Hilfiger is demonstrating how we can all work together to redesign fashion’s future,” said Francois Souchet, Make Fashion Circular Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

“The launch of this collection is an exciting step towards a circular economy for fashion where the clothes we love never become waste.”

The Jeans Redesign collection highlights Tommy Hilfiger’s ongoing commitment to eliminating waste by innovating for becoming more circular and transparent.

To date, Tommy Hilfiger has trained more than 80% of its designers on circular design principles and recently launched Tommy for Life, its first circular business model.

Under the Tommy for Life program, the company takes back items from customers and partners, cleans, repairs and resells them, keeping products in use longer.

They are also driving transformative change in the denim industry, producing more than two million pieces of lower impact denim, which is finished through a process that uses less water and energy than traditional methods.

Using detachable buttons makes recycling easier - image: Tommy Hilfiger

Headline image: Tommy Hilfiger press newsroom

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