sustainability strategies.

Here you can roam around and get inspired by different approaches to sustainability. If you need guidance to implement any or several of these concepts into your practice, feel free to sign up for a starter meeting here. Have fun!

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    rethink the system

    We work in a system where we no longer care about quality and value. Because there is no transparency throughout the supply chain, we like to ignore the fact that people all over the world suffer for making the garments we buy. I am convinced that we all agree that this system should not work that way. But to achieve change, we need to rethink it and counteract. If we succeed to revolutionize the system from the inside, it will be easier to change it; and any small change is a win for the better.Fashion is a fast-moving industry. It is becoming faster and faster to come up with new trends so that more can be sold. As long as it is only about selling more, faster and cheaper, everyone involved will suffer. We should start taking more time, to reflect on the designs, make less and slower, but better. We would also get rid of the stress of long working hours if we decided to find our own rhythm.

    mono- materiality

    Mono-Materiality is when a product is composed of a single type of material or a product with components that are each made of a single type of material that can be split apart; for example a table with a wooden table top but with 4 metal legs that can be removed at its life cycle end.

    Why mono-materials? Because blended materials are harder, if not impossible to recycle.

    The difficulty of recycling arises when fibres have been blended, the extraction process becomes much more complex since there is more than one material involved.

    Fibre blends are common in today’s fashion industry, because they can improve the properties of textiles. But they also make the recycling process much more difficult, making the undertaking of recycling and separating fibers financially unattractive – resulting in the lifecycle of these products ending at landfills or in incineration.

    slavefree

    In 1945, it was agreed upon what human rights are. Still, huge gaps exist within humanity due to gender, age, race, religion, ability and/or sexual orientation. Inequalities unfortunately exist within the fashion industry as well.

    According to slavefreetrade.org, 40 million people suffer in modern slavery, 160 million children in child labor and 77% of businesses admit some kind of modern slavery behind them. slavefreetrade is a Swiss nonprofit set out to end modern slavery by putting together 10 Principles that covers all points of international human right law that relate to workplace conditions.

    If you’re a brand, please work with them to ensure you have a clean supplychain. If you’re a consumer, watch out for products with their label on it.

    RRR

    Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – is all about minimising the amount of waste we produce, reusing products as much as we can, and recycling any materials that can be used for a new purpose.

    Recycle items wherever possible.Separate. That’s all it is. Divide your waste as best possible. The most accessible are compost, glass, paper, cardboard, aluminium and lead batteries.

    Reduce the amount of waste you produce.This can be done by choosing products with less packaging, by bringing reusable grocery bags to the grocery store or by making conscious decisions while buying new clothes.

    Reuse items as much as you can before replacing them.Examples of reusing include: resizing or altering clothes that are too big and already in your closet, refilling your water bottle or updating your computer rather than buying the newest model.

    design for disassembly

    ‘Design for Disassembly’ is working with materials and product design with the intention of material separation once the product is discarded or in need for repair. This eases and supports the re-use materials.

    Examples include: the Fairphone, where the design makes it easy for the user to disassemble the product and replace the exact broken part, or buildings, where columns, walls and beams are reusable when construction or demolition takes place. Another example is Eugenia Morpugo graduation project: Repair It Yourself, where the soles of the designed shoe are mechanically fastened and therefore can be easily replaced when worn out.

    There are four guidelines to help the designer achieve ‘Design for Disassembly’, which are minimize the number of fasteners, minimize the number of tools required to remove fasteners, fasteners should be easy to remove and fastening points should be easy to access.
    recycling

    Plastic combined with natural materials – no problem as long as it can be divided for disposal. As long as different materials can be separated, they can still be recycled. However, if we continue to use fabrics with a mixture of e.g. cotton and polyester, we will not be able to recycle them – unless there will be a way to separate theses fibers at some point. But until then, we should think about the afterlife of our designs as early as the design stage, because the era of materials on this planet is not over after they are disposed of. If compostable materials are used, recycling would usually mean composting. This is absolutely fine, because this way the nutrients return to the earth and new plants grow.Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – is all about minimising the amount of waste we produce, reusing products as much as we can, and recycling any materials that can be used for a new purpose.

