The Changing Face Of Fashion: Building A Sustainable Supply Chain

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Alternatives to commercial wool, Alternatives to cotton, Alternatives to Silk, Alternatives to synthetic textiles, building a sustainable supply chain, changing face of fashion, eco fabrics, fabric suppliers, fashion blog, fashion brands, fashion labels, fashion supply chain, freelance fashion designer, garment manufacturer, innovation, reduce wastage, startup fashion brands, sustainability, sustainable fashion

If there’s one retail industry that remains reasonably unaffected by rising prices and inflation, it is apparel. Everyone buys clothes, and the choice is often about which clothes to buy than regarding whether to buy them at all.

“There’s no such thing as too many dresses.”

“One cannot have too many shoes.”

These statements, often made in passing, are reflective of a global economy that rarely sees slumps, if ever. As an answer to ever-changing demands, fast fashion too has come into the picture, change collections six times a year.

However, there is the elephant in the room. And that elephant is squatting squarely in landfills across the globe, weighing trillions of tons, if not more.

As one of the economy’s driving forces, fashion has a responsibility towards adopting sustainable practices, and one way to do that is to build a supply chain that reduces wastage and improves efficiency. What’s more, customers today are starkly aware of the consequences of their buying habits- while they may or may not make fewer purchases, they are certainly looking out for labels that reduce their impact on the planet. Are you one of them?

What is a fashion supply chain? It encompasses everything that happens in the business to bring a product to the shelf for purchase. A supply chain includes design and manufacture, as well as logistics and transportation. In the landmark book titled ‘To Die For’ by Lucy Siegle, she says that this seemingly straightforward step has 101 sub-steps!

The trouble with apparel and sustainability usually begins with the numbers. One pair of jeans never harmed anyone, but one billion? This is why customers are rapidly turning to locally sourced, organic and sustainable clothing. Because today, we could really use a few drops in the ocean.

How can you, as a business, contribute to these efforts? By making your back-end more sustainable. Here are a few pointers to follow:

1. Have absolute control over your inventory. This is important not just for more sales but to be able to produce and market only as much as you can really sell. Overproduction is fast fashion’s biggest problem, but you can help solve that.

2. Offer customization options so that you can go into production on some products only after they have been purchased by the customer. This helps reduce the need for disposal and deep discounts which in turn cause wastage.

3. When you design, design a collection. So many private labels today struggle with trying to do too many things at once. The problem is that all of these things rarely ever fit together. Instead, a capsule for each season is easier to shop, moves more products off your shelves and can be mixed and matched to make several different outfits.

4. Denim are some of the most resource-intensive products to make. Some brands like H&M have started a denim exchange initiative that allows the cloth to come back into production once it has been sufficiently used. Likewise, Levi’s phased out PFCs and found more environment-friendly options to make their denim water repellant. What’s more, some brands are also making denim from shredded plastic recovered from our oceans.

5. Spearhead initiatives to get people to buy less, or to recycle more! As a business, this sounds counterintuitive, but H&M’s Conscious effort proves that it can work. By offering discount coupons for old clothes and a host of initiatives to use more recycled cotton, it is building both price and material efficiencies into its supply chains. By 2020, H&M aims to use only organic or recycled cotton in its production.

As you might have observed from some of these pointers, a sustainable supply chain cannot work in a silo. You need an action plan that works across all stages of the production and buying process. Take the initiative to get people to wear your clothes at least twenty times before throwing them out, a product of good quality.

Likewise, you can also become an advocate for your own clothes by encouraging reselling of unused products- become the marketplace for customers who bought your clothing but never used them.

Each of these actions demands that you make changes every step of the way.

Confused as to where to begin? Get in touch with us using our contact form, for a perspective on how you can make your fashion business more sustainable and friendly for years to come.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links:  Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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Choosing Sustainability: The Changing Face Of Fashion

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Alternatives to commercial wool, Alternatives to cotton, Alternatives to Silk, Alternatives to synthetic textiles, eco fabrics, fashion blog, fashion brands, fashion labels, freelance fashion designer, innovation, startup fashion brands, sustainability, sustainable fashion, Suzanne Lee, The fashion industry processes

Our December blog series is dedicated to exploring the trends and shifts on the fashion landscape that may be mere blips today, but have the potential to be a full-blown revolution very soon. Our first blog in the series discusses sustainable textile options.

In a TED talk that has since been watch close to a million times, UPS’s Aparna Mehta makes a strong case for buying less and returning even less of clothing. As it turns out, one man’s fashion is another man’s trash. This doesn’t, however, apply on the retail end of things alone. Some studies show that thousands of gallons of water go into making one denim outfit, quantities that we as a planet just cannot afford anymore.

Stella McCartney has come out and taken a stand against fast fashion. Other influencers are following suit. In this scenario, it is worth thinking about sustainable garments from two perspectives. One, sustainable clothing is better for the planet. Two, sustainable clothing really is the future for every fashion business, and the sooner you get started, the better it is for you.

