From the catwalks of Fashion Week to high street retailer H&M, sustainability within fashion is very much on trend. We’ve seen over the past month the likes of H&M with their ‘conscious denim’ collection and G-Star Raw’s ‘Raw for the Ocean’ collection.
H&M’s conscious denim collection has been underway for a while to create the next movement for sustainable fashion, with research to find new ways to reduce the effects that denim has on the environment whilst still keeping the denim fashionable and long lasting. Working with a tool developed by Jeanologia a Spanish denim consultancy they’ve been able to create the perfect pair of sustainable jeans. Benefits of the collection include the use of organic cotton that reduces the chemical use from fertilisers, pesticides, and the use of recycled cotton that virtually eliminates the use of water in the production of cotton.
G-Star Raw are leading the way in sustainable fashion with a recent collaboration with Pharrell Williams and Bionic® Yarn to create the collection ‘Raw for the Ocean’. Today the oceans contain six times more plastic than sea life and the collection looks at saving the animals of the ocean by retrieving some of the 700 million tonnes of unwanted plastic that’s effecting the ocean and the animals and turning it into denim. The plastic retrieved from the ocean is broken down into chips and shredded into fibres, spun into strong corn yarn, then helixes with cotton to make the Bionic® yarn. The innovation is complete with the weaving or knitting of the Bionic® yarn into the collection ‘Raw for the Ocean’.
The two brands have different ways of looking at suitability but both strive for more sustainable futures. The fashion industry is demonstrating its commitment to sustainable solutions, which needs to be adopted by all industries to create change for the environment we live in now and for the future.
We currently partner with various UK retailers to implement sustainable waste and recycling solutions that complement their initiatives for a more sustainable future. Please get in touch for more information about our sustainable waste management services by calling 01707 375 891 or email customerservices@ribbex.co.uk.
Interesting supporting articles that relate to sustainability and recycling:
Fashion meets renewable energy – clothes that charge your smartphone
Clothing bin wars: the battle over your charitable used donations
Fashion brands pledge to end sourcing fibres from endangered forests
UK fashion social enterprises support recovering addicts, refugees and ageing