Flummoxed by Fabric Choices

For this weeks blog post I thought I’d give you a bit more info on the recycled fabrics that can be used in fashion.

Recycled Polyester & Polyamide:

As most people know Polyester does not come from renewable resources and does take a lot of chemical manipulation to produce. However, it is largely unrecognised as a good recycled fabric. The main sources of recycled Polyester are PET plastic bottles (which are just regular drinks bottles like those for fizzy drinks) and materials wasted during production. Because its made from these products that are already formed and awaiting their turn in landfill it allows natural resources to be saved as well as reducing harmful gases and chemical usage.

(Recycled Polyester dress, H&M Conscious Collection 2011
http://www.ecouterre.com/could-polyester-be-the-next-eco-friendly-fabric/ )

 The dress in the picture came from the H&M Conscious Collection in 2011 and is a really nice garment which you could never guess was made from recycled fabric but if you were wearing it you’d know it was which would make it even more fabulous!

            Recycled Polyamide (or Nylon) has the same benefits for the environment as recycled Polyester but can be used for different types of clothing. Usually designers will use it for jersey, underwear or woven fabrics. Although it may be hard to believe this fabric will be made out of not only wasted textile production materials but also carpets and even fishing nets showing that anything recyclable can be utilised used for fashion.

Recycled Cotton & Wool:

           

            Producing non-organic Cotton has a lot of negative effects on the environment and the workers who produce it because of its high reliance on pesticides nevertheless during the Cotton production process some of it is wasted. Recycled Cotton helps reduce the use of ‘virgin’ Cotton as it recycles left-overs from production making them into new yarns and fabrics so clothing can be made from what would’ve been thrown away.

            Recycled Wool is made from worn out garments and fabric remnants which can be blended with other materials for strength so that the new garments are not compromised. 

(Recycled Wool Jacket

http://www.ehow.com/how_7414700_recycle-wool-jackets.html)

This jacket is an example of what can be done with the recycled Wool to help the environment and also the sheep who might want to keep their cosy wool layer for the winter.

Recycling your clothes is obviously a good idea but if the clothes you bought to start off were more eco-friendly then that would be an even better wouldn’t it? My next post will give you a few pointers as to which fabrics being used are produced in an eco-friendly manner so that you can look for them when you are next shopping but don't forget the recycled textiles are there too.

Wasteage to Waistage

Fact:
In the UK we only recycle and reuse about 25% of textiles whilst throwing away 1 million tonnes each year. That 1 million tonnes are then put to landfill when they could be up-cycled or re-made into something useful.

Designer 1:

This week I did some research into designers who make clothing from recycled items, including non-textiles. Nancy Judd (http://recyclerunway.com/about/) was one of those I found who's creations were truly impressive.This dress in particular caught my eye. Made from catalogues and newspaper ads with stamp covered, charity shop sourced shoes I think you’d agree it looks pretty stunning although this is probably not a try it at home project as it took 200 hours to make!

(http://recyclerunway.com/fashions/junk-mail-fan-dress/

Where to shop:

(http://anniegreenabelle.com/products/Hannah-%252d-Navy-Scribble.html)

If you don’t have the time to re-make things but still want to be environmentally friendly with your fashion I’d suggest trying out the Annie Greenabelle site (http://anniegreenabelle.com/). The brand makes its garments from a combination of organic and fairtrade cotton – to help reduce pollution and unethical working conditions – and reclaimed and end-of-roll fabrics – to recycle unwanted textiles. They have some really nice garments available and at an affordable price so if you're looking for a new dress for a night out why not try something new and eco-friendly?

In the beginning.....

Intro:

Personally, I find the developing ethical side of the fashion industry very interesting so that's what my blog, Redesigning Recycling, will focus on. From the environmentally friendly to those promoting fair trade and even some trying to do it all Redesigning Recycling will provide details of designers working on these issues, current charity campaigns being run and give a heads up on which companies are striving to be as ethical as possible. I will research these and put all the info together in one place saving others the hard work and hopefully, ultimately increase awareness.

As this is only the first post I’m just going to focus on one worthy cause to kick-start the blog.

(source: http://www.oxfam.org.uk)

Cause 1:

Oxfam is a well known charity which helps many good causes and in relation to fashion my eye was caught by their Big Bra Hunt campaign. All you need to do to join in with this is donate your old bras to an Oxfam store from which they will be redistributed and resold either in the UK or Senegal to raise money for Oxfam’s projects. I liked the sound of this because I for one have a lot of spare bras which I have no use for so I will definitely be donating and I urge you to as well. Follow this link to find out more: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/shops/bra-hunt_hunt.html