Page | 1 Ethical Fashion Materials and Trends Abhinav Anshu, Achintya Mishra, Basundhara Borthakur, Kevin Charles, and Sarthak Agrawal Department of Fashion Technology, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad Fabric Science for Apparel -III: Second Year Professor T. Srivani January 11, 2021 Page | 2 Ethical Fashion Materials and Trends In this world of 21st century, with expansion of the Fashion industry there is a talk on a term called “Ethical fashion”. In short words ethical fashion, is fashion that aims to reduce the negative impact on people, animals, and the planet. Ethical fashion is kind to the people and to the planet at every step from seed to the complete garment. Ethical Fashion Materials Ethical fashion thinks about the effect of utilizing materials, to make clothing. Each fabric impacts the climate differently, and picking the lesser impact is what the issue is in ethical fashion. Pesticides used in farming seep into the ground, eventually making it infertile, and chemical dye runoff pollutes local water sources. With increasing awareness there is also increase in fabric alternatives and new innovations that can lead us to a more sustainable way of life. Pineapple “leather” Piñatex, is a material produced using the leaves of pineapples. Its creation is considerably more ethical than the traditional common leather. It requires less water and no chemicals that are biologically poisonous to untamed life. Peace Silk Peace silk is a response to the cruelty against silkworms that die during making traditional silk. Silkworms are given time to form into moths, and their unfilled cocoons are then gathered to make peace silk. It has that equivalent glimmer and shine as ordinary silk. Page | 3 Econyl A pioneer in the research of new creation models for sustainable development, Italian firm Aquafil made Econyl. It is a nylon substitute, which presently regularly shows up in sustainable sports apparel. Econyl reuses and recovers engineered waste, in addition to the fact that this brings down the sea's contamination spending plan, but it likewise mitigates the developing requirement for nylon. Cupro Cupro is a vegan circular rayon fibre produced using cellulose (generally cotton) that is broken down in cuprammonium arrangement, but cuprammonium requires copper, alkali, and harsh pop, which can be destructive to laborers and poisonous when they're not discarded appropriately. However, when made dependably, cupro is an incredible option in contrast to silk. It's fine, sheer, and can feel delicate to the touch. Squid’s in Recently, scientists at Pennsylvania State University have discovered that a protein in squid ring teeth - in the suckers in their tentacles - can be engineered in a lab to be of wider use. Coating a fibre in the protein makes it much more durable. The protein also has self-healing properties. It could be used to create garments which are recyclable, biodegradable and last longer. (Lucy Jones, 2019) Lycocell and Other Natural Fibres A material Lyocell is made up from cellulose fibre from wood mash. The fibre strands are biodegradable and compostable and the creation cycle has a low ecological impression. Page | 4 Wastewater is reused, and no poisonous chemical substances are utilized. Hemp, is another fibre with a low ecological effect. Ethical Fashion Trends When it comes to trends that are being followed, we can see a vast difference since the beginning of 2017 and it is only geared to advance as more and more millennials are beginning to spend consciously on clothes and accessories. The term “sustainable fashion” is ever more popular now than was before. A few trends seen to have caused a revolution in 2020 are: Capsule wardrobe This trend involves customers cutting down on their wardrobes to the most essential pieces required and following a more streamlined approach to fashion. Cutting down on clothing has had a variety of effects on the industry as a whole. These days consumers look towards more functional clothing that offers a certain amount of style. So, brands are adapting to these changing market demands to increase sales in the years to come. Buying Second-Hand and Vintage wear The second-hand and Vintage wear market is predicted to keep growing over the coming years and has been predicted to reach over $41 billion in value by 2022. This adds a benefit to small scale brands and large scales brands alike who can capitalize on the reserves of unsold merchandise still in stock while looking at the back catalogue of their several previous seasons. Platforms such as Depop, Asos Boutique Sellers, and eBay offer the ease of online shopping with a clean conscience. Page | 5 Rental Fashion A new and emerging trend is the rental system of borrowing and sharing. This allows, among other things, more variety, is more affordable and drives sustainable fashion forward. Experts believe that the resale market will be larger within the next decade than that of fast fashion. Rather than throwing our wages at a brand-new dress, the idea is to ferret out the same thing on a rental site. The HURR Collective, Cocoon and “The Nu Wardrobe” are such services. These platforms enable users to borrow clothes from people in their local area. Transparency in Fashion An online assembly of 250 brands and retailers published by Fashion Revolution, ‘transparency’ is defined as the public discourse of credible, comprehensive and comparable data and information about fashion’s supply chains, business practices and the impacts of these practices on workers, communities and the environment (Fashion Transparency Index, 2020). Brands such as Arket, Everlane, Reformation, and The RealReal use ‘visual’ supplier lists, annual reports as well as algorithms to convey its transparent practices to its consumers. In-store user experience A new generation of start-ups provides tailor-made products that are “made to order” and which, thanks to their uniqueness and perfect fit, contribute to greater sustainability. Brands are also collaborating with video game companies to create shopping experiences ingame like Louis Vuitton x League of Legends and Prada x Final Fantasy. Retailers are doing this by opening stores focused around “competitive socializing”. This has allowed for sustainable marketing and promotion without having to waste resources in building brick and mortar stores. Page | 6 Circular fashion Circular fashion means that every part of the life span of a garment is cyclical – it starts with design of a piece and how much longevity and timelessness it has, then onto the