Today more and more clothes are produced and consumed within increasingly shorter periods of time – the textile industry is booming. This phenomenon is called “fast fashion“: Many clothing brands present new collections in monthly intervals, which are often only purchased by the consumers for one season and then simply thrown away, and several manufacturers also throw huge amounts of fabric in the garbage every day. But more and more market players are rebelling against this form of throwaway fashion – also in the promotion wear segment.
A McKinsey survey from the year 2022 reports that every person in Europe produces on average 15 kg of textile waste a year, 85% of it is caused by clothes and the home textiles of private households. Currently less than 1% of this waste is recycled into new textile products in the EU and over 65% lands directly in the waste incineration plants, where they are burned in an CO2-intensive process or they end up at the landfill site.
The London textile specialist, Mantis World, has been relying on organic cotton for the production of children’s and adult’s clothes since 2005.
According to the umbrella association, FairWertung e.V., an alliance between over 130 non-profit-making, second-hand clothes collecting organisations, approx. 1 million tons of clothes are deposited in old clothes containers in Germany alone every year. On average, only 50% of these garments are suitable for second-hand usage. If the textiles are damaged, they are thrown away, but also the poor quality and workmanship of many garments lead to them being ranged out and disposed of.
However, there is still hope: For example, the environmental organisation confirmed in a survey in the year 2023 that there is growing awareness for a more sustainable approach to fashion. According to the survey, in the year 2015 an adult person in Germany had 95 garments hanging in his wardrobe on average, whereas in the year 2022 it was only 87 garments. This corresponds to a decline of approx. 340 million garments in Germany a year. What’s more, not only are a high number of consumers are questioning their fashion consumption, the fight against textile wastage is also gaining significance within the textile production industry.
Durable repertoire
The London-based textile specialist, Mantis World, outlines an example of this. Prama Bhardwaj, CEO and founder of Mantis World, sums the problem of textile wastage up in a nutshell: “Our industry seems to be in relentless pursuit of novelty: The next colour, the widest range of colours, the most styles. A problem is the expectation of immediacy, the demand that clothing brands should have a large stock of all products immediately available at all times. Brands have to make predictions without customers making a commitment to buy, which means that if their predictions are wrong, a huge amount of unwanted stock is left on the shelves, which will eventually be discarded.”
Prama Bhardwaj (l), CEO and Founder of Mantis World, with an employee of the textile and clothing company, Sunflag Tanzania Limited.
In order to combat the problem of overproduction, Mantis World consciously reduces the size of its own collection and limits the number of novelties. “The focus is on items for which there is a clear, demonstrable demand, rather than following the shop window mentality and adding flashy models that attract shoppers, but rarely sell,” explained Bhardwaj. Furthermore, Mantis World adheres to a minimum life cycle of three years for each model in the line. All usable, returned or superfluous goods are donated, sold on or put back into circulation.
The choice of material also plays a significant role at Mantis World. In line with this, the company already introduced organic cotton in the year 2005 and stopped producing clothes made from conventional cotton in the year 2019. “We have long since been committed to the use of ecological fibres and pay great attention to the durability of our products during production,” Bhardwaj commented.
In addition to this, Prama Bhardwaj finds that a transparent flow of information is of great importance. “In order to counteract the problem of textile waste in the long term, more attention must be paid to this issue in the textile industry. For example, manufacturers and suppliers of textiles should be better informed about the environmental and social impact of textile waste and consumers and buyers about the effects of their purchasing decisions.“ Mantis World ensures this transparency by applying a QR code to its garments. Scanning the code shows the wearer, which positive effects opting for organic cotton has compared to conventional cotton. But the QR code also shows the buyer the garment’s entire route through the supply chain. “An informed buyer of textiles can make a big difference,” noted Bhardwaj. “That’s why we offer the Online Impact Calculator, which allows shoppers to see the savings in water, pesticides and emissions for the total amount of clothing they buy.”
The textile specialist, Daiber, is also making a contribution in the battle against fast fashion. “The value of a garment fades into the background in times of fast fashion. Only a few consumers think about having their clothes mended and reusing them once they show signs of wear and tear,” explained Kai Gminder, Managing Director of Gustav Daiber GmbH.
However, the design and sales concept at Daiber is not aligned for such fast fashion: With warehouse stocks of more than 15 million pieces, the corporate fashion products of Daiber can be reordered even after years. Hence, garments from former collections are not thrown away, indeed the new collections enhance the overall line-up. “We place great value on the longevity of our products. That is why we orientate ourselves on the design and development of new products not on short-term fashion fads,” explained Gminder.
With warehouse stocks of more than 15 million items, the clothes of Daiber can even be reordered years later.
