From jeans to fibres to garment tags: novel recycling for more sustainable fashion

It’s a well-known fact that the fashion industry is one of the biggest industrial polluters in the world. Based on 2015 estimates, it’s responsible for 1 715 million tonnes of annual CO2 emissions and produces around 92 million tonnes of solid waste per year. On average, 79 billion cubic metres of water are consumed for clothing production yearly – enough water to fill almost 32 million Olympic-size swimming pools!

Aspiring to improve sustainability practices in the fashion industry, a fashion-tech firm and a forward-thinking fashion brand have teamed up to transform a collection of wardrobe essentials into new, completely biodegradable materials. Supported by the EU-funded WEAR project, the team’s innovative process has the potential to significantly reduce fashion’s environmental footprint.

“We designed a capsule collection of wardrobe essentials, focusing on garments that almost everyone owns and wears in everyday life, such as bomber jackets, jeans or shirts. And it was really important not to compromise the design decisions but still make a product that is sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable,” says project partner Sabinna Rachimova, the founder of fashion label SABINNA, in a WEAR video. 

CONTINUE READING ON cordis.europa.eu