The Trashion Recyclers

BY: Andy Shoulders

With more and more effort being put into reducing our carbon footprint in light of the climate change crisis, it only makes sense that these efforts start showing in the fashion arena as well. More and more designers and popular brands are using new and innovative methods to construct new treasures from old trash.

Every year, around 100 billion new items of clothing are produced, while almost a truckload of old clothing is burned or buried in a landfill every second.

Every second. Think about that.

Slowing down the fast fashion behemoths ain’t gonna fix it. What does make a bigger dent, though, is taking waste material and not letting it become waste in the first place. Several well-known designers and brands are leading the way in this effort, creating beautiful and sustainable pieces with everything from eco-friendly fabrics to plastic bottles. Lets take a look at some of these recycling trailblazers.

1. Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney has always been a leader in eco-friendly fashion, having been one of the first mainstream designers to go completely animal-free. It should come as no surprise that she is also a champion of recycled fashion, with a desire to create a more circular and restorative system. Since 2012, McCartney has been using fabric made from recycled water bottles to line every handbag, and by 2020, she has a goal to stop using virgin nylon altogether. To achieve this, the fashion house is switching their current nylon to a regenerated nylon known as ECONYL®, which recycles industrial plastic, waste fabric, and ocean fishing nets to create a new nylon yarn with the exact same quality as virgin nylon.

“Our planet has a waste and overconsumption problem, wreaking havoc on our environment,” McCartney told Sustainable Brands in 2017. “Single-use and disposable items, particularly from plastic, are ending up in landfills, with over 300 million tons of plastic produced every year. It is vital that we act now.”

2. Eileen Fisher with Public School

Eileen Fisher is one of the biggest champions of sustainable fashion, having started a take-back program in 2009. The stores offer to take back their older pieces in any condition, with pieces that are beyond repair being designated as raw material for Waste No More, an experimental design studio based in Irvington, NY that transforms damaged clothing into one-of-a-kind artworks, pillows, wall hangings and accessories. Led by Creative Director Sigi Ahl, Waste No More’s felting techniques require no water or dyes and take an artisanal approach to craft and technology.

3. H & M

It isn’t just the designers who are getting in on the sustainable fashion action. Big brands like H&M are using their near-unlimited resources to make big changes to how they impact the environment (as they should, since they’ve become the biggest offenders as of late). According to their website, in 2018, H&M collected 20,649 tons of textiles for re-use and recycling through their garment collection initiative – the equivalent of 103 million T-shirts. The brand is also supporting new environmentally conscious companies such as Worn Again, Ambercycle, and Infinited Fiber. Like Eileen Fisher, H&M also has a garment-collecting program, with drop-off boxes located in every store worldwide. They accept clothing from any brand, in any condition.

As the world grows more aware of its impact on the environment, it’s inevitable that fashion brands have too. There are so many designers and brands in addition to those above (Vivienne Westwood, Rag & Bone, Nike, and Urban Outfitters just to name a few) that are introducing bold initiatives to make recycling clothing, and eventually a completely sustainable & circular process, achievable. I’d say that’s one huge way to help ease buyer’s remorse.

4. Urban Outfitters

5. Vivienne Westwood

6. Rag & Bone

7. Nike