Sustainable News Roundup
The things we’ve loved, and not loved, from around the world in sustainable apparel this month.
Take a listen.
We’re really enjoying The Spirit of Design podcasts from Sustainability 5.0. We particularly recommend the episode with Holly McQuillan about Zero Waste Fashion Design in which she talks about her experience making, or rather not making, a zero waste pair of tights for a sports brand.
ON Running making shoes you don’t own.
The new Cyclon shoe due out next Autumn is a shoe you won’t ever actually own. And it’s undyed so no nasty chemicals which is great! However, the details are still sketchy as the fibre composition of the upper hasn’t been finalised yet (it’s currently 50% castor beans and 50% unspecified, although they have said they hope to make it 70-80% castor bean by the time of launch). What we’ve gleaned so far is, ON will continue to repair and reuse uppers from the shoes and potentially change out parts of the sole as and when required. Personally, too little information has been given for us to say whether this is going to be a product we love. No details have been given about the soles and how they will be recycled and replaced. But we are looking forward to hearing more as their developers work through the challenges. What we do love is that you pay a monthly subscription and ON will replace the shoe twice a year. So you never actually own it and the lifecycle is the responsibility of the brand. This way of ownership is very much part of the future of apparel, but how people will react to that model when shoes are such a vital part, and the most expensive part, of any runners kit. Would probably have been easier to start with clothes, but we really admire their determination.
Kiss the Ground.
If you haven’t heard of this; it’s Netflix’s new climate change documentary, and it’s completely eye opening and wonderfully written. It’s a simple solution to reverse the effect of climate change within our lifetimes and there are things we can all do to achieve it. At 1.5hrs its a bit long, but it’s quite easy to dip in and out of. The only crucial thing missing is, obviously, David Attenborough.
Nike’s sustainability efforts make us want to hitch a ride to another planet.
Nike was out in force last week talking about their new sustainability efforts, such as partnering with UPS to use bio jet fuel for the shipments they send by air. This will reduce the carbon footprint of these air drops by 80%. However, effective planning would reduce that by 100% because they wouldn't need to send by air in the first place. And in the near future they plan on replacing their plastic bags with paper. They had obviously run out of things to say by that point.
However, they are also launching a new running shoe that is made from 100% recycled materials. This is a huge step forward for Nike, however, unlike ON, they won’t be taking responsibility for the product’s end of life.
The US makes apparel sourcing political (but not really).
The US House of Representatives passed a bill to ban the apparel imports from Xinjiang, China under the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act. One fifth of the world’s organic cotton comes from Xinjiang, and while anything to stop the forced labour of ethnic minorities in China is a good thing, this bill does not go far enough in that it only specifies apparel. Fibres, yarns and fabrics that are sent to other parts of China to be made into apparel are not applied. Ultimately there are more holes in this bill than a mesh base layer.
Synthetic microfibres make landfall.
New study released this month shows there are now more microfibres in our soil than there is in the oceans. While in many ways this was expected following on from the University of San Fransisco study about microfibres in waste water and the study from the University of Catania in Italy about micro plastics being found in fruit and veg. With a continued increase of synthetic fabrics being used this does make for concerning reading. But it’s given us a goal to work to and that’s always something!
Finisterre are on track to launch their recycled wetsuit.
Made from recycled tyres and made in the UK, these wetsuits will undoubtedly have a much lower carbon footprint than anything else on the market. And we are pumped! Also watch this space for their Re-Loved platform. As if we couldn’t love these guys enough already!