Luckily for us, there are several alternatives to the textiles we now use, and most of them perform at par, if not better than, their traditional counterparts.

• Alternatives to Silk: Perhaps fashion’s guiltiest pleasure, and one that doesn’t get as much of a bad rep as using animal hide is the making of silk. Apart from the process itself, Human rights Watch reports that over 3,50,000 children are employed in the industry.  Luckily, some alternatives have been found, and they are soon gaining prominence. Jute silk and silk derived from other plant fibers are finding acceptance. Ahimsa silk is an Indian innovation of waiting for the silkworm to evacuate its silken residence before using the cocoons for their yarn. IndiaBride and The Ethical Silk Company are just a few brands that are pioneering the use of sustainable silk.

• Alternatives to Cotton: Cotton is one of the most resource-heavycrops to grow. The pesticides and insect repellants used for cotton production often stay in the environment and the soil for many decades to come. One way to reduce the impact of cotton growing is to use organic cotton. Fornow, it is fairly expensive. However, as with all organic product, a rise indemand can quickly increase the supply capabilities and reduce prices.California based Synergy clothing uses organic cotton, as well as cottonblended with help and bamboo to design their clothing. What’s more, they usenatural dyes and follow a fair-trade policy that keeps everyone in the supplychain happy.      

• Alternatives to Synthetic Textiles: Nylon, polyester,and acrylic are some of the biggest pollutants ever produced. Some reportssuggest that even washing these clothes can leech microplastics into our oceansand permanently change the quality of water. It is rather inconvenient, then,that synthetic textiles are also cheap and easy to mass-produce.  Making a switch away from synthetic clothing needs to be a conscious choiceacross the supply chain. Isolated efforts have begun to use bamboo, jute, andhemp as alternatives. Fabric made from these materials is often much morebreathable as well. The key, of course, is in generating enough demand.

• Alternatives To Commercial Wool: As a textile,wool has many benefits. It generates warmth, wicks away moisture and ishypoallergenic as well. However, commercial practice has driven wool-farmingtowards crowded shelters and animals with very little immunity. Ethical wool is obtained from animals that have been raised on a natural farmin humane conditions, which naturally increases the animals’ immunity andlongevity, as well as the quality of wool itself. Organic wool is often alsodyed with natural dyes, making it that much more suitable for people who areallergic to chemical dyes.

Which of these materials would you want to experiment with in your next collection? What would be your biggest hindrance to doing so?

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links:  Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram 

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Trends in gym wear and yoga wear

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Adidas, apparels, blog, eco fabrics, fabric, fashion blog, fashion designers, fashion illustrations, freelance fashion designer, garments, gym wear, Lulu lemon, Nike, pattern, Reebok, track pants, trends, yoga wear

Everyone agrees that work-out is necessary and that makes gym wear and yoga wear another important and well stacked division of our closet. But do we really have many choices in terms of gym wear? Gym is now the big destination to flaunt your sexy wardrobe. So for that we need more options. Options that should not make us look any less stylish. People of earlier times always knew that exercise needs separate garments. That’s why if you look at any pure form of martial art, you will notice that they have separate dresses for it.

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Martial Arts in its purest forms

Although sweat pants and tee-shirts might be cozy and they do make us feel extra comfortable, but they are one of the most non-glam clothes to be worn in the gym. Also it has been scientifically proven that people who are wearing sweat pants and shirts loose lesser calories as compared to people who are wearing proper gym clothes provided the conditions remain the same in both the situation.  Nowadays gym wear has got a new definition where one doesn’t just feel the fabric and buy it. Now it’s more about what the fabric can give more than just the comfort.   That’s when performance clothing kicks in. It’s the zone of innovation as designers are everyday trying to discover more and more about this untapped segment.

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Sport wears of the older time

In around 1800 women were emphasized to wear corsets and gowns even for athletic activities like horse riding etc. Since they emphasized on modesty so they were long sleeves and buttoned-up. In the 20^th century track pants kicked in and it gave birth to the new and improved segment – gym wear.

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Idea of sportswear in 1970’s

1980s stands witness of the time when the boundary between gym wear and fashion was getting erased. Bright colored became the new hit and people started opting for colors and tackiness.

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sportswear of the late 19th century

We have picked up few of our favorite styles which are not just innovative and trendy but are equally comfortable.

Yoga wear ~ Image Courtesy: http://goo.gl/wdOFKC

Yoga wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/rvDsNt

Gym wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/an2P7b

Gym wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/JnYn8I

Gym wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/FYQeC6

Gym wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/WAAhss

Gym wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/DqvsYe

Nowadays people are not afraid to flaunt their assets and that’s why gym wear of the 21^st century is well appreciated not just by the younger generation but the older people as well .

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Sports gear of 21st century

Yoga wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/58bgO8

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Gym wears setting the ramp on fire

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New and improved Gym wear !