    slow down

    Fashion is a fast-moving industry. It is becoming faster and faster to come up with new trends so that more can be sold. As long as it is only about selling more, faster and cheaper, everyone involved will suffer. We should start taking more time, to reflect on the designs, make less and slower, but better. We would also get rid of the stress of long working hours if we decided to find our own rhythm.
    appreciate

    The appreciation for material, time, resources, art and handcraft is getting lost in the fashion system. This is not really surprising considering the huge amount of available materials, lack of transparency and a competition-driven economy. How could this be any different if designers or salespeople already do not attach any value to the articles. This is a huge problem, because it is now only up to the buyer to value, appreciate and care for his possessions.

    complete transparency

    An important factor of sustainable work is transparency. Transparency over the entire supply chain, the chemicals involved, the wages paid etc. This also includes the transfer of knowledge to give other designers better access to sustainable sources. If it were easier to find good suppliers or production studios, designer could prefer them to those they have chosen so far due to lack of effort or time.

    As long as access to good and affordable sources remains difficult due to lack of information, there is no urgent need for designers or clients to reconsider their decisions, because there are plenty of excuses. More transparency throughout the industry would force companies to be more sustainable, because if it was obvious that they were screwing up, no one would support them anymore.

    share knowledge

    The exchange of knowledge is key to the smooth functioning of a more sustainable fashion industry. We need to start working together, sharing our knowledge, so that others can become more aware and move forward into a more sustainable future. As long as there is competition and secrets, a fair system will not flourish. If you have a better way to do something, you should definitely share it! If you try to work more sustainable, it should be for the sake of the planet. So helping others to do the same is worth a lot more than doing it well only on your own. If we are a revolutionary crowd, we will achieve more than if everyone fights for the same problem alone.

    alternative materials

    Since leather production has a huge impact on the environment, we should reject the use of leather or fur. There are so many beautiful natural alternatives. I am currently investigating the sustainability of some of these products in order to select those, that I think we should support.

    We should also continue to look for alternative fabrics or zippers; whatever our heart desires for our work, because there are so many nice alternatives being develop. Keep up to date on the open source Toolbox!

    circularity

    Circularity is an approach to production and consumption that aims to keep materials and products in use for as long as possible, minimizing waste and resource extraction. It is rooted in the principles of the circular economy, where systems are designed so that outputs from one process become inputs for another. Instead of the traditional linear “take–make–dispose” model, circular systems emphasize reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling. This approach also encourages designing products with durability, modularity, and end-of-life recovery in mind. Ultimately, circularity seeks to reduce environmental impact while creating more resilient and regenerative economic systems.

    awareness

    Both designers and consumers should pay more attention to what we create and buy. We should be clear about what we support, who will benefit or suffer, why we do what we do. More awareness starts with recognizing that a certain material does not feel good on the skin or thinking about other options than throwing a garment in the trash. There are many ways to focus on consciousness and awareness and every one of them is right.
    cradle to cradle

    In order to function in the cradle to cradle system, it is important to understand that the designer does not have to be able to do everything on his own, but only needs to know where he can go to acquire this knowledge. This means that our task is to know where we get the information and materials from, who can recycle them and also what is still missing or not yet as far developed as we want it to be. We should think about the afterlife already when we design the garment, because this is the only way to ensure it works in a circular system.

    zero waste fashion

    Zero Waste Fashion includes different ways of working with material in shape, such as knitting or crocheting. But there are also ways like smoking and folding to get a simple piece into shape. I would also like to mention the Zero Waste Pattern, which I see as a way to stick with the patterns for fashion, but without generating all the fabric waste.Fashion is a fast-moving industry. It is becoming faster and faster to come up with new trends so that more can be sold. As long as it is only about selling more, faster and cheaper, everyone involved will suffer. We should start taking more time, to reflect on the designs, make less and slower, but better. We would also get rid of the stress of long working hours if we decided to find our own rhythm.
    upcycling

