We may have cut up jeans to use as patches or unravelled an old jumper to knit something new and these are simple ways to contribute at individual level, which is actually very powerful if we all look at how we dispose of our wardrobes more responsibly. But Industry has to do this on a big scale in order to make the necessary impact. Known in the industry as "shoddy," it's a reclaimed wool processed from materials that are not felted and is of better quality and longer staple than mungo. It is one example of how fabrics especially wool were recycled into a new material. I first came across it in Italy being used to produce outerwear at more affordable prices.
Circular Fashion, also known as 'Cradle to Cradle," as opposed to "Cradle to Grave," the old fashioned disposable model used in the fashion industry. There are now multiple opportunities to become a 'circular', rather than a linear business, t's a new way of extending and expanding our creativity far wider and further than ever before. We can no longer put these garments into landfill or export to third world nations to deal with our debris and excess but now is time to take responsibility for repurposing, re-using and re-creating.
"Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck load of clothes is burnt or buried in landfill. The fashion industry is one of the major contributors of plastic microfibres entering our oceans. To solve the problem, we must reinvent fashion itself".Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Fast fashion has the largest part to play as it is creating the bulk of the problem with non stop drops and built in obsolescence. We must now be actively looking at constructive ways to achieve this agencies to partner with to eliminate garments going to landfill, design for these circular systems and to create not only new job opportunities but new markets and buying cycles.
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