Number of fashion forward brands like Adidas, Rebook, Nike are giving importance to this category and are coming up with trendy & innovative designs for their wearers.

Yoga wear ~ Image Courtesy : http://goo.gl/3dsc4K

Gym wear ~ Image Courtesy: http://goo.gl/ZrPQhb

Yoga wear ~ Image Courtesy: http://goo.gl/HxvWDU
Peppy colors

Yoga wear ~ Image Courtesy: http://goo.gl/F0Sjwp

Yoga wear ~ Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/sNwdrg

In the 21st century we see gym wear & yoga wear to be the next big thing where dresses are not just chosen on the basis of color and fabrics but on the basis of the purpose they fulfill.  What do you think of this up coming boom in the gym wear clothing? Tell me in the comments section.

Upcycle Fashion

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apparels, eco fabrics, fabric, fashion blog, freelance fashion designer, garments, recycle clothes, reusable, sustainability, trends

Fashion has a new meaning in the fashion industry and that is called upcycle fashion. As they say, investing time, skill and creativity can never go waste, that’s why an unwanted or damaged dress can be transformed into your best item in the wardrobe.  It’s fun and also harmless for the environment as this method reduces the amount of waste and also to save money. So here are some easy ways to do upcycle fashion.

1. Upcycle Denim Sandal:

Summers are the time of fashion and the way to spend this summer’s intelligently is to Upcycle. For this you might need scissors, thread and needle and tons of inspiration.  For e.g. everyone has those extra long, baggy worn-out jeans that are taking the cupboard’s space but you will never wear them. Create these sandals which are opened toed and high ankle. Designed by Danielle, a designer based in Haifa, Israel, these jeans retain the signature features like zipper, buttons, pocket and the leather label.

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Upcycle Sandals

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Beautiful Shoes

2. Rubber Dress:

Weddings are the time for extravagant and profligate spending and who can blame the bride for buying a wedding gown worth a fortune? But when you have the option to look good in an eco way then who would deny it? This dress is created by a British artist Susie Mac Murray and is made from 1,400 inverted rubber gloves, a common household variety for doing the dishes. It will be featured in New York’s Museum of Art and Designs in a new exhibition which is ironically named ‘Second Lives’.

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Intelligent Upcycle Fashion

3. Gown made out of  Recycled Soda Tabs:

Sweet snacks are now converted into new and chic prom dress.  Sixteen year old Maura Pozek   spent 100 hours threading countless yards of pink ribbon to create this. This gown, called Cantastic also shimmers in the sunlight giving quite an entry to the wearer.

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Cantastic

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Spin-Web

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Another creative Venture

What do you think about these innovative and sustainable creations? Sound off in the comments section.

Eco Fabrics made out of Milk,Tea and Coffee Beans!

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Anke Domaske, coffee beans fabric, dairy products, eco fabrics, fashion blog, freelance fashion designer, innovation, kombucha fabric, milk fabric, OMilch, Suzanne Lee, Tea fabric, The fashion industry

The fashion industry these days, seems to be cleaning itself by creating various environment friendly alternatives. Fashion designers have started a crusade to change the image of apparel industry which is considered to be one of the dirtiest industry. There are mainly two reasons. Firstly the cotton crops and synthetic fibers inflict the environment and secondly the outdated machinery and manufacturing methods which is used for dyeing of the fabric creates water pollution and other environment hazards. According to the United States Energy transmission, the fashion industry is the fifth largest contributor of CO2 in the atmosphere. The consumers are now gradually becoming aware and are saying no to these hazardous fabrics and other age-old techniques. That’s why the designers are compelled to create fabrics that are eco-friendly as well as harmless to the environment.

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Coffee Beans fabric

This year’s New York Fashion Week displayed the inclination of designers to create fabrics out of food, bear bottles, develop air dye techniques and smart tailoring methods.

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Fabric made out of coffee beans

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EcoFabric

Conventionally in our homes – milk, tea and coffee stay together but this technical era has tried to use it to make the fashion industry more sustainable. So a German microbiology-student-turned-designer Anke Domaske used dairy products to create an “Eco Milk Fiber” called OMilch. Another such technical pioneer slash sport clothing crusader is a company called Virus who has devised a method to use recycled dairy products to create cool apparel. Suzzanne Lee is one such designer striving to make eco fabric out Kombucha which is a type of fermented tea with the help of “symbiotic ‘colony’ of bacteria and yeast”.

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Kombucha: Fermented Black tea also now used as a fabric

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Recycled Fabric

All these innovations have set the stage for new and credible eco-fibers which are changing the social scenario.  Standards are ensured to harvest the raw materials already available with us so that each person who is working in this polluting fashion world can provide best green services.

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Zoom the fabric-Coffee fabric

What is your opinion? Sound off in the comments section.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer, Sourcing and Manufacturing Consultant helping fashion brands to plan, design and develop new collections with small quantity garment manufacturing. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest Instagram

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