Zero Waste in Fashion
According to the popular science magazine Scientific American, the first recorded use of the concept of zero can be dated back to 3 BCE – well over 2000 years ago.
Flashing forward to modern times, the fashion industry has become drastically divorced from the idea of zero. Fast Fashion, one of the dominant forces in the industry today, is all about rampant production and excess, regardless of the consequences. More garments, more quickly – and more waste to boot. Fortunately, several millennia after its creation, the concept of zero seems to be making its way back into the fashion industry in the form of the Zero Waste Movement.
The Zero Waste Movement in fashion is, like its name suggests, all about reducing textile waste. When it comes to designing, producing, buying, and wearing garments, the Zero Waste Movement asks questions as to how we can get as close to zero textile waste as possible.
In the production process, the Zero Waste Movement often manifests itself through the technique of zero waste pattern-making. This method forces designers to slow down and consider how to construct their clothing so that no fabric is discarded. Similar to a jigsaw puzzle, designers lay out their fabrics and construct patterns that use entire pieces, rather than cutting out pieces and lopping off excess material. Other fashion design techniques that incorporate the main tenets of the Zero Waste Movement include using recycled materials, repurposing offcuts, and incorporating upcycling techniques.
In truth, these zero waste techniques are nothing new – many cultures have used zero waste techniques in the creation of traditional garments for centuries. A few examples include kimonos from Japan and saris from India, which, traditionally, have been made using full pieces of fabric with little to no waste. What’s more, back before industrial production practices were widespread, a vast majority of clothing was made with zero waste techniques thanks to the high cost of fabrics.
While the foundations of zero waste fashion have existed for generations, it wasn’t until the early 2010s that the contemporary Zero Waste Movement coalesced into its current form. Finnish professor Timo Rissanen and New Zealand designer Holly McQuillan co-authored a book in 2015 titled “Zero Waste Fashion Design”, which many people say helped formalize the movement. Timo and Holly can speak more expansively – and much more eloquently – on the subject than I can, so I’ll leave you with a little homework: If you’re looking for more information on the Zero Waste Movement, or just want to know more about sustainable fashion in general, I’d highly recommend checking out their book.
There are countless other books and resources out there on reducing waste in your daily life. I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out Microcosm Publishing, a publishing company based out of Portland, Oregon. They have some truly great books on the Zero Waste Movement, along with others on everything from plastic-free living to everyday sustainability to bicycling! Microcosm Publishing is fun and serious at the same time, and we love their mission of sustainability and education. We’re proud to carry many of their books on our website as well, which you can check out here. To shout out one of their books in particular, Microcosm carries a book by author Melanie Mannarino called “The (Almost) Zero Waste Guide”, which offers some great tips (over 100 of them, in fact!) for reducing your waste without changing your life.
Not to judge a book by its cover, but I love the title of Melanie’s book. While endeavoring to be more sustainable, many of us strive for perfection: Zero waste, zero plastics, 100% sustainable, 100% of the time. This is a virtuous and ambitious goal, but it’s also an unrealistic one. We’re humans. We make mistakes. We can’t always uproot our lives completely all at once and go fully sustainable, and that’s OK. While the Zero Waste Movement sets an ideal for the future of fashion and sustainability, it also emphasizes incremental progress.
As long as you’re consistently taking steps to reduce your waste and foster more sustainable habits, there’s no need to beat yourself up over not being 100% “perfect” all the time. Just keep walking down the path of sustainability with us as best you can — the best you can do is the best you can do.
As always, thanks for reading. And thanks for doing your best.
Alec Matulka
Doo Dah Apparel
