Innovations in sustainable fashion - new ways to grow green

Sustainability in fashion is a path-breaking concept. Not that the textile industry has been steadily working towards making the industry a little greener than it was. But to accelerate from the present slow pace, we need technological and creative disruptions. We remember when Adidas went all the way to create sneakers from ocean waste. Many brands have been working towards such goals.

The leather industry has been a painted target for both sustainable evangelists as well as animal lovers. Bioengineers from Provenance fabrics are now designing collagen molecules to create lab-made leather. Nano textile technology is also on the surge. It helps to add a special property to fabrics like odor repellency, temperature control, bacterial repellant, etc, without using harmful intermediaries. This protects both the user as well as the environment from harmful exposures.

Japanese studio Nendo has collaborated with Italian studio Up To You Anthology, to design handbags people can assemble at home. Linear panels will cut down production lines and manufacturing costs. Preconsumer waste is a huge crisis in the fashion industry. Royal College of Arts graduate Danielle Elsener designed the A020 system of tools (also known as DECODE). This helps pattern masters to approach patterns like a puzzle and eliminate up to 15% of cutting waste

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Information is the key to sustainability. Good on You is an app aggregating data on ethical and environmental practices of over a thousand brands. This helps you chose your style more eco-consciously using a 5 point score. Many organizations are developing circular fashion techniques to make sure the garments, at the end of their life period, come back to where it was produced. They can be integrated into the production cycle again. Circular fashion will need a lot of innovation and out-of-the-box thinking as a waste collection is still very uncoordinated in many nations.

Any traditional sector that has deep roots and established links will need disruptive changes to transform itself to an eco-friendly manner.