Sustainable fashion ‘wins for your wallet and the planet’

The price of clothing is higher than the pound mark on the tag, and fashion is blamed for much of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and waste products.

However, businesses and charities across the East of England are encouraging people to look for solutions during this time Sustainable Fashion Week – whether it’s a school uniform that can be fully recycled, dyes free of toxic substances, or the power of repair.

The team of scientists from Cambridge includes: H&M AND Pangaia in its clients after developing an ingenious method of dyeing fabrics that does not rely on toxic chemicals.

Colorifix, now based in Norwich, bioengineers microbes to create different colors and then attach them to fabric.

CEO Orr Yarkoni explained: “We find colors in nature and, instead of extracting the pigment, we borrow information about its creation – we get the code.

“This code is fed into microbes that are fed sugar and nitrogen and convert it into a pigment or dye.”

He said the process reduces water use, electricity, pollution and carbon emissions compared to conventional dyes, which have a “strong impact.”

“You take a lot of chemicals and heat them up into a toxic soup. Many of the chemicals used are also irreversible, so once they are in the water system they cannot be removed,” Yarkoni said.

He was inspired to find an alternative method by seeing toxic waste in Kathmandu’s rivers and founded Colorifix in 2016 with James Ajoka and David Nugent.

The company supplies colorful fabrics to factories in Italy, Portugal, Brazil and India that supply clothing brands. Yarkoni hopes that in the future they will be able to match or even beat the price of conventional dyes as they “scale up” production.

“Not that we work everywhere, but technology does,” he explained.

He said their system could help existing factories “move away from chemistry towards biology.”

“We hope to show brands and manufacturers that they can do the same without displacing everyone: you don’t need new dyeing machines or quality control. You don’t have to start from scratch.

“To be sustainable, it has to be socially and financially sustainable; you don’t want to take away people’s jobs or livelihoods,” he added.

The golden rule of sustainable fashion is to make sure that clothes are actually worn, used and passed down, rather than hanging unworn in closets or – worse still – thrown away in good condition.

What if the item is too damaged to wear?

A lot of clothes are burned at the moment, but what if you could turn old clothes back into yarn and make a new version?

That’s exactly what Project Re:claim hopes to achieve with David Luke’s school uniforms. Kettering polyester recycling plant run by the Salvation Army, in cooperation with the company, already transforms used textiles into new polyester yarn Project plan B.

David Luke’s latest blazer has been redesigned to be 100% recyclable at the facility after use, in a process known as the ‘circular economy’.

Every detail had to be thought through, from the lining, through the buttons and zippers, to the adhesives.

Project Plan B and Circular Textiles Foundation CEO Tim Cross said: “We now have the technology to recycle David Luke jackets without separating the garments, making it an efficient recycling process.”

In fact, the jacket is considered so groundbreaking that it was exhibited at the Design Museum in London alongside the work of fashion designers Stella McCartney and Priya Ahluwalia.

It is presented within “Tomorrow’s Wardrobe”.

Majone Frost, Director of Environmental and Sustainability at Salvation Army Trading Company, said: “Our vision is to enable companies to produce uniforms, corporate wear, fashion apparel and textile ranges using recycled polyester.

“This is an opportunity for companies to commit to significantly reducing their impact on the environment, and David Luke shows us how it is possible.”

Keeping shoes on the pavement and out of the bin is the job of Andy Smith, who founded Shoesmiths in St Albans at the age of 21.

“Any type of footwear can be repaired, but a lot of people don’t know that,” said Smith, who “moves with the times” to keep up with various footwear trends.

“When high heels were in, I was so busy it was unreal,” he said.

“Young people are starting to come back again to get their shoes repaired. Avid runners cover many kilometers, and shoes wear out – they are expensive to replace, so the better solution is to repair them.

“It’s a win for your wallet and the planet.”

More than two million shoes end up in landfills every week according to the charity Shoe Aidso giving them a new life can make a big difference.

Smith said the busiest time was about 20 years ago, when high heels were in fashion.

“Everyone came with them – high heels wear out quickly. I would have employees like a chain: one person would remove the heel, clean it, pass it on for gluing, and the next person would glue it to NA.

He said they even repair shoes with molded soles, but he has this tip for anyone looking for shoes that can be easily repaired.

“A good quality leather sole and a separate heel is best. Rubber is usually fine, plastic is a bit of a pain, but we can deal with it.”

He acknowledged that shoe repair is seen as an “old-fashioned job,” but added that younger people are “starting to see it as an environmentally friendly option.”