Read the rest of Wool & Prince Claims Its Shirt Stays Fresh for 100 Days Without Washing

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PALM LEATHER \pä(l)m ˈleT͟Hər\

n 1 a: A sturdy textile created by Studio Tjeerd Veenhoven in the Netherlands using the leaves of the Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens). b: Made by soaking the plant matter in a special biological solution that leaves it supple and pliable. c: A biodegradable, 100 percent vegan material with some of the properties of animal leather and rubber. 2: Natural variations in color provide plenty of design potential. 3 a: Suitable for a wide range of products, including bags, footwear, and journal covers. b: Opens opportunities for artisans in South India, where the leaves and the skills to manipulate them are common.

When a loved one passes away, it is difficult to pin down feelings and emotions generated by a host of memories. Through a multimedia piece entitled “Traces of You” by Zubin Pastakia from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, digital information and social networks chronicling the life of the departed are integrated into materials that explore the grieving process. Using a combination of GPS and tagging data, the movements of the deceased are stitched as a memory-trail by those left behind into a tapestry. An email application archives past conversations, and an ambient display object is able to light up when the name of the departed is mentioned or referenced.

Traces of You consists of three parts. The first is called “The Places You Went…” which uses GPS data, status updates, and location tagging to recreate the movements of the departed. The loved one can generate a memory trail, picking the most salient and emotionally significant places along each route. A map is traced along a large piece of fabric, and can then be embroidered with different colored thread. While the griever is completing the tapestry, an application can be accessed revealing digital pictures and quotes corresponding to the textile.

The second section is called “All the Things You Said”, or “Reminiscence” and works with an email plug-in that lets users look back at archived conversations. Similar to an existing Gmail tool, users can search for keywords. By clicking the “Reminiscence” button, a minimalist screen emerges that brings forth snippets of each time where the word was mentioned and the date. Able to run their fingers over the screen, the interaction is faster than Gmail’s current system and designed to add an emotive experience to a search. A “Read” icon then lets the person select a conversation in order to peruse the full version of the text.

The final part of the suite is named “Vestigial Flicker” and combines candle-like object that lights when Internet network activity mentions the departed. It also sends a feed directly to the loved one as a means of creating a sort of virtual afterlife. Similar to the eternal flames lit by the sides of graves, the candle helps keep memories alive through the actions and recollections of those still alive.

Inspired by a talk on interaction design by Matt Ward, Zubin Pastakia got to thinking about what the dead leave behind in a world now filled with digital recordings of their lives.

“This got me thinking about what kind of traces people leave behind when they pass away? They leave behind material things (clothes, houses, cars, computers), social connections (family, friends) and immaterial things (memories, bank acounts).  I then asked, what was new about what people leave behind when they die these days, and the answer, quite categorically was: data. All kinds of data. Data in the form of correspondence, location-based data, social-media accounts, health…” says Pastakia.

After meeting with seven people in Copenhagen and five online, Pastakia began to integrate first-hand experience of loss with knowledge of design and technology. Filling the void modernity seems to have placed around death, “Traces of You” is a unique, and somewhat haunting, way of remembering and holding onto what has physically passed away. The prototype is also a compelling concept for social networking companies and a possible guide as to how the services can deal with the “emotive data” left by the deceased.

+ Traces of You

+ Zubin Pastakia

Photo by Samatoa

LOTUS FABRIC \lōtəs ˈfabrik\

n 1 a: Hand-woven Cambodian/Burmese textile derived from the discarded stems of the lotus plant (Nelumbo nucifera), an aquatic perennial with long filaments that is sacred in parts of Asia. b: Once used to make the robes of high-ranking Buddhist monks. c: Looks and feels like a blend of linen and raw silk. d: Naturally breathable, waterproof, wrinkle-free, and stain-resistant. 2: Virtually zero-waste: leftover components are used make lotus teas, infusions, and flour. 3 a: Popularized by Awen Delavel, a French fabric designer who established the Cambodian Lotus Center in Battamabang to streamline its production. b: Gained the interest of couture houses such as Loro Piana, which is looking to import lotus yarn to Italy to make suits.

