Slower than Fast Fashion

LB
Nov 6, 2018
3 min read

Textiles make up almost 6% of the trash entering U.S. landfills every year.

If secondhand fashion doesn't do it for you. There are a few transparent brands out there that will help you keep your foot print low while making your booty look good. Let's shine a light on

Reformation

What makes them so sustainable? Their factory uses the most efficient, eco-friendly and pro-social technologies and practices available. They recycle, compost organic wastes, and recycle or donate textile scraps whenever possible. Most of their hourly workers are paid more than minimum wage, and over half are paid above the LA living wage threshold. Last but not least are the fabrics they use. They make their pieces from super sustainable materials, rescued dead stock fabrics, and repurposed vintage clothing.

BLOUSE | H&M Conscious - Crossroads trading

JEANS | Suzie - Reformation

BOOTS | secondhand shop in Vermont

HANDBAG | pre-conscious Urban Outfitters

It's a Fabrics Revolution

VISCOSE is used for the majority of their woven fabrics. It's another man-made fiber made from renewable plant material.

LINEN is made from flax, uses basically no water, and emits ¼ of the carbon as cotton per pound of fiber and is one of the best fabrics out there and has been for ages.

ORGANIC COTTON doesn’t allow the use of genetically modified seeds and restricts the use of many chemicals— making it safe for the environment, the farmers and you!

RECOVER® yarns are made from old clothes and fabric waste. Once this textile waste is recovered, it is cut, shred and spun into new yarn. In 2016, Recover upcycled over 2.8 million kg of the textile waste. At Ref, we use Recover yarns for some of our jeans and tees. Not only are Recover yarns upcycled, they are also free of hazardous substances, and do not release harmful chemicals into the local environment during manufacturing.

REFIBRA ™ combines 20% of recycled cotton waste with wood pulp to produce new virgin TENCEL ™ Lyocell fibers. By incorporating cotton trimmings it helps avoid waste problems and provides a solution for a circular economy.

DEADSTOCK fabrics create close to 15% of all their products.

VINTAGE create about 2–5% of their stuff. They buy verified old, leftover, and over-ordered fabric from other designers and fabric warehouses. This includes bulk vintage denim, cashmere and other materials that they refashion.

Remanufactured clothing can save more than 13,000 pounds of CO2 emissions a year. Also, it’s super cute.

TENCEL™ LYOCELL is made by Austrian company Lenzing, TENCEL™ Lyocell is a semi-synthetic fiber with properties almost identical to cotton. It’s part of the Rayon family, made from renewable wood materials.

TENCEL™ is manufactured from Eucalyptus trees, which grow fast and thick on low-grade land. It takes just half an acre to grow enough trees for one ton of TENCEL™ fiber. Cotton needs at least five times as much land—plus, it must be good quality farmland. TENCEL™ production is done without the use of pesticides or insecticides (unlike its dirty cousin, cotton).

While Eucalyptus trees don’t need irrigation, water is still used to process the pulp and turn it into TENCEL™ fiber. Lenzing estimates its water use at 155 gallons per pound of fiber, which is 80% less than cotton.

TENCEL™ has a closed loop production process, meaning over 99% of the non-toxic solvent is recycled and pushed back into the system instead of being flushed out as wastewater. TENCEL™ fibers are certified by the European eco-label Oeko Tex 100 as containing low levels of manufacturing chemicals and byproducts.