Fashion industry - Companies that are trying to make new sustaible textiles

More and more companies are trying to become more sustainable and Ethical. For some, this is creating more transparent policies for workers and consumers whereas other companies are focusing on using more innovative textiles or dying processes.

Companies turning water bottles into textiles 

Company: Newlife Yarns

Company website:Newlife Yarns 

Newlife Yarns is a fiber mill turning bottles into polyester yarns. This company is headquartered in Italy but ships to companies around the world. NewLife utilizes a mechanical process for its yarn production rather than a chemical method. This method reduces any toxins that were previously generated from the conventional chemical system.

Company:  Repreve

Company website:repreve

Repreve is a polyester fiber made of 100% recycled plastic. The plastic tends to be comprised mostly of post-consumer plastic bottles. Numerous brands in different sectors use the Repreve fiber to make high-quality products from the recycled content.

Companies that are using biomaterials 

Company: Mycoworks
Company website: MycoWorks 

Facebook:MycoWorks

The company was founded in 2013 by Phill Ross and Sophia Wang. The company focuses on creating textiles similar to leather from fungi mycelium (mushroom skin) from the "Ganoderma lucidum" and "Pleurotus ostreatus" mushrooms. This textile can be used to make weatherproof furniture, bricks, footwear, and leather.







Company: Suzanne Lee     

Company website:Biofabricate
TedTalk: Suzanne Lee: grow your own clothes

Suzanne Lee is a New York-based fashion designer who focuses on the future of textiles. In 2010, Suzanne created BioCouture. The idea was brought to life in 2003. the BioCouture atelier has explored the use of living cultures of microorganisms (yeast and bacteria) to grow biomaterials like cellulose into sustainable compostable clothing such as Jackets and shoes. BioCouture was included in Time Magazine's The Top 50 Best Inventions of 2010.

Athletic wear and sustainability

Some people believe that Yoga leggings pants, shorts, top, and tank tops should only belong in the gym and others have incorporated these items into their everyday style. According to Allied Market Research, the Global Sports apparel market is expected to earn $184.6 billion by 2020.





Name of the company:Nike

Company website:Nike 
   
Instagram: @nike

As of 2019, 75 percent of all Nike shoes and apparel contain some recycled material. For Example, Nike Air was introduced in 1979. Today, the 'air' technology is pressurized air (nitrogen) inside a strong flexible bag (called a Nike Air sole unit) that sits in the midsole beneath the heel and forefoot to provide the consumer the sensation of walking or running on air. Since 2008, all Air sole are composed of at least 50% recycled manufacturing waste. Nikes goal is to make its products lighter and stronger while minimizing Nike’s impact by using more recycled and sustainable materials.

 

Name of the company: Adidas

Company website:Adidas

Instagram: @adidas

Addias is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative which focuses on better standards in cotton farming around the world. Addidas is also involved in the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which helps maintain standards when it comes to both environmental and labor-law standards. The brand has also vowed to be using only recycled plastic in all its products by 2024.



Name of the company: Atheleta

Company website: Athleta‎

Athleta was created in 2009 by Gap Inc. It is A Certified B Corporation. This means that the

company is legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, consumers, suppliers, community, and the environmentAthleta currently makes 40 percent of its performance apparel from recycled and sustainable materials. They hope that by 2020 80% will be made this way.

Name of the company: Outdoor Voices

Company website:Outdoor Voices       

Instagram: @OutdoorVoices

Outdoor Voices was founded in 2013 by CEO Tyler Haney. The companies performance fabrics are made from recycled polyester and produced in factories that adhere to strict safety and social responsibility standards. Outdoor Voices also focuses on minimizing their water usage in their manufacturing process and also is trying to offset their air emissions.

Fashion industry- High end companies that are trying to be sustainable

There are many high-end brands that are trying to be sustainable.



Name of the brand: Stella McCartney


Store link: Stella Mccartney

Instagram:@stellamccartney

Stella McCartney launched her first collection in the early nineties. The brand is Cruelty-free. They do not use fur or leather. Instead, Stella McCartney uses re-engineered cashmere, ethically-sourced wool, organic cotton, and recycled textiles. In 2014, Stella McCartney introduced Clevercare. This is a five-step labeling system to help consumers care for and prolong the life of their clothing through mindful garment care. Stella McCartney also regularly conducts audits and measures its ecological impact. Stella McCartney also collaborates with numerous Nonprofits and environmental conservation organizations which have included Wildlife Works and Parley for the Oceans.





Name of the brand: Eileen Fisher

Store link: Eileen Fisher                   

Instagram: @eileenfisherny


Eileen Fisher is known for her use of recycled fabrics, organic fibers, and natural dyes in production. The store even has its own signature fabric: Silk Georgette Crepe. This textile is dyed without hazardous chemicals in the world’s only dyehouse to produce bluesign® certified silks. Eileen Fisher also collaborates with environmental conservation initiatives, supports local artisans by bringing them to the store, and empowers women through the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute. The company also has a goal of recycling over one million pieces by 2020.