[Via Source Intelligence]

Nike has thrown in its lot with one of the world’s most stringent textile standards for environmental protection, health, and safety. The sportswear giant announced on Monday a new strategic partnership with Switzerland-based Bluesign to “accelerate the supply of sustainable materials and chemistries” for use in Nike products. The agreement, according to Nike, will allow its global supply chain, which spans nearly 50 countries and more than 800 contracted factories, to access Bluesign’s key assessment tools and data at an “unprecedented scale and pace.”

SEEING BLUE

One of the applications Nike will roll out is Bluefinder, a search engine containing pre-screened raw materials, textile preparations, and other chemical components designed to enable suppliers to effectively manage restricted substances and increase water and energy efficiency.

Nike’s relationship with Bluesign will allow it to put a “set of positive chemistries in the hands of materials suppliers.”

Another tool at the Nike’s disposal? The Blueguide, a database of more than 30,000 Bluesign-approved fabrics that meet the firm’s criteria regarding resource efficiency and environmental impact.

Nike’s relationship with Bluesign will allow it to put a “set of positive chemistries in the hands of materials suppliers,” says Hannah Jones, vice president of sustainable business and innovation at the company.

“Nike is committed to catalyzing a major change in the world of materials, driving for the elimination of hazardous substances and innovating new, sustainable materials,” she adds.”To shift to a palette of entirely sustainable materials multiple stakeholders must work together to innovate new chemistry, encourage the use and scale of better chemistry, and eliminate harmful chemistry.”

Nike estimates that 60 percent of a shoe’s environmental impact is embedded in its materials. “If Nike can encourage the materials industry to develop and supply more sustainable materials and work with the industry to scale that innovation, the positive implications are potentially significant, both for Nike and for those communities where textiles are made and treated,” Jones says. “Nike hopes this relationship will help encourage others to collaborate in changing the way textiles are created.”

The timing of the collaboration couldn’t be more fortuitous: Nike was among the companies implicated in a 2011 Greenpeace report about heavy-metal pollution in China’s Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas. Nike responded to the revelation by accepting the environmental nonprofit’s “Detox” challenge, with the company pledging to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from its supply chain and products by 2020.

+ Press Release

+ Nike

+ Bluesign

Our oceans are full of trash and debris, but now a new consortium of European companies and NGOs have a plan in place to collect that debris and recycle it. Aided by the European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC), plastics manufacturer Aquafil and sock maker Star Sock have announced a new initiative that will collect debris, especially fishing nets, and transform into new nylon for textiles. Since 2011, The ‘Healthy Seas, a Journey from Waste to Wear’ initiative has already collected 16,000 tons of pre- and post-consumer waste and turned it into new polymers and yarns.

Every year, approximately 640,000 tons of fishing nets are abandoned in the oceans, accounting for one-tenth of all marine litter. The Healthy Seas initiative aims not only to clear the oceans of this and more debris, but to turn it all into something useful. Currently, the initiative is developing best practices in the North, Adriatic and Mediterranean seas, so the project can be rolled out worldwide in coming years. They are also identifying methods to discourage abandoning fishing equipment and encouraging responsible use. Finally the group will share their findings with governments and other organizations to encourage best practices.

The bulk of their work though is to physically collect and recycle the ocean debris. To this end, Aquafil created a new product, Econyl, a nylon product from recycled plastics. Econly can be used in a variety of applications, including fiber for synthetic carpet, textiles for apparel and for injected molded plastics. In 2012, the material was made using 30% post-consumer waste collected from the oceans, but this year in 2013, they will bump up the ocean-collected recycled content to 50%. For every 10,000 tons of Econyl produced, the initiative will eliminate 11,000 tons of waste, save 70,000 barrels of oil and avoid 41,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

+ Healthy Seas Initiative

]]> http://www.ecouterre.com/european-healthy-seas-initiative-turns-discarded-fishing-nets-into-socks/feed/ 0 http://www.ecouterre.com/swedish-scientists-create-eco-safe-antibacterial-fiber/ http://www.ecouterre.com/swedish-scientists-create-eco-safe-antibacterial-fiber/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:00:41 +0000 Bridgette Meinhold http://www.ecouterre.com/?p=77915
Photo by Shutterstock Bacteria is a problem, but antibiotic resistant bacteria is an even bigger problem. Now researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have created a more eco-friendly antibacterial fabric that can control bacteria but won’t leach into the environment and create resistant strains of bacteria. A simple fabric of cellulose [...]]]>

Photo by Shutterstock

Bacteria is a problem, but antibiotic resistant bacteria is an even bigger problem. Now researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have created a more eco-friendly antibacterial fabric that can control bacteria but won’t leach into the environment and create resistant strains of bacteria. A simple fabric of cellulose is laced with antibacterial polymers that attract and then kill bacteria on contact. The material would be especially helpful in hospitals or for water treatment and with a few more modifications, it can be disposed in a safe way just by burning.

