10 Creative Sustainable Clothing Ideas

Thanks to sustainable innovations in the clothing industry, fabric waste, carbon emission, water use and many other resource needs can be reduced.

The idea of ​​sustainable clothing is a process that involves the production, distribution, use and recycling of clothing. Long-term positive results for the planet can be achieved thanks to sustainable clothing produced by going through renewals in many areas such as the resulting carbon emissions.

Around 60 million tons of clothes are produced every year. As a result, even the slightest change in the huge textile industry can have remarkable results. In this article, we discuss innovations that emphasize sustainability in clothing production and consumption. The list below includes new ideas that have come to the fore in many headings in the past few months, from preventing fabric waste to reducing carbon emissions and from recycled materials to textile products.

10 Sustainable Clothing Ideas

1- The Platform That Brings Second Hand Stores Together With Customers

The UK-based venture firm Upright brings customers together with stores selling second-hand clothing. The software of the company, which also has a smartphone application, is offered as a product that shows photos, descriptions and views of second-hand clothes. The firm then uses this data to offer more descriptive definitions and affordable prices.

A second software lists the second-hand clothing users are looking for, as well as putting second-hand items on various online stores and sales sites. Both of these applications are billed monthly according to the number of products offered for sale. Upright Labs firm also provides support to its customers in e-commerce, warehouse and store titles.

2- Artificial Intelligence Platform that Prevents Cloth Waste by Finding Clothes Suitable for Your Body

Metail firm offers two services called MeModel and Composed Photography. MeModel requests some measurements from the customer, evaluates them with machine learning technology and offers personalized style and size suggestions. MeModel provides the strength of the products and supply chains that they need to keep in the warehouse by analyzing the data for the sellers, while also gaining loyal customers as it determines the customer preferences.

Composed Photography, on the other hand, allows vendors to photograph and publish their new collections in a much simpler method. Digitally dressed models are able to present countless products and styles to their customers without requiring repeated photographs.

3- Dylecious Company Converts Waste Foods To Luxury Products

The startup firm Dylecious, founded in Hong Kong, uses the method known as natural food dyeing to make luxury clothing and more different products from waste food. The company claims that they obtain dyes by using kitchen waste in its production facilities, and since these dyes are obtained naturally, harmful by-products that pollute streams, rivers and oceans in traditional production do not occur.

Natural food coloring goes through a series of processes, including steps such as extraction, liquid preparation and coloring. It is stated by the company that different color tones, sharper colors and even completely different colors can be obtained thanks to the drugs used to increase the quality of the paint.

4- Fashion Platform Offering Special and Sustainable Designs

Global fashion software firm Unmade aims to transform the textile industry with tailor-made production. The company emphasizes personalization, collaboration and short-term working methods by using the Unmade platform to achieve its sustainability goal.

Cooperating with Unmade, companies can offer customization options to their customers. Thanks to the customization editor, customers can have an idea of ​​exactly what their designs will look like. Unmade’s dress mapping technology reveals how the ordered item will look in its true color, in the right light and in the right size. When it comes to the production phase, OMS, Unmade’s order management system, creates the most suitable production schedule by establishing direct connection with factories.

5- Recycled T-Shirts Produced Without Using Chemicals

Marine Layer garment company originating from the United States has started cooperation with Spanish textile factory Recover to produce t-shirts from recycled clothes. The Re-Spun production line is implemented by shredding the fabric mixture and separating it from each other and then removing the cotton fibers. The cotton fibers obtained are combined with sustainable cotton, hemp and plastic fibers to add strength.

Since the Recover company separates these fibers according to their colors, there is no need to use any chemicals or dyes. During the process, each fiber is cleaned with ultraviolet light rather than washing old clothes for cleaning. Considering the fact that it takes 15 thousand tons of water to produce one kilogram of cotton fabric, this method can be considered as a giant step to protect the environment.

6- H&M Company Produces Fabric Using Pineapple Leaf and Orange Peel

The ninth special Conscious Exclusive series, where the global H&M textile company uses fruit and apraks for fabric production instead of throwing it away, was introduced. Developed in cooperation with BLOOM Foam, Orange Fiber and Pinatex companies, the latest series of the company seems to attract more attention to the waste in the fashion industry, which is now known by almost everyone.

BLOOM Foam company evaluates the algae, which becomes a flexible and light material for use in shoe soles. Orange Fiber company develops an environmentally friendly product equivalent to silk fabric with the orange peel waste generated during the production of citrus juices. Pinatex company produces vegan leathers using pineapple leaves and agricultural waste.

7- Sustainable, Self-Cleaning Underwear Can Be Used For Weeks

A clothing company has managed to develop underwear using its products that kill bacteria that cause odor.

The Danish startup Organic Basics claims that their underwear stays clean for weeks. Organic Basics CEO Mads Fibiger states that the company’s underwear can be worn for days or even weeks without the need for washing. In order to achieve this success, the company claims that they have benefited from their products called Polygiene using silver chloride, this product also kills bacteria that cause bad odors. Silver has been used as an antimicrobial and anti-infection since ancient times, and it is known to be beneficial in odor prevention. Silver can kill almost 99 percent of bacteria in the environment.

8- E-Commerce Platform Offering Sustainable Fashion and Style

Antibad, founded by Agatha Lingott, is an e-commerce platform. The platform, launched in April 2018, aims to create a fashion of old and new styles for the environment and people. Lingott also strives to make sustainable clothing as impressive and attractive as traditional fashion. Working as an online platform, the site is in collaboration with over 25 independent fashion brands. Among the companies he cooperated with are well-established American companies, as well as little-known fashion brands.

The products on the platform range from shoes to swimsuits, from jeans to workwear. The common point of these products is that they are produced by considering their environmental impact and sustainability. Antibad is a platform that acts very selectively for the companies it cooperates with and examines whether they are sustainable or not. For example, one of the situations that they encounter frequently and can be a good example in this regard; They are companies that produce using synthetic parts as well as recycled materials. None of these types of companies can go through the qualifiers of Antibad because they do not produce truly sustainable products.

9- Research Society Using 3D Scanning to Prevent Fabric Waste

Research Group Synflux has created a new way of saving by producing outfits that fit the customer’s body to minimize fabric waste. The Algorithimic Couture * project is a project that uses 3D scanning technology to take the measurements of the person and achieve the ideal design with machine learning algorithms, thereby reducing fabric waste to zero.

Synflux is a joint venture of fashion designer Kazuya Kawasaki, design engineer Kye Shimizu, designer Kotaro Sano and machine learning engineer Yusuke Fujihira. The team claims that the design practices used today waste 15 percent of the fabric used, and yet produce clothes that do not suit customers.

10- Concept Shoes That Can Change With Fashion

Evan Stuart, who continues his education life at Dublin Technology Institute in Ireland, designed a shoe that users can modify and repair as they wish. Stuart’s project called Layer consists of four parts; Top layer, sole, insoles and laces. As some pieces of shoes wear out or change fashion, users can order new ones over the Internet and rework their shoes. Shoes are put together with laces instead of glue. Old parts can be easily detached and replaced with new parts. All parts of the shoe are made of biodegradable plastic and recycled polyester. This means that despite everything, the shoes are suitable for recycling, even if they are thrown away.