Change Your Clothes: Apparel End Life

Everyday we wake up in North Carolina we are reminded why we love this state so much! Not only are we fortunate enough to have some of the best univiersities in the country, but we're also surrounded by a community of individuals who care. It's nice to know that the conversation surrounding the fashion and textile industry is expanding beyond fashion schools and into management systems. 

 

Our friends from Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment shared their phenomenal study textile waste in the United States and describe how/why to divert textiles from ending up in a landfill. In the process of conducting their research they found out that several major companies have started taking responsibility for the disposal of their products: 

• Several retailers have or are going to launch apparel take-back programs—Patagonia (through in-store drop boxes for used Patagonia products, which are then recycled), H&M (starting February, in-store drop boxes), PUMA (in the future). 
• Many major brands are selling clothes with recycled content--North Face (e.g., Denali fleece jacket), Patagonia, REI (e.g., Ecomade socks), New Balance (e.g., newSKY shoes), and many more. 
• UNIFI Inc., is one of the main producers of yarn from recycled plastic bottles. Other sources of recycled polyester are Teijin (Japan), Foss Manufacturing (MA), Poole Co. (SC), and DAK Americas (NC).

Take a look at this short educational video and gain more insight about how you can make a difference and reduce apparel & textile waste throughout the world. 

AirDye® Waterless Textile Printing Technology

If there’s one thing you should know about us, it’s that we LOVE textile technology and learning about new advancements in the industry. Two of us (Beth and Mor) are graduates of NCSU’s College of Textiles, and we were fortunate enough to learn about and be surrounded by some remarkable technology.

JulieApple design on the Redress 2012 Eco Fashion ShowWhen we featured Julianne Applegate of JulieApple at our 2012 Eco Fashion Show, we fell head over heels for both her handbag designs and her decision to use AirDye® technology to print those designs on Repreve fabric -- polyester made from 100% post-consumer waste (we’ll tell you more about them in another post). We were familiar with low-impact, low-water usage technology such as the textile printers Spoonflower uses in their production, and were excited to hear about AirDye® ‘s waterless printing technology.

“AirDye® technology manages the application of color to textiles without the use of water” and we agree that “It is today’s sustainable alternative to traditional dyeing and printing processes.” According to the website, “the entire process is waste-free: the paper is recycled, and used dyes and toners are also recycled to make tar and asphalt -- using AirDye® to print or dy a single garment can save up to 25 gallons of water.” AirDye® doesn’t stop there! The technology is capable of producing a brilliant range of customizable colors and patterns, reversible fabric, and ability to match two sides of the same fabric ranging from athletic-performance stretch to sheers to delicate chiffons.

Living in a world with finite resources and amazing innovations such as AirDye®, we can now allocate resources more efficiently and prioritizing needs, such as drinking water as opposed to contaminated, dye baths that end up harming ecosystems around the world. Visit AirDye® to learn more about their technology, green initiatives, and see examples of both fashion and interior textiles.

“AirDye® technology is a proprietary process created by parent company Colorep®, Inc. As a world innovator, Colorep is passionate about creating new printing and dyeing technologies that improve quality, value, and accessibility while helping to sustain the planet.”