Sustainable Fashion and Technology Woven Together
Future Innovation Woven With Technology.
New and Exciting Ways Sustainable Fashion and Technology are Coming Together.
As future leaders in the sustainable fashion industry, one of the things we must keep an eye on are the new technological advancements now surfacing. With physical technology, biotechnology, and an overall innovation of technology in general, it’s starting to emerge in the face of fashion.
It begs the question, is technology essential for the development of a circular business model? After all, technology drives new communication channels, processes, and ways of working together so we can better use resources and enhance economic growth. However, the disruption of it also inspires innovation in other ways to create sustainable value.
Using technology in wise ways to further benefit sustainable fashion practices. What’s currently out there now is unlike anything we’ve seen. So, is it the fashion wave of the future?
The Biggest Trends in Sustainable Fashion via Technology
While it seems contradictory to use technology for sustainable means, there are many excellent instances of how merging these two seemingly unrelated terms for the better of our world. Some of the trends that have caught my eye:
Harnessing the power of nature – Using natural substances and organic processes to make clothes out of just about anything from seaweed to citrus fruits and from cow manure to spider silk.
Digitalised clothing – Personalization with life tracking may make clothing the new ‘smart’ accessory of the future.
Fashion through solar power – Using photovoltaic cells, this technology could employ enough energy to power up your phone, liberating you from cords and reducing energy emissions.
Adaptable 3D printed fashion – It’s not so far off since threeASFOUR, a New York fashion label, the fabric adapts to the wearer’s body and movements.
Alternatives to chemical textile dyes – The fashion industry is the second largest polluter around the world and with new technology with bacterial textile dyes, it will profoundly change the way we see fashion.
Better ways to track waste reduction – With blockchain technology, it’s easier to track supply chains and help encourage clothes recycling to prevent throwing clothes away to hold producers accountable and get them to seek out more sustainable ways.
Our Favourite Example of Sustainable-Fashion-Meets-Technology
From those trends, we can see new innovations born right before our eyes. Anke Domaske, a German microbiology student used milk, tea and coffee beans to grow her own clothes, much to the amazement of her professors.
Colorep is based out of California and has created an AirDye system that uses 90% less water and 85% less energy than the conventional dyeing methods. Leather is falling by the wayside with high-tech vegan leather that isn’t just sustainable but also cruelty-free. Plus, plenty of other materials are being scientifically designed which will reduce the impact on the environment with sustainable clothing as is the case with Musto which partnered with Land Rover to create the ABOVE AND BEYOND clothing range. With a unique sustainable creation called Primaloft Black Eco, it can replace down feathers without sacrificing comfort, flexibility, or warmth.
The trends of fashion and technology combining for sustainable means have also infiltrated the realm of accessories. Lab-grown diamonds and gemstones may soon become even more prized than their original counterparts. As the world of fashion emerges with a new partner in technology, we’re excited to see a brighter and more sustainable future in the industry.
Another great example here in Barcelona is Bioteca, an ongoing material archive that Clara Davis started at Fabtextiles with Fab Lab Barcelona back in 2016. This archive only contains materials that are NON-petroleum based, each one of them is bio-based, biodegradable and compostable. These materials called "bioplastics" are made from different types of biopolymers sourced from the vegetable kingdom such as: agar, sodium alginate, and tapioca starch or from the animal kingdom such as: collagen, casein and chitin. Each biomaterial sample is labelled with specific information: category, type, composition, properties, degradation and care recommendations; to help to understand the possible applications of the material.
Innovations in technology and fashion have begun to spread all over the world and have even made their way to Vietnam. After mastering silk work for over 40 years, Hanoian artist Phan Thị Thuận has started making silk from lotus. Scientists from the Ministry of Science and Technology started a nationwide project to produce silk from lotus plants to increase sustainability. This production will also raise the value of lotus plants and provide more jobs for villagers throughout Vietnam.
Like the lotus silk, water hyacinth – an invasive plant in the Mekong Delta – is being used in many crafts including woven baskets. By encouraging the use of water hyacinth, more plants will be harvested and clear the waterways in the Delta. The Mekong Plus NGO is partnering with Vietnam Quilts to provide women in villages with jobs to generate income and provide a sustainable livelihood.
It is very apparent that fashion has the capacity to enact real change in both the sustainable and technological worlds. From solar power fashion to innovative dyeing systems to sustainable fashion NGOs in Vietnam, our world is becoming increasingly more reliant on technological innovations, and the fashion industry is no exception. Conquering the qualms of fast fashion and instead introducing sustainability and technology is imperative to the economic, social, and environmental livelihood of our earth and its people.