Change of Design Mentality
Article Graduation Project
January 2020
BA Fashion and Textile Technologies
Amsterdam Fashion Insitute
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The graduation project is a written thesis on ‘The benefits and consequences of textile manufacturing based on recycling municipal solid waste.’ The goal of this research is to investigate whether recycling waste into a textile is more of an improvement for the polluted environment than linear production; researching from harvesting/collecting to end of life. The main insights are that recycling waste is at its highest potential when it is implemented in a circular economy, with Cradle to Cradle (biodegrading to feed new resources) to close the circle. The consequences are difficult to measure, as recycling on a large scale is rather new and thus lacking facilities to process the collected waste. Investment in research and innovation is crucial to start a working recycling process in the commercial route. Next to the thesis, the finished product is the article ‘Change of Design Mentality’. In this article, the struggles of recycling waste into textiles and the rising opportunities are discussed in short.
Article Graduation Project
January 2020
BA Fashion and Textile Technologies
Amsterdam Fashion Insitute
The graduation project is a written thesis on ‘The benefits and consequences of textile manufacturing based on recycling municipal solid waste.’ The goal of this research is to investigate whether recycling waste into a textile is more of an improvement for the polluted environment than linear production; researching from harvesting/collecting to end of life. The main insights are that recycling waste is at its highest potential when it is implemented in a circular economy, with Cradle to Cradle (biodegrading to feed new resources) to close the circle. The consequences are difficult to measure, as recycling on a large scale is rather new and thus lacking facilities to process the collected waste. Investment in research and innovation is crucial to start a working recycling process in the commercial route. Next to the thesis, the finished product is the article ‘Change of Design Mentality’. In this article, the struggles of recycling waste into textiles and the rising opportunities are discussed in short.
Change of Design Mentality
In the current production system are clothes designed to be disposed. Since western society got wealthier in the ‘The golden years of 1960’, people have the financial means to buy something new when something is broken or is out of fashion: The Consumer Society. In this society, status is set by flaunting with the consumption of goods and services (Visser & Visser, 2019). Repairing is not within the mentality of this consumer (Doudou, 2019). The so-called linear production system is causing much harm to the environment (Niinimäki, 2018). What are the difficulties to change the current production system?
Consumers in the Netherlands dumped 58.304 tonnes textile waste in 2016, which of 85% ends up on landfills eventually, even though they were tossed in donation bins (CBCNews, 2018). In the documentary Goodwill Dumping (2019), by Teddy Cherim, the journey of donated textiles is shown. The textiles are collected in donation. First, the textiles go to donation centres where second-hand store owners pick out and buy the clothes. The leftovers get shipped to countries in Africa, selling the clothes on the mitumba - second-hand clothing markets. However, most of these clothes are of low quality, already broken, or very dirty. The unsold clothing ends up in a landfill. Elizabeth Cline (2018), states that only 1% of all textiles gets recycled into new garments.
DifficultiesBesides donation bins, many retail stores use a take-back scheme in order to collect old textile to reuse for recycling. For instance, H&M has collected more than 500.000 tonnes of used textile since the start of the programme, which is equal to 2.500.000.000 t-shirts (H&M, 2019). The company promotes to recycle the used textiles into new garments. ‘‘…we literally turn your old clothes into new clothes…’’ (H&M, 2014). However, in their sustainability report released in 2018, H&M mentions to not be able to recycle all the collected textiles, with only 1,4% recycled materials used in their collection. The main reason, H&M states, is the amount of blended fibres present in garments (Lundvall & Söderlund, 2019). Besides, retailers like H&M cannot handle the large number of collected textile returns due to the lack in technology (CBCNews, 2018).
Research proves to separate blended fibres successfully. Via a solvent one of the fibres dissolves, and one remains. Some studies successfully spun yarn from these fibres; others have not (Cattermole Consulting incl., 2019). This process is still very new and needs more investment in research, especially concerning the use in the commercial system. To this moment, recycling waste materials is not 100 percent ready for the market. The process is very energy and labour intensive. The use of virgin material is still easier and cheaper (Koeleman, 2019).
