EDITORIAL REPORTS
Report One -Vogue-
Upcycling Is The Biggest Trend In Fashion Right Now
​https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/upcycling-trend-ss21
.png)
The following Vogue article explores a new way of working and how upcycling needs to become the ‘new normal’. One of the benefits of upcycling is the exclusivity, Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen says that regarding the fabrics she uses for upcycling, once they run out of fabric on the roll, they move onto a leftover roll, “It makes the product more exclusive and limited, and adds value” (Vogue, 2020). Zara could incorporate this by using the recycling service exchange scheme, when a certain fabric runs out during the manufacture of a product within The Upcycling Movement, a new fragment can be used to finish the piece, making it a ‘one off’/ ‘limited addition’ item; that then will increase the hype and demand for the products as of the exclusivity the collection will hold, meaning not only existing customers will invest within the collection, but new ones too that have been drawn in as of this factor. While a lack of uniformity may have been an issue for retailers once because the apparel that arrives at your doorstep which look different from the piece pictured online, buyers are now accepting the pieces' individuality, Natalie Kingham states that “The fact that not every piece is identical is exciting for our customer, making it an investment piece, almost collectable” (Vogue, 2020). Currently, Zara are ‘developing programmes that promote recycling at all stages of a garment’s life cycle: using recycled raw materials, waste management programmes in stores and warehouses and even used clothes collection programmes’ (Zara, 2020), this could further develop into a service where globally, people from all around the world can drop used clothing of at bank stations, or send it off through mail to the company, rather than having to go in during these unprecedented times.
Report Two
-The Guardian-
Nice Threads: The Waste Based Fibers Cleaning up Fashion
.png)
The Guardian article portrays how the environmental effect of the world's second most polluting industry is minimized by new textiles made from recycled orange peel, milk or algae. It explains how, Adriana Santanocito, a Milan fashion student, and her friend and colleague Enrica Arena investigated whether the large quantities of orange peel left behind by juicing machines might do something helpful, as “Italy has 700,000 tonnes of orange waste a year” (The Guardian, 2018). The couple created and patented a method in partnership with the Polytechnic University of Milan that attracted EUR 500,000 in funding from private investors, the EU and the H&M Foundation, they are now working to turn the peel into a silk-like yarn, Orange Fiber, with Boniser, an orange manufacturer. Arena states: “The fashion industry is considered the second biggest polluter in the world, but we are quickly changing business models in terms of where materials come from and how we produce them, and I can see a lot of pressure on major brands to change” (The Guardian, 2018). These new textiles could become an alternative to the detrimental textile of cotton that ‘Producing a kilogram of cotton currently requires three kilograms of chemicals’ (The Guardian, 2018), which shows the innovation in the processing of products is important in order to avoid hazardous substances. The article also states that the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is wasted every second, while less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothes. Clothes release half a million tonnes of microfibers into the ocean every year. On top of this, if nothing changes, the fashion industry will consume a quarter of the world’s annual carbon budget by 2050. A suggestion for Zara, is to incorporate these recycled fibers in order to increase their sustainability efforts.
Report Three
-The Guardian-
Is fast fashion giving way to the sustainable wardrobe?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/29/fast-fashion-giving-way-sustainable-wardrobe
.png)
This Guardian article states that throwaway garments contribute more than air and sea transport to climate change. Fast fashion ‘has ushered throwaway culture into the clothing business, with items so cheap they have become single-use purchases’ and if these ‘trends continue, the industry could account for a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050’ (The Guardian, 2018). This article also depicts that global apparel production has doubled in the past 15 years to meet demand, but it has left a trail of cast-offs, according to consultants McKinsey, with more than half of the quick fashion pieces thrown away in less than a year. According to a 2014 report by the government-backed recycling charity Wrap, disposing of clothes and household textiles costs the UK alone around £ 82m a year. According to the market research firm Mintel, in 2018, a third of consumers bought clothing once a month, down from 37% in 2016, while those buying every two or three months or less rose from 64% to 67% (The Guardian, 2018). Environmental activists suggest people who want to be more sustainable should choose quality clothes and by learning to fix or rework them, make them last as long as possible, it can all help to purchase second-hand or antique garments, to suggest renting outfits rather than purchasing, and to less often wash clothes in a full machine at lower temperatures. People are much more interested in learning exactly where goods come from and how they are manufactured than ever, and Zara can do this through being transparent.