materials and whether or not they are sustainable, before the making of the item – is its production fair and ethical; are workers and animals rights being upheld? Once the piece has become tired, it should be repaired or redesigned, then – rather than being binned – rented, swapped or sold at secondhand. All this means less will be bought and less will be left ruining our planet. Upcycling and Recycling Upcycled clothing is the method of taking old, worn out or damaged materials and transforming them into brand new pieces. Upcycled garments are becoming increasingly popular in the contemporary fashion industry. When we buy an upcycled product made from discarded materials, we are directly offsetting the water and energy needed to make new materials from scratch to produce the same product. Recycling is finding another use for an existing garment or in the case of textiles it sometimes also means converting (waste) into reusable materials. Garment recycling generally involves finding another use or user by re-entering a new phase for its life beginning at retail. Cruelty-Free Fashion Another such method which is becoming increasingly popular are Vegan clothes, Vegan fashion is basically clothing and accessories made from cruelty-free sources, neither are animals harmed in the making process or testing nor are any animal parts used for the development of the product. Page | 7 Slow Fashion Slow fashion is something which is used to recognize sustainable fashion solutions, based on the repositioning of strategies, which are emerging alongside the global fashion system, and are posing a potential challenge to it. It acts as an alternative to fast fashion in the sense that it promotes a more ethical and sustainable way of living and consuming. Some instances of the slow fashion philosophy include: buying vintage clothes, redesigning old clothes, buying garments that last longer etc. New ideas and product innovations are constantly redefining slow fashion. Ethical Shopping The value of unused clothing in wardrobes has been estimated at around £30 billion, with a predicted £140 million worth of clothing entering landfills every year (Waste and Resources Action Programme, WRAP). Ethical shopping means to shop consciously while keeping in mind that the items that are bought do not contribute to any environmental and social discrepancies. Plus Size Fashion With the body positivity movement at full steam, more and more brands are interested in tapping a lucrative yet socially and ethically conscious niche. Forty years ago, the average size of a woman was a size 8, but now the average is seen somewhere around a size 14. Page | 8 The plus size clothing industry has not only supplied the masses with fashion choices that they desire with sales more than $5 billion. More than 30% of the female population purchases a plus size clothing item. Conclusion With new innovations in the sustainable fashion industry in the form of textile materials and several trends cropping up, it is a call to change the persisting business model into an ecofriendly, socially conscious, ethical and circular one. Despite several hurdles, the fashion industry is gearing towards a more streamlined and sustained approach to fashion. The new era, especially after Covid pandemic, will serve as a witness to the revolution of ethical fashion. The global ethical fashion market size already reached a value of nearly $6.35 billion in 2019, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% since 2015. The market is expected to grow from $6.35 billion in 2019 to $8.25 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. This means there is hope to promote transparency and awareness regarding social and ecological disparity. Once ethical fashion is integrated in the mainstream, this niche can be very lucrative. Page | 9 Refrences Bemma (2019, December). WHICH FABRICS ARE THE MOST SUSTAINABLE: Retrieved from https://www.curiouslyconscious.com/2019/12/which-fashion-fabrics-are-mostsustainable.html/ Ethical and sustainable fashion (2014, Jan): Retrieved from https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7238/ethical-and-sustainable-fashion Lucy Jones (2020, February). Six fashion materials that could help save the planet: Retrieved from https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=six-fashion-materials-that-could-help-save-theplanet Kimie Frengler (2020, January). Sustainable Fashion Trends to Look Out for in 2020: Retrieved from https://compareethics.com/sustainable-fashion-trends-2020/ Grazielle Moura (2020, February). Six Organic Fabrics Every Sustainable Fashion Designer Should Use: Retrieved from https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8586/six-organicfabrics-every-sustainable-fashion-designer-should-use Sarah Anne Hayes (2017, September). Why ethical fashion matters: Retrieved from https://sarahannehayes.com/blog/ethical-fashion Ethical Made Easy (2020): Retrieved from https://ethicalmadeeasy.com/what-is-ethical-fashion/ Stephen Todd (2007, January). Why the Plus Size Clothing Market is Now Big Business: Retrieved from https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/1408/why-the-plus-size-clothingmarket-is-now-big-business Page | 10 The Fashion Industry Has A Plus-Size Problem. These Women Want to Fix It (2020): Retrieved from https://www.glamour.com/story/what-its-like-to-be-plus-size-and-work-in-fashion Harrabin (2018): Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45745242 Taitler (2019): Retrieved from https://3dinsider.optitex.com/fashion-quantity-outweighs-quality/ Unfccc.int. (2018): Retieved from https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-lowcarbon Team Linchpin (2020, October). Trends Transforming the Sustainable Clothing Industry Outlook in 2021: Retrieved from https://linchpinseo.com/trends-in-the-sustainable-clothing-industry/ 6 sustainable fashion trends transform the fashion industry (2020): Retrieved from https://www.hausvoneden.com/lifestyle/6-nachhaltige-mode-trends-verwandeln-die-fashionindustrie/#inline Sophia Matveeva (2020, February). Top Trends in Sustainable Fashion Today: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sophiamatveeva/2020/02/11/top-trends-in-sustainable-fashiontoday/?sh=49441e7864f4 What is Circular Fashion? (2018): Retrieved from https://www.commonobjective.co/article/what-is-circular-fashion How the Fashion Industry Is Becoming Cruelty-Free (2018, May): Retrieved from https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2018/05/how-the-fashion-industry-is-going-sustainable-andcruelty-free/