    For materials that cannot be properly recycled or composted, upcycling would be a good option for the time being. In this way we give the material a value and extend its life span. But it must be mentioned that this is not the ideal way, as it does not keep materials in permanent cycles.

    zero waste pattern

    Learning and understanding how to create a zero-waste pattern is essential and should become the basis for garment design. This will ensure that no fabric waste is created during the production of the designs. This design system also has an influence on the own design language and can even be called a design method.

    certified materials

    The use of fabric is crucial for fashion. But the damage that fabric production can cause is not discussed enough. When buying fabric, we should only buy GOTS certified fabrics. Even though there are many different certificates, GOTS is preferable, because it respects most of the 17 goals of the United Nations for sustainable development. Only by using certified materials we can assure our customers – and ourselves – that as little damage as possible has been caused. The same applies for fsc-certified paper and wood.

    handicraft

    I think that in the context of sustainability we should not forget to preserve old techniques. Their use in designs makes them more valuable and special. Then these techniques influence the way the garment lies on the body, they create volume, shape and simply give the feeling of wearing something special. This makes the difference between simple and timeless.

    dyes

    Many dyes are known to be very harmful to the human body and the environment. Depending on where we work, there may be a purification system for the water after the dyeing process – but most production countries don’t have one, so they end up with colorful but toxic rivers and soils. There are natural alternatives for these dyes, which no not always have the same intensity as chemical dyes. But we should look at the processes and factories and find a solution that is satisfactory for all parties involved and explore new ways.

    prints

    With prints we encounter a similar problem as with dyes. Depending on which process you choose for prints, there are different difficulties, but the dye problem remains the same. For printing there is the option of screen printing – many toxic chemicals used to apply to the screen, or the option of digital printing, which has an enormous energy consumption. There are certainly better options than conventional printing, and it is up to us to find the ones that work for us.
    timesless

    Timelessness is the key to longevity. If designs are no longer made and bought to fit the current fashion stream, but to fit yourself, the purchase of new clothes would be drastically reduced, because you would then love what you already have and maybe just feel the need to have only a few, but special things.

    quality

    Apart from a timeless design, the quality must be very high so that the pieces can be worn over a longer period of time. Quality problems can be caused by unreflective design, wrong material choices, production with lack of time, chemical treatment… in other words: by saving money and time. So be generous with your designs!
    repair

    Why do we throw away clothes that only have a broken zipper or a small hole, or because they are less shiny than in the beginning? We are quite capable of repairing a garment or at least finding someone who is able to do so. This way we would buy less and the garments could be more personalized. The fact is that when a garment is worn for 9 months over its expected life, its environmental impact is reduced by 20-30%.

    reflected design

    Reflective design according to my definition is aesthetic, practical and long-term. We should stop making products that do not fit into this area, because they will never be the perfect product someone will buy and own over a long period of time. Good reflected design brings joy and is more appreciated this way.

    organic materials

    The design lives from the fabric it is made of. But we pretend that it is not in our hands to choose a sustainable fabric from a regenerative source or, in general, a more sustainable alternative. In fact, it is up on us as designers to make a considered decision and understand that we are responsible for the likely damage that could be or has been caused by choosing a bad option. I am working on the open source Toolbox to make sustainable materials more visible and accessible.

    de- & re-construct the system

    We should deconstruct the current fashion system back to its roots. It does not have to be linear. We don’t have to ship our products around the globe to make them cheaper to produce, because in this way we can influence much less. We should ask ourselves why we are, where we are – how we act – who we support – why we do this. Break the rules, let it work the best way for you and not for the system.

    local

    The distance an article of clothing travels – from fiber to being sold – is incredible. We move it back and forth – in fact we are acting in a globalized industry. This was definitely not the case in the past. We had a nice and strong textile industry in Europe, where fashion used to be different in all areas. Now, there is hardly anything left on our continent, but smaller businesses are starting to cultivate this tradition again – because it is also much more sustainable not to ship the material around the globe several times.

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