Improvements
A solution would be to change designs to a composition of one fibre to make the recycling process more manageable. The Valtech Group has designed a machine that sorts textiles per fibre composition, colour, and woven vs. knit (Valtech Group, 2015). This machine is still quite expensive to use; therefore, the Circle Economy is working closely together with the Valtech Group in order to introduce the machine to the commercial route (Circle Economy, 2019). The machine can scan one garment per second (Valtech Group, 2015). Garments sorted per composition and colour do not need to be dyed again. For instance, a bulk of light blue woven polyester textiles are shredded and combed into fibres, then spun into yarns, the new yarn will have the same shade of blue as the original textiles (Koeleman, 2019).
Other waste materials are used for the production of textiles as well, for instance, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles. This material is a common resource to use for recycling, as a large amount is going to waste in nature and is easy to recycle into yarns (Cattermole Consulting incl., 2019). The fashion brands Patagonia, Adidas, and RubyMoon, use PET bottles for their collections. In order to get access to the material, they need to work together with organisations collecting the waste from the ocean and shore. For instance, RubyMoon works together with Healthy Seas, which collect the plastic materials, and Econyl, which then develops yarns for the production of RubyMoon’s swim- and athleticwear (RubyMoon, 2019). However, fibres release from the clothes during laundry and enter the water system. Water filters are unable to catch them and thus enter rivers and ocean; accounting for 35% of the plastic pollution in the ocean. (Henry, et al., 2019). During the process of recycling, brands must be aware of the bigger picture: whether a new process is actually better than the previous process.
Others studied the use of bio-based plastic, made of corn, sugar cane, beet and plant oils. New natural vegetable fibres are in the rise as well, like hemp, flax, linen and nettle. They require less water and fertilisers than cotton and are recyclable after use (Šajn, 2019). Singtex developed a finishing for polyester yarns made of coffee grounds. The textile is called S.Café, and the benefits are UV ray protection, anti-odour qualities, and quick to dry; making it a great textile to use in sportswear (S.Café, 2015). Singtex collects the coffee grounds from chains like Starbucks (Rozas, 2017).
Consumer demand
There is a growing consumer demand for more sustainable and ethical produced fashion pieces. Brands want to correspond to the demand. To show the consumer they are indeed focussing on sustainability or ethics, they place certificates on their labels (Moore, 2019). In addition, certificates are a tool to help brands produce more sustainable, as independent organisations monitor the production process; having an exemplary function. ‘‘In a situation when a consumer is choosing between two equally viable options in terms of quality, convenience, and price, a sustainable certificate can tip the scales in favour of a company who has it versus the one who does not’’, Ana Andjelic states, a retail strategy executive. Consumers become critical over products that do not carry a certification, which results in brands changing their production process into a more sustainable and ethical one (Moore, 2019). The government can play an essential role in the possibilities of textile recycling by implementing laws, supervising certifications, and promoting conscious behaviour. Independent organisations, like Sire, inspire the consumer to repair the broken jeans instead of buying a new one, for instance. (Doudou, 2019).
The most significant positive impact the fashion industry can have is when big retailers, like H&M, start to change their design mentality (Doudou, 2019). Sourcing new waste materials, researching new possibilities and changing the fibre composition. Consumers are rising in the demand for sustainable goods. By using certificates, retailers can improve their production process, towards a more circular one where they will be confident of a place in future business, where natural resources lack. Nonetheless, retailers cannot simply do this alone. This requires a change in the global economy, where everything is linked together, and every step in the system is critically examined on their contribution to a cleaner global environment (Moss, 2019), with the help of governments and organisations such as Sire. ‘‘One needs to keep informing and repeating’’ (Doudou, 2019).
DifficultiesBesides donation bins, many retail stores use a take-back scheme in order to collect old textile to reuse for recycling. For instance, H&M has collected more than 500.000 tonnes of used textile since the start of the programme, which is equal to 2.500.000.000 t-shirts (H&M, 2019). The company promotes to recycle the used textiles into new garments. ‘‘…we literally turn your old clothes into new clothes…’’ (H&M, 2014). However, in their sustainability report released in 2018, H&M mentions to not be able to recycle all the collected textiles, with only 1,4% recycled materials used in their collection. The main reason, H&M states, is the amount of blended fibres present in garments (Lundvall & Söderlund, 2019). Besides, retailers like H&M cannot handle the large number of collected textile returns due to the lack in technology (CBCNews, 2018).
