时尚产业环保转型：回收、堆肥与天然染色的三大创新方案

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A few years ago, I found myself looking for the most cost-effective way to be stylish. So naturally, I wound up at my local thrift store, a wonderland of other people's trash that was ripe to be plucked to become my treasure. Now, I wasn't just looking for your average off the second hand rack vintage t-shirt to wear. For me, real style lives at the intersection of design and individuality. So to make sure that I was getting the most out of the things that I was finding, I bought a sewing machine, so I could tailor the 90s style garments that I was finding to fit a more contemporary aesthetic. I've been tailoring to make my own clothes from scratch ever since, so everything in my closet is uniquely my own. But as I was sorting through the endless racks of clothes at these thrift stores, I started to ask myself, what happens to all the clothes that I don't buy? The stuff that isn't really cool or trendy, but kind of just sits there and rots away at the second-hand stores. I work in the fashion industry on the wholesale side, and I started to see some of the products that we sell end up on the racks of these thrift stores, so the question started to work its way into my work life as well.

I did some research, and I pretty quickly found a very scary supply chain that led me to some pretty troubling realities. It turned out that the clothes that I was sorting through at these thrift stores represented only a small fraction of the total amount of garments that we dispose of each year. In the US, only 15% of the total textile and garment waste that's generated each year ends up being donated or recycled in some way, which means that the other 85% of textile and garment waste end up in landfills every year. This means that almost 13 million tons of clothing and textile waste end up in landfills every year in just the United States alone. That averages out to roughly 200 t-shirts per person ending up in the garbage. In Canada, we throw away enough clothing to fill the largest stadium in my hometown of Toronto, one that seats 60,000 people, with a mountain of clothes three times the size of that stadium. Even more surprising was seeing that the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world behind the oil and gas industry.

The unfortunate reality is that not only do we waste a lot of the things that we consume, but we also use a lot to produce the clothes we buy each year. On average, a household's purchase of clothing per year requires a thousand bathtubs of water to produce. The fashion industry creates products that are comfortable, trendy, and expressive, but not designed to be sustainable or recyclable. But that can change. The fashion industry's aptitude for change should make it patient zero for sustainable business practices. One starting point is to design clothes to be recyclable at the end of their life. Clothing design today is rarely modular. For example, a motorcycle jacket with buttons, zippers, and trim is hard to recycle because these parts are difficult to remove. If we designed jackets with a hidden wire frame or "fishbone" structure holding all parts together, we could remove it easily, separate the fabric, and recycle it more cost-effectively.

Recycling clothing is one part of the puzzle, but designing clothes to be compostable at the end of their lives is another. The average lifespan of clothing items is about three years. Extending the life of a garment by nine months reduces waste and water impact by 20 to 30%. Basics like socks, underwear, and pajamas could be made from natural fibers like 100% organic cotton, so they can be composted instead of trashed. Shifting resources to produce more compostable garments could lead to huge environmental savings. Meanwhile, we must also rethink the way we dye clothes. Currently, 10 to 20% of harsh chemical dyes end up in water bodies near production hubs in developing nations. These dyes are effective but harmful.

What if we dyed clothes using spices and herbs instead of chemicals? Natural dyes change color over time, creating unique garments. In an age where fashion celebrates individuality, clothes that evolve in appearance could be both eco-friendly and stylish. For example, a shirt dyed with turmeric is unique and environmentally friendly. While not everyone can dye clothes at home, scaling up such methods commercially could reduce reliance on chemical dyes. The fashion industry is competitive, so a company offering garments that become more unique over time while being eco-friendly would gain an advantage. Customization platforms already exist for suits, dresses, and shoes. Combining individuality with sustainability could lead to a significant industry shift. There’s no single fix, but designing clothes with their end in mind could help the fashion industry lead the way to a sustainable future.