The Fashion (Re)Cycle: Our Five Favorite Ways to Look Both Stylish and Sustainable
(Pictured here: The hard-working staff of the Ohio County Animal Shelter and the Studio’s Emily Rouse celebrate the gift of upcycled couch cushion pet beds to shelter dogs in need.)
Fashion has been a cultural mainstay for millennia, helping to give character and color to the various ages and time periods throughout history. While it has helped to keep us in style, it has not always been what we might call sustainable. Indeed, in recent decades, the concept of “fast fashion” has led to a great deal of disposable clothing that has accelerated clothing’s contribution to the rapid growth in landfills. However, there are plenty of ways that those in the textile industry (and fashion fans at home) can do their part to contribute to a cleaner, better world. Read on to find out more about how to reduce, re-use, and recycle with our five favorite tips!
1) Paper Recycling
Just like a home uses plenty of paper in its day to day work, so too do fashion companies! We here at the Studio use a 36-inch plotter printer to help us print fashion patterns and we make sure we are doing our part to recycle any unused paper scraps. While we are on the subject of printers, don’t forget to recycle your ink cartridges too, as this can not only help the environment but your wallet too (since some retail stores offer money for empty cartridges)!
2) Small Fabric Remnant Recycling
While we at the Studio try our best to make the most of every fabric bolt we use, there will almost always be a bit left over. After all, bolts are rectangular, though not all parts of a dress can be! To address this, we partnered with the City of Wheeling and Ohio County Schools to send our fabric remnants to be used by children in their art projects. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable project for us to date, and it’s great to give back to your community whenever possible. If you live in the Wheeling area, feel free to drop your fabric remnants off with us and we will make sure they get to the right place, and if you live elsewhere you might be able to contact one of your local schools and make a similar arrangement!
3) Large Fabric Remnant Recycling
So maybe you have larger unused pieces of fabric around, and you find yourself looking to rid yourself of it but you’re not quite sure how. Quilts, blankets, and pillow stuffing are all very useful ways to put that fabric to work in a way you’re bound to get later enjoyment out of. For manufacturers like us with fabric remnants, we occasionally produce limited quantity collections to make the best possible use of it rather than risk it ending up in the garbage. Why add yet another one to the trash when you can instead make one-of-a-kind pieces?
4) Capsule Collections
As in our previous tip, by focusing on smaller collections, a manufacturing firm can avoid the risks of over-ordering fabric that may end up as excess inventory if the pieces don’t sell through as well as expected. We practice this often at the Studio, and it also helps make a great design even better by keeping it special instead of mass-producing it. Capsule collections have been growing in popularity for the last thirty years and are gaining even more steam along with the minimalist movement. This approach even helps save closet space too!
5) Upcycling Older Pieces
Just like fashion proceeds in cycles over time, you too can bring a piece from the past and repurpose it for the present! There are plenty of ways to do this, and it’s a great way to save money and help the environment at the same time. Love your wedding dress but not sure what to do with it now? Why not cut and/or dye it a new color to give it a new look and turn it into a first anniversary dress? If you have a favorite jacket but the liner is wearing out, pick a fun fabric to reline it (or reach out to the Studio to do it on your behalf). The sky’s the limit with upcycling, so put your creativity to work and breathe new life into old garments!
We hope this brief exploration of ways to improve fashion sustainability has been enlightening. There is a unique satisfaction in making the best use of what we already own, and we at the Studio definitely share that feeling when we partake in the actions we discussed today. Whether you’re recycling, upcycling, or just making the best use of what you have from past cycles, we applaud your efforts to create a less-wasteful world!
