Goodwill Industries of Mid-Michigan’s Post

ICYMI: The world now throws out 92 million tons of clothes a year and only about an eighth of it gets recycled, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. What happens to the rest? They either hit landfill or are burned... Now, researchers at the University of Delaware are proposing a new recycling technique that breaks down blended fabrics using chemicals and microwaves. Researchers say the process takes 15 minutes and can dissolve any blend of cotton, polyester, nylon and spandex into molecules that can be used to make new fabrics or products like dyes, electronics and tires. While this would be a huge game changer, we still need to address the way fast fashion produces apparel - both in terms of quality and quantity. Read more in The Washington Post

When we accepted the challenge from the Victoria & Albert museum to supply the opening the new Young V&A's gift shop with plastic free backpacks we... we jumped at the challenge. What it really meant was bringing forward a self set goal to be 99% plastic free from 2024 to March 2023. Therefore the past 6 months have been a amazing learning curve... from design and production challenges - to budget and expenses. Somehow we managed it... and it's made us and the business all the better for it. Whilst we continue to work on the less than remaining 1% of plastics we use in production, our focus is now moving to developing new products. We're also soon to launch a founders program, inviting you to become part of our journey to our next stage of business. More on this via DM or publicly next week. For now, here's some words on the effect of plastics within the textile industry. https://lnkd.in/eArYzcpt #fashion #plasticfree #investment #founders #V&A #Tate #NationalTrust

A paper, published in the open access journal Water MDPI, reviews academic literature concerning the environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry, with a particular focus on understanding the water footprint within the industry. The research, mentioned in the World Economic Forum, underscores the alarming reality that the fashion industry stands as the second most polluting industry, after oil and gas, contributing 20 percent of all global wastewater. The research evaluates various aspects of production processes, including carbon and water footprints, while also delving into emerging innovations aimed at recycling textiles and curbing fashion waste. Read more about this research: https://brnw.ch/21wGVDu or view the news story: https://brnw.ch/21wGVDw

Today’s seminar with Lianne, we demonstrated how can we use the system mapping in circular economy in China fashion Industry. We worked on Cotton T-shirt production industry in China. For instance, in China the process of making a cotton t-shirt involves several steps. First, raw cotton fibers are harvested and processed into yarn. Then, the yarn is woven or knitted into fabric. The fabric is cut into pieces, which are stitched together to create the t-shirt. Finally, the t-shirts undergo finishing processes like dyeing and printing before being packaged and shipped. Each step involves specialized machinery and skilled labor to ensure quality and efficiency in production, however, the circular economy involves minimizing waste and maximizing the lifespan of products. It focuses on recycling, reusing, and repurposing materials to create a sustainable system. This approach aims to reduce environmental impact by promoting closed-loop systems where resources are continuously reused, rather than disposed of after a single use. Circular economy principles are applied across various industries, encouraging a shift towards sustainable practices and a more efficient use of resources.

Learn more about chemical recycling.

"Brands and sourcing executives are looking for the answers in the perfect materials to satisfy quality, value, accessibility, transparency, traceability, all within their existing value chains. We can do it all. We just can’t do it all at once. We have to look at the progress that we are making for the circular industry. They are small steps forward, maybe one step back, but in the end it will be a huge leap to transition the textile industry," writes Tricia Carey in a new Transformers Foundation op-ed.

I love reading this kind of stuff, so many exiting innovations that most certainly will impact the cosmetics market one day! C&EN’s 10 Start-Ups to Watch for 2023. Including stories about Cypris Materials structural colorants and DePoly's approach to recycling mixed plastics. #beautyindustrynews #sustainability #cosmeticscience

I recently had the pleasure to talk with Greg Stillman of NFW about their groundbreaking work in developing plastic-free, sustainable materials. In an enlightening conversation, Greg shared insights into NFW's journey, starting with founder Luke Haverhals' vision to leverage natural materials without breaking them down to their basic components. This approach has led to the creation of innovative products like MIRUM, a 100% plastic-free, plant-based leather alternative, and CLARUS, a performance fabric enhancing natural fibers. NFW's focus on sustainability extends beyond material innovation to encompass a holistic view of production and end-of-life considerations, ensuring their products are not only environmentally friendly but also high-performing and desirable. It's inspiring to see how NFW is leading the way in sustainable material science, potentially revolutionizing industries from fashion to automotive. (And discovering brands using MIRUM –beyond prototypes– to make chic plastic-free vegan “leather” bags is a great way to get our No Kill Magazine readers to take notice!) https://lnkd.in/g599Ndkv #circulareconomy #sustainablefashion #materials #materialscience #plantsnotplastic

It is time to put limits to production: "collective" self-limitation. We need a framework that really limits the production of those textile industries of garments that are easily found on the second-hand market. The legal framework to transform EU waste legislation into a 'Resource Framework Directive' in line with a 1.5 degree target is not enough, it is more than likely that we will live in a world where warming reaches 2.5º above pre-industrial levels as the report point out ( The CO2 budget is likely to be exceeded by a factor of five, with the result that global warming would increase by 2.5 degrees) and we have other huge problems such as desertification and the sixth extinction of species. It is missing the opportunity to do a study in how much reduction is needed based on what is already on the second hand market. How about doing mandatory for eu members to talk on primary education on suffiency wardrobe we had in the past. I applaud the proposal -to tax synthetic textiles: "Secondly, environmental taxes, which are already applied to the energy and transportation sectors, could be extended to virgin materials, especially virgin plastics, given the role of synthetic fibers in fast fashion." and -its commitement for degrowth " The system not only has to raise money for sustainable economic activities, it also has to change fundamentally as it, in its current shape, is profit-seeking and growth-dependent. Instead, ‘(degrowth) finance can be split into two goals: one focusing on neutralising predatory, profit-seeking activities and the other promoting alternative financial institutions and practices that fit the broader narrative of cooperative, not-for-profit, post-growth economies -ban free return Another option to tackle clothing overconsumption is to ban free returns and next-day delivery options to minimise impulse purchases and returns of unfitting garments -tax the soical and environment cost "It is important to ensure that clothes prices reflect the social and environmental costs of the product and generate living wages" -Lastly, public support for social enterprises as employee-owned businesses and cooperatives, can pave the way towards systemic change PD: these data have not any sceince data background : " Recent research has shed light on sustainable consumption corridors for fashion and underlines that around five new garments per person per year represent a sustainable level of consumption " this is suspicious data from an institution that would like establish an unreal context where buying new garments is still "feasible" in a world where there are enough garments produced . "there are already enough clothes in the world to dress the next six generations" this a statement a designer published some time ago, not British Fashion Council ; I suppose there are much more but there still is any study published. https://lnkd.in/dmWCq9iS #designfordegrowth #degrowthfashion #banpolyester #banmicroplastics