Trashion: trash and fashion in midst of the fashion industry
Have you ever thrown away your clothing? Have you ever donated them? Despite your current level in sustainability, waste is often seen as something devoid of value and meaning. With that meaning appropriated to something, it will most likely end up in the landfill. This unfortunately will prevent the good to be repurposed, reused or recycled into a new product.
However, what if we imagined a world that reconceptualized the theory of waste to a viewpoint that everything always holds intrinsic value?! It is common for consumers to hold the responsibility of what happens to the products after its consumed. There are no laws or policies in place to force anyone to be environmentally friendly on how they choose to do this. This level of free will often results in apathy on how it affects the earth because it has no direct repercussion of their livelihood. Throwing away goods after its no longer wanted has never been simpler! However, the determental effects first world consumers place on the rest of the world is causing enormous damage. One of the industry’s that causes significant damage is the fashion industry.
The average consumer throws away about 70 pounds of clothing per year. This is more than 13 million tons of textiles, which is 85% clothing. Even if clothing is recycled to companies like Goodwill, only 10% of what they receive is sold in their retail stores. About 1% of clothing is recycled, which is shredded and made into non-apparel products, such as car carpeting and home insulation.
If based in the USA, a very reasonable solution in preventing fashion to become waste is to resell clothing. This is a capitalistic pathway where money is an incentive to be environmentally conscious of where clothing ends up. The top three recommended reselling sites are Poshmark, Depop and eBay. Yet, this solution requires time, effort and consideration on how to store it. This is clearly not something everyone will be able to do! Therefore, curiosity and creativity is needed to find solutions on what to do with clothing that shouldn’t end up in the landfill. Simple tips include rewearing garments as much as possible, upcycling clothing, taking it to a seamstress to get alterations, or hosting clothing swaps with friends.
All the while, these solutions fail to address the clothing deemed not “worthy” to be reused, resold or recycled. This may be due to unfavorable stains, rips and wear that makes the overall garment unappealing. This fashion “waste” then presents itself as a problem.
This is why trashion is so important. This is the idea that fashion can be made out of discarded and rejected materials. It reconverts different pieces of fabric into beautiful masterpieces that prevent clothing to be thrown away in the landfill. It strives in challenging wastefulness for consumers, clothing manufacturers and designers. It makes the best of a very toxic system in the fashion industry where there are no laws or processes in place for apparel waste.
This fashion waste essentially requires changes to occur in the fashion industry, such as:
Designers shifting towards a zero waste design mindset
Designers taking accountability of leftover fabric in the production process
Designers reusing, repurposing and/or selling leftovers
Clothing manufacturers collecting fabric leftovers
Clothing manufacturers reusing leftovers in upcycled collections
Brands offering used clothing collection programs
Brands offering their used clothing at a lower price
Consumers being aware of the effects of fast fashion on Mother Earth and its people
Consumers becoming intentional in their garment purchases
Consumers extending the life of their garments by taking care of them
Consumers deliberately reusing, recycling, reselling and/or swapping garments versus throwing them away
All these tips require having a sense of responsibility for the waste produced from the garment, how garments can be reconceptualized and the garment’s end of life after being consumed.
In terms of profit, money CAN also be made in sourcing materials from production leftovers, end of lines, off-cuts, deadstock and vintage fabric that designers and brands don’t need and/or want. With curiosity and innovation, clothing can be made from canvases, roadside banners and unused leather cut-offs, as seen in Vivienne Westwood’s collections .
With a growing number of sustainability minded millennial’s, there is a marketing opportunity to promote sustainability through up cycling. This deviation from the throwaway culture makes any waste a low cost, environmentally friendly opportunity for anyone to enter into sustainable fashion. Plus, you’ll end up with a cute, one of a kind outfit that no one else will be able to replicate!