Photo by Shutterstock

Antibacterial fabric isn’t new, but the material and technique created by the researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology is an interesting advance. The team has come up with a more sustainable alternative to attaching antibacterial polymers to cellulose, which is used as the substrate. The antibacterial polymers cannot break free from the cellulose once they’re attached, which eliminates the chance of them leaching out and washing down the drain into our water systems.

This is important because when bacteria is exposed to antibacterial agents, it develops a resistance and can no longer be killed with normal methods. “If someone uses a cloth to wipe a countertop treated with antibacterial agents, and that cloth is rinsed in the sink, those substances are then spread further through the drain and into the environment where they can contaminate soil and water and give rise to bacterial resistance,” says Josefin Illergård, a chemistry researcher at KTH and a member of the team.

The cellulose and polymer fabric has a positive charge, which attracts the negatively charged bacteria. Upon contact, the polymers interact with the bacterial membrane, which causes cell death. After use, the fabric can be burned, but it leaves behind non-toxic nitrogen oxides. The team hopes to improve the fabric and replace the antibacterial polymer with a renewable material, which would allow the fabric to be burned and leave no trace behind. Interest in the material and KTH’s technique could lead to advances in cleaning, hospital sanitation and even water filtration.

+ Press Release

+ KTH Royal Institute of Technology

[Via ScienceDaily]

]]> http://www.ecouterre.com/swedish-scientists-create-eco-safe-antibacterial-fiber/feed/ 0 http://www.ecouterre.com/could-wooden-jeans-reduce-the-denim-industrys-carbon-footprint/ http://www.ecouterre.com/could-wooden-jeans-reduce-the-denim-industrys-carbon-footprint/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:00:57 +0000 Jasmin Malik Chua http://www.ecouterre.com/?p=77783
Denim made from sustainable wood pulp, rather than cotton, could be the key to reducing the jeans industry’s sizable environmental footprint, according to a fashion student at Heriot-Watt University. Dawn Ellams, a Ph.D researcher at the School of Textiles and Design in Scotland, developed her “no-cotton” jeans using eucalyptus-tree pulp, which is spun into a [...]]]>

Denim made from sustainable wood pulp, rather than cotton, could be the key to reducing the jeans industry’s sizable environmental footprint, according to a fashion student at Heriot-Watt University. Dawn Ellams, a Ph.D researcher at the School of Textiles and Design in Scotland, developed her “no-cotton” jeans using eucalyptus-tree pulp, which is spun into a cotton-like yarn marketed under the trade name of Tencel. She also used digital-printing technology to replicate the stone-washed effect denim aficionados crave. Despite their physical similarities, Ellams says her “wooden” jean uses only a fifth of the water, energy, and chemicals required by its conventional counterpart.

Photo by Shutterstock

GOING ON A LIMB

Producing a single pair of cotton-denim jeans, Ellams says, isn’t just energy-intensive. It also uses an average of 42 liters of water, along with up to 15 dyeing vats full of toxic chemicals. Her greener alternative, on the other hand, costs roughly £27 ($42) to make. Plus, it drastically reduces carbon emissions through a closed-loop production process that manages close to 100 percent recovery of the solvent used to render the wood into fiber.

A pair of cotton-denim jeans uses an average of 42 liters of water, along with up to 15 dyeing vats full of harmful chemicals.

“The sustainability issues associated with the manufacturing of cotton garments are already well understood, yet the use of cotton shows no sign of diminishing,” she says. “The research challenged the design and manufacture of denim jeans, probably the most iconic use of cotton. The overall aim was to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and water use associated with conventional manufacturing for denim jeans.”

Another upside? Eucalyptus grows rapidly without the need for pesticides, artificial irrigation or gene manipulation, according to Lenzing