THE ‘ZERO WASTE’ TREND IN THE DESIGN AND FASHION INDUSTRY

Here at WORTH we are always on the lookout for up and coming trends that we witness through the WORTH Partnership Project winners and throughout the design and technology industry. What is important to us and new designers is the aspect of sustainability, a ‘hot topic’ among the new wave of talent.

The importance of designing sustainable, environmentally friendly and innovative products and manufacturing processes is not just an effort to sustain the design and technical industry, but it is an overall effort to sustain the existence of the planet.
One theme that we have observed, and will continue to nurture is the concept of ‘zero waste’. This is not a new concept to design and in particular, the fashion industry, however it is making waves within larger scale manufacturing companies for the first time.

‘Zero Waste’ is a process of producing products that leave no excess material to waste, therefore decreasing the amount of waste materials from the manufacturing process that often end up in landfill and consequently add to the pollution of the planet.
It’s estimated that 15 to 20 percent of the fabric used to produce clothing winds up in the nation’s landfills because it is cheaper to dump the scraps in the waste bin than to recycle them responsibly. This is the point where new designers with a high regard for sustainability come in. Apart from the incline of clothing labels that design garments that are cut using every inch of fabric, therefore eliminating waste completely, there is also the influx of designers that source waste materials from factories which they then use to create new and unique garments.

‘Zero Waste’ is a method that, although initiated by small one-off manufacturing companies, is quickly gaining momentum within the fashion industry, and design industry as a whole. This can be seen in the innovative partnership projects of Esther Perbandt and The Institute For Advanced Architecture Of Catalonia (IAAC) who are developing a process to produce luxury fashion using PVC-based waste materials and the partnership of Spell Disain, Pambu Ltd and Kerstin Zabransky who are creating a collection of clothing with magically adapted stories for kids by using colour-changing and glow-in-the-dark pigments made from factory leftover materials.
We look forward to seeing the growth of this new trend in the hopes that the results go further than just ensuring the longevity of the design and technical industries.

_{Image:@greenfashionweek of a @victoria.ladefoged design made of discarded textiles.}