The designs of Daiber are timeless and thanks to a host of variations and up to 160 different colours, they are also particularly versatile. This also allows new corporate fashion products to be nicely combined with existing items. Furthermore, Daiber relies more and more on sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester for the production of the products and makes sure that it uses as little natural resources as possible to keep the environmental impact down to a minimum.
“Each of our products is dear to our hearts. That is why returned or unsold items are not thrown away at Daiber. All returns undergo a strict quality control before being returned to stock,” assured Gminder. “That may be an elaborate process, but it is important to us not to damage the environment just to save costs or increase profits.“ Goods that cannot be returned to stock because of small flaws or individual customisations are offered as B-stock for instance in the Daiber Factory Outlet or donated to regional clubs and non-profit-making organisations.
“Clear strategies are needed to draw attention to the textile wastage within the textile industry. This is starting with the production companies like Daiber placing a stronger focus on the longevity and quality of their products as opposed to whether the products match the current trends as closely as possible,” summed up Gminder.
Using instead of wasting
At Kingly socks are made from old textile remnants. The company has already realised projects for renowned companies such as Samsung.
Using old textile left-overs from one’s own production – this is the goal the sock specialist Kingly has set itself. Whereby the production process for making socks out of material scraps involves several steps, as Rob Armour, founder and CEO of Kingly, reported: “First of all, we collect textiles from various sources. We work with an external supplier within the European Union, who has the task of locating and contacting textile manufacturers throughout the EU.” They are subsequently sorted according to their material, colour and quality. “We have installed a system in our sock knitting factory that was developed for textile waste. The system collects the waste – cotton, polyester, polypropylene, nylon, rubber and Lycra – in large bags,” stated Armour. Before the left-over fabric can be used, it has to be cleaned to remove any dirt, oil or other substances they have picked up during storage or their previous usage. The cleaned left-overs are then broken down into fibres in a mechanical process and spun into yarn. “During this process, fibres from different materials can be mixed to achieve the desired thickness, strength and colour blend,” explained Armour. The spun yarn is ultimately used to knit socks. Kingly also uses the fabric remains for the production of cushion covers.
The Kingly Upcycle Denim project is a new innovation at Kingly. “Our Kingly Upcycle Denim project focuses on reusing denim fabric that would otherwise end up on landfill sites. By collecting, cleaning and cutting the denim, we have added a variety of products to our range, including bags and aprons,” reported Armour.
The Kingly Upcycle Denim project involves among others bags and aprons being made out of denim material that would otherwise end in the landfill.
However, it is not possible to use textile rests in the production to an unlimited level, as Armour confirmed: “Of course, not all fabric remnants can be further processed. The main focus is on quality. Only fabric remnants in good condition and without major damage are selected for processing into new clothes.” Certain materials are more suitable for recycling and reuse than others due to their durability and workmanship. This is why, for example, natural fibres such as cotton and wool as well as several synthetic fabrics such as polyester are favoured. Textile remnants of neutral colours tend to be used more often as well. “They can be more easily integrated into new designs without having to be dyed or treated,” stated Armour. Current fashion trends and the market demand also have an influence on which residual materials are processed: Materials that correspond with these trends have a great probability of being made into new clothes.
If fabric left-overs are not used for the production of garments, it doesn’t mean they have to end up in the garbage. “There are different ways to use left-over textiles,” Armour stated. “For example, they are donated to schools, community groups or charities where they can be used for educational projects or arts and crafts. Some scraps are sold or passed on to companies that specialise in industrial applications, such as vehicle insulation, furniture fillings or cleaning products.” Furthermore, Kingly works together with two companies that process the non-further processed waste: A furniture company uses it as filling material for transport purposes and a textile manufacturer fills cushions with it.
A new life
Recycling also plays a major role at the company Globe Hope that is located in Nummela, Finland. Here, discarded work clothes, textile remnants, old advertising banners and other raw materials that would otherwise end up on the rubbish dump, are made into new clothes, bags and accessories. “The textile industry consumes significant amounts of oil and water and releases vast amounts of carbon dioxide. At Globe Hope our values are based on a strong respect for our planet and its precious natural resources. We believe it is our responsibility to pave the way into a brighter future that does not require the use of new raw materials,” explained Henri Sydänmaanlakka, Key Account Manager at Globe Hope. In this way, Globe Hope was founded in the year 2003 with the vision that textile waste could find a new life as timeless design products instead of being disposed of. Since then the company has striven to make every product out of existing materials such as superfluous fabrics or recycled materials, for instance.
The Finnish company, Globe Hope, works together with used work clothes, seat belts, leather left-overs, carpets or curtains.
