8 Green Ideas Revolutionizing Fashion Manufacturing

5. Fabrics from Recycled Materials

Eco Panda Swimwear from Recycled Nylon. Credit: Eco Panda.

PET is not the only material being recycled.

Other alternatives include, for example, fabrics made with nylon recovered from products like nets and carpets by Mipan. An example of the use of this is the swimwear line Eco Panda.

Some factories are also recycling cotton industrial leftovers, which keeps these scraps from incinerators or landfills and creates new materials. One example is the Italian initiative EcotecProject.

6. Wash-Free Clothes: Freezing Jeans

For the past years, many companies have been developing stain-resistant fabrics that need little to no washing. But what if there was a piece of clothing that needed no washing at all?

Enter the recently launched line of jeans by Brazilian manufacturer Tristar, which they claim can be 'cleaned' from bacteria (not stains) with 24 hours in the freezer inside a special bag.

According to owners of the brand, this kills all bacteria. Stains, however, need to be washed out in traditional ways.

7. Fabrics from Exotic New Materials

Cloth from Pina Fibers. Photo: Mark Aldane Tumang vía Ecouterre.

From seaweed to banana fibers, researchers are trying to find the next best thing to produce fabrics.

Some new alternatives include Seacell, produced with vegetable cellulose mixed with seaweed; Piña fiber, made with fibers obtained from the leaves of pineapple plants; Lenpur, from the pulp of sustainably cultivated white fir wood; and Banana fabric, made with stems and leaves of banana trees.

8. Nettles

Nettle dress designed by Jen Jarvis for BBC presenter Kylie Pentelow. Photo: BBC.

It's been around since World War II, when the Germans had to find an alternative to cotton to make uniforms because the market for that fiber was dominated by England (The Ecologist). And even though there's been talk about a comeback for years, it was only recently that the stinging nettle became more involved with the fashion world.

Various projects in Europe have begun developing new ways to produce fabrics with nettle, and one of the commercial products with it, STINGplus, recently won an award in London.

Last year, also in England, BBC presenter Kylie Pentelow wore the first nettle dress made of these fibers, from Leicester's De Montfort University investigation project.

Advantages? It's a weed, which makes it very resistant, needless of fertilizers and pesticides, and easy on water use. Plus, its fibers are longer and stronger than cotton, and finer than hemp. Some people call this the most sustainable fiber ever, though finishing processes have to move on so that it can become massive.

What do you think? Have we missed on something? Share your thoughts in the comment section.


More on Green Fashion
New York Fashion Week Coverage at TreeHugger
5 Surprising Fashion Brands Going Organic
10 Chic Ways for Women to Wear Hemp (Slideshow)
TreeHugger Picks: Unusual Materials in Recycled Fashion
Green Shaman "Shirts So Good" (Video)
Treehugger TV "Green Fashion" (Video)

---