Research proves to separate blended fibres successfully. Via a solvent one of the fibres dissolves, and one remains. Some studies successfully spun yarn from these fibres; others have not (Cattermole Consulting incl., 2019). This process is still very new and needs more investment in research, especially concerning the use in the commercial system. To this moment, recycling waste materials is not 100 percent ready for the market. The process is very energy and labour intensive. The use of virgin material is still easier and cheaper (Koeleman, 2019).
Improvements
A solution would be to change designs to a composition of one fibre to make the recycling process more manageable. The Valtech Group has designed a machine that sorts textiles per fibre composition, colour, and woven vs. knit (Valtech Group, 2015). This machine is still quite expensive to use; therefore, the Circle Economy is working closely together with the Valtech Group in order to introduce the machine to the commercial route (Circle Economy, 2019). The machine can scan one garment per second (Valtech Group, 2015). Garments sorted per composition and colour do not need to be dyed again. For instance, a bulk of light blue woven polyester textiles are shredded and combed into fibres, then spun into yarns, the new yarn will have the same shade of blue as the original textiles (Koeleman, 2019).
Other waste materials are used for the production of textiles as well, for instance, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles. This material is a common resource to use for recycling, as a large amount is going to waste in nature and is easy to recycle into yarns (Cattermole Consulting incl., 2019). The fashion brands Patagonia, Adidas, and RubyMoon, use PET bottles for their collections. In order to get access to the material, they need to work together with organisations collecting the waste from the ocean and shore. For instance, RubyMoon works together with Healthy Seas, which collect the plastic materials, and Econyl, which then develops yarns for the production of RubyMoon’s swim- and athleticwear (RubyMoon, 2019). However, fibres release from the clothes during laundry and enter the water system. Water filters are unable to catch them and thus enter rivers and ocean; accounting for 35% of the plastic pollution in the ocean. (Henry, et al., 2019). During the process of recycling, brands must be aware of the bigger picture: whether a new process is actually better than the previous process.
Others studied the use of bio-based plastic, made of corn, sugar cane, beet and plant oils. New natural vegetable fibres are in the rise as well, like hemp, flax, linen and nettle. They require less water and fertilisers than cotton and are recyclable after use (Šajn, 2019). Singtex developed a finishing for polyester yarns made of coffee grounds. The textile is called S.Café, and the benefits are UV ray protection, anti-odour qualities, and quick to dry; making it a great textile to use in sportswear (S.Café, 2015). Singtex collects the coffee grounds from chains like Starbucks (Rozas, 2017).
Consumer demand
There is a growing consumer demand for more sustainable and ethical produced fashion pieces. Brands want to correspond to the demand. To show the consumer they are indeed focussing on sustainability or ethics, they place certificates on their labels (Moore, 2019). In addition, certificates are a tool to help brands produce more sustainable, as independent organisations monitor the production process; having an exemplary function. ‘‘In a situation when a consumer is choosing between two equally viable options in terms of quality, convenience, and price, a sustainable certificate can tip the scales in favour of a company who has it versus the one who does not’’, Ana Andjelic states, a retail strategy executive. Consumers become critical over products that do not carry a certification, which results in brands changing their production process into a more sustainable and ethical one (Moore, 2019). The government can play an essential role in the possibilities of textile recycling by implementing laws, supervising certifications, and promoting conscious behaviour. Independent organisations, like Sire, inspire the consumer to repair the broken jeans instead of buying a new one, for instance. (Doudou, 2019).
The most significant positive impact the fashion industry can have is when big retailers, like H&M, start to change their design mentality (Doudou, 2019). Sourcing new waste materials, researching new possibilities and changing the fibre composition. Consumers are rising in the demand for sustainable goods. By using certificates, retailers can improve their production process, towards a more circular one where they will be confident of a place in future business, where natural resources lack. Nonetheless, retailers cannot simply do this alone. This requires a change in the global economy, where everything is linked together, and every step in the system is critically examined on their contribution to a cleaner global environment (Moss, 2019), with the help of governments and organisations such as Sire. ‘‘One needs to keep informing and repeating’’ (Doudou, 2019).