Hence, the Finnish company is always on the look-out for new, interesting raw materials, including for example old workwear, seat belts, left-over fabric and leather, carpets, sails or curtains. “Our polyester is made from recycled plastic bottles and other plastic waste, whilst the cotton we use is obtained from the textile industry’s offcuts,” underlined Sydänmaanlakka. “The cutting waste is roughly sorted by colour and then either dyed uniformly or used in its unaltered state to produce the yarn.”
What’s more, the company offers a repair service to extend the service life of the materials and of the products. “With the aid of this service, we hope to postpone the need to buy new products for as long as possible,” Sydänmaanlakka pointed out. “Garments can be repaired if the seam is the cause of the problem. It is almost always possible to repair bags.”
Globe Hope also offers a second-hand service. Anyone, who owns a Globe Hope product that is still clean and in good condition, which also still has an intact brand label, but no longer want to use it, can send it back to the company and receives a voucher in return. This enables second-hand products to be sold so they don’t have to be thrown away.
The Swedish company, Fristads, takes a similar approach to Globe Hope on the theme of textile wastage. They use both own production waste and discarded work clothes for the production of new functional wear for the work sector. The aim of this is to waste as few textiles as possible and to prevent an overproduction of clothes. “The good thing about workwear is that is doesn’t become a fashion item that is exchanged from season to season,” the Product Director, Lena Bay Højland, explained.
In this connection, Fristads strives to ensure an optimal information flow between the company and its customers, as Højland commented, “The better we know our customers’ needs, the more accurate our production chain is.” On top of this the introduction of faulty products can lead to surplus stocks. Avoiding this takes priority at Fristads. “We make sure we have the right product by carrying out a long development process based on user tests,” explained Højland.
Fristads uses own production waste as well as old, second-hand work clothes to produce new workwear.
The Swedish company also places great importance on the products having a long life cycle. “As an initial step we encourage all of our customers to take good care of their products to extend the service life of the respective item of clothing,” Anne Nilsson, Director of Marketing and Sustainability at Fristads, pointed out. Once a garment has actually exploited its full potential, it can either be upcycled or downcycled at Fristads. “In the case of upcycling, the respective product is given a new function that increases its value. For instance, this happens when we use the material remnants from the production of certain collections to design new products,” Nilsson stated. A repair service is also available in the scope of the upcycling. Nilsson stated concrete figures in this connection: “In the year 2022 only 0.02% of our products were returned as complaints. Of all returns 39% were repaired and sent back to the customers instead of being replaced by a new product.”
Fristads offers a repair service so that damaged clothes don’t have to be thrown away.
If it is no longer possible to repair an old garment, it is downcycled at Fristads. “If an item is downcycled that means it is changed into something else and used for a different purpose. For example, it can be shredded and processed into padding for car interiors,” Nilsson reported.
Versatile application
The company from Munich, Re-Shirt, tackles the problem of textile waste in a particularly innovative way. With the aid of a specially developed, reversible textile printing technique – the first textile printing technique that can be washed out oneself – Re-Shirt prevents clothes from no longer being used purely because of the imprint and at the same time enables the same shirt to be imprinted again and again. The vegetable-based printing ink acts in a similar way to conventional screen printing inks and works on all textile fibres.
“Our company doesn’t aim to influence individual buying decisions, but instead teams or groups, who strive to enfold a leverage effect together,” is how Anna Hadzelek, co-founder of Re-Shirt, describes the idea. “The B2B solution of Re-Shirt is suitable for all those people, who want to carry their message out into the world together, i.e. at corporate events, public functions or in the cultural sector.”
Thanks to the reversible textile printing technique, the imprints on the textiles can be washed out – making it possible to keep on imprinting the clothes with new motifs.
Re-Shirt offers the shirts, hoodies, long-sleeved tops, etc. for sale with a temporary imprint and alongside the disappearing print also realises permanent logo prints. “After the respective event the item of clothing was used for, the users experience the magical effect in their own washing machine and end up with a plain piece of clothing for their everyday wardrobe or a simply branded team shirt,” said Hadzelek. Alternatively, Re-Shirt also offers black shirts for hire, which the company takes back unwashed after use and cleans them ready for their next use. This concept is very environmentally-friendly because in this way many teams share the ecological production costs of the shirts.
“In my opinion it is important that more and more convenient circular solutions establish themselves on the market and that good experiences are made along these lines more and more frequently. This makes the customer more prepared to handle textile products with more care, which in turn will also have an impact on the textile industry too,” summed up Hadzelek.
Hence, it becomes clear – whether new clothes made of old material left-overs, repair services or the use of a reversible textile printing technique – there are many ways to combat fast fashion and textile waste. And there are lots of good reasons for doing so, since things shouldn’t be disposed of straight away just because they are easy to replace.
// Helen Lorenz
photos: Daiber, Fristads, Globe Hope, Kingly, Mantis World, Re-Shirt
