Sustainability Environment

Moves to reduce ‘fashion pollution’ spawn new clothing fabrics

“We are designing fabrics that do not rely on harmful construction.”

by Rich Johnson | May. 20, 2024

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Lower Third::::00:00-00:15 | | SUSTAINABLE FASHION TAKES THE RUNWAY | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS:1[/item] [item]Lower Third::::00:19-00:22 | | JESSICA CIARLA | ASSOC. PROFESSOR | DIVISION OF TEXTILES & ...[/item] [item]Lower Third::::00:49-00:54 | | ERIC HENRIKSON | @ERICMHENRIKSON:1[/item] [item]Lower Third::::1:26-1:30 | | CAROLYN CONNERAT | DIRECTOR | TEXAS SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTO ...[/item] [TAKE PKG] {***PKG***} <ERIC H:> (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA | ASSOC. PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF TEXTILES & APPAREL) 3:50 These brooches are jewelry designer Diana Broussard in New York, who does a lot of work for Carolina Herrera. LOOKING AT THESE PIECES OF JEWELRY.. AND GLITTERING GOWNS... (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA ) 3:55 This piece is from a Copenhagen based designer Nikolaj Storm. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT THIS FASHION ON DISPLAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS COULD END A TREND... (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA ) 1:06 we are filling up these landfills with petroleum based plastics that don't biodegrade that are sitting in the our oceans polluting our Earth ACCORDING TO A REPORT FROM THE COLUMBIA CLIMATE SCHOOL... THE FASHION INDUSTRY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 10-PERCENT OF HUMAN DRIVEN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS... AND USES MORE ENERGY THAN THE AVIATION AND SHIPPING INDUSTRIES COMBINED... (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA ) 1:20 we need to come up with a solution that is more eco friendly, non toxic, and can biodegrade at a quick, quicker speed. HENCE THESE SEQUINS... (STAND UP: ERIC HENRIKSON) 9:59 all The sequins are biodegradable and they were cut and manufactured by students at the University (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA ) 1:32 they're ideally industrial, composted, and created using non toxic dyes. So things like spices, food waste, algae JESSICA CIARLA WITH UT AUSTIN'S DIVISION OF TEXTILES & APPAREL CREATED THE SEQUINS FROM POLYLACTIC ACID... A MATERIAL CREATED FROM CORN STARCH... (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA ) 4:41 we take the pellets that are displayed here in the case, and we mix them with non toxic materials. THIS MONTH... JESSICA'S WORK WENT ON DISPLAY AT THE TEXAS SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM AT UT... (SOT: CAROLYN CONNERAT | DIRECTOR TEXAS SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM )2:52 The exhibit particles of color where science meets fashion is our first exhibit on our fourth floor, which is our science frontiers gallery. MUSEUM DIRECTOR CAROLYN CONNERAT SAYS STUDENTS CREATED MANY OF THE DESIGNS... (SOT: CAROLYN CONNERAT) 5:02 from men's fashion to women's fashion to... jewelry to a pair of beautiful cowboy boots that we have SEQUINS THAT COULD HELP SAVE THE WORLD... BUT THEY'RE ONLY FASHION WHEN SOMEONE WEARS THEM... (SOT: JESSICA CIARLA) 7:26 It's not really helping anyone in this one room in the lab in the corner at UT, let's inspire others... IN AUSTIN, ERIC HENRIKSON, KXAN NEWS..." station="" title="" feed="" html_embed="true" no_pr="false" disable_muted_autoplay="false" expect_preroll="true" json_feed="" class="" /]

Story at a glance

  • The fashion industry has a big impact on the environment.
  • This includes even “natural” materials like cotton and leather.
  • New companies are trying to chart a new way forward using invasive species, mushrooms, and other sustainable materials.

(NewsNation) — The fashion industry (companies that construct clothing or make the materials for clothing) accounts for up to 4% of global climate emissions and an unknown but large percentage of worldwide water pollution.

“Natural” materials like cotton and leather have huge impacts on the environment and humans. Cotton relies on pesticides, and in many parts of the world it’s harvested by children and forced laborers.

Animal leather means raising cattle in ways that often lead to deforestation, water pollution and increased carbon emissions.

The alternatives aren’t much better. Legacy synthetic fabrics like polyester contain microplastics that shed into the water supply with every washing. And “vegan” leather is often made from products derived from fossil fuels.

As governments move to regulate fabric waste, environmental entrepreneurs have found various ways to make fabrics from sources never considered – or available – before.

The lionfish, an invasive fish in the Gulf Coast, has become the source of a new kind of leather. (Photo by Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images)

“We have created a new category of leathers,” says the website for Inversa, a company devoted to making high-fashion clothing and other items from invasive species.

“By removing harmful animals, Inversa accomplishes two things: creating beautiful leathers for the fashion industry and reviving ecosystems around the world,” the site says.

Invesa co-founder Aarav Chavda says his company has caught 50,000 lionfish, Burmese pythons and carp – all invasive species that have no predators in North America. He hopes to increase that number to tens of millions in the coming years.

TomTex is a company based in New York City and Vietnam that’s constructing biodegradable textiles that mimic leather, suede, latex, vinyl and more using two main ingredients: seashells and mushrooms.

“We are designing fabrics that do not rely on harmful construction,” says the TomTex website. “There’s no toxic tanning or dying process, no petro-chemicals or plastics, and no harm to the planet or people.”

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