Name of the brand: Rag & Bone

Store link: Rag & Bone

Instagram: @ragandbone                                 



Rag & Bone was founded by Marcus Wainwright (now the sole owner) and Nathan Bogle in 2002. Initially, the brand was launched as a denim label. In 2017, Rag & Bone partnered with Cotton Incorporated's Blue Jeans Go Green to launch a denim recycling program. This program encourages customers to bring in their old jeans to a  store for recycling and repurposing. After the jeans are donated by the consumer, the denim is then recycled and transformed into insulation for homes.




Name of the brand: Mara Hoffman

Store link: Mara Hoffman         

Instagram: @marahoffman


Mara Hoffman graduated in 2000 from the Parsons School of Design and then started her own label. The brand uses recycled fabrics, fibers, hemp, linen, and organic cotton. The company also uses sustainable packaging. he brand uses alternative approaches to fashion production by using an array of sustainable fabrics. In her swimsuit line, she uses ECONYL® ( regenerated nylon fiber made from waste and REPREVE® (polyester fiber made from recycled plastic.) Mara Hoffman also chooses to use hemp, organic cotton, linen, ethical alpaca wool, and fibrous plant-based materials sourced through Lenzing Group for the ready-to-wear collections.




Name of the brand: Loup Charmant       
Store link: Loup Charmant
Instagram: @loupcharmant     

This brand started in 2006 in NYC by designer Kee Edwards. Their feminine clothes use sustainable fabrics such as Silk, organic cotton, linen, and hemp to create "airy" and "effortless" looks.





Name of the brand: Ninety Percent
Store link: Ninety Percent
Instagram:@ninety_percent


Ninety Percent is a London-based contemporary label that was launched in 2018. The company is dedicated to using materials like 100% organic cotton, Tencel and hemp to create luxurious and comfortable clothing. They also donate 90% of the proceeds to a range of charitable causes and work closely with there manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh and Turkey to make sure all of their workers are getting their rights.



Name of the brand: EDUN
Store link: EDUN
Instagram:@EDUN   

In 2005, Ali Hewson and Bono founded the Edun label. The company name is "nude" spelled backward. The backward spelling of the name is to suggest both "natural" and the Garden of Eden. In 2007, Edun created a new division called Edun Live, a tee-shirt company which is 100% grown and sewn in Africa. The next year, Edun established the Conservation Cotton Initiative Uganda (CCIU.) The CCIU provides funding, training and enterprise support to cotton farmers, pickers and planters to help build sustainable businesses in Northern Uganda.

Fast fashion

Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the current trends. Due to the low prices and low quality of the materials, modern fashion companies have generated a cultural shift around clothing: one where it is cheaper to go out and buy new clothes than to wash or dry clean the ones you already have.

Name of the brand: H&M
Store link: H&M
Instagram:@HM

"At H&M, we have set ourselves the challenge of ultimately making fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable. We want to help people express their personality and feel proud of what they wear. 'I'm very excited to see the progress 'we've made so far and how this will help us to make you an even better offer – and create a more sustainable fashion future"

Karl-Johan Persson, CEO

The Conscious Collection by H&M is built on seven commitments to conscious actions. Each of these commitments which helps make the fashion industry more sustainable while making customers feel proud of what they choose to wear and where they buy it from. The line uses organic linen, cotton, silk, Tencel and recycled polyester as materials. In 2018 the company started to create using Econyl (a 100 percent regenerated nylon fiber made from fishnets) to create intricate pieces of lace on products. The company also has recycling bins in their stores in which will accept used clothing in any condition. By 2030 the company aims to use only recycled or other sustainability sourced materials and by 2040 it wants to be 100% climate positive.

Name of the brand: Uniqlo
Store link: Uniqlo
Instagram:@UniqloUSA

Uniqlo is built on a fast fashion mode with semi-disposable clothing. The company is slowly trying to become more ethically conscious and more sustainable. Currently, the company has a repair and reuse program in place and report on their direct and indirect carbon emissions. Uniqlo has joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and has also made a public commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 10% by 2020. Uniqlo's labor rating is 'Not Good Enough' based on the 2018 Ethical Fashion Report which looks payment of a living wage in the country and comparing it to the country, worker empowerment, and transparency, The company currently does not use fur, angora, shearling, and Karakul. But, they do have items that use down feather, wool, and leather and without specifying their sources. Uniqlo also uses hair from exotic animals.


Name of the brand: Zara
Store link: Zara
Instagram:@ZARA

As one of the largest fashion retailers in the world, Zara has an opportunity to lead the way for other fast fashion companies into a sustainable future. Zara's Join Life collection is created with natural fibers and using recycled fabrics. 'Zara's animal welfare policy includes a strict ban on fur, angora and on stocking products tested on animals. They also claim to source their wool completely from non-mulesed sheep. But, Zara does use leather and down without saying where they get their source. 'Zara's parent company, Inditex, created a repair and reuse program called Closing the Loop. The program allows customers the opportunity to drop off their used garments in-store or send their items through the post for their clothes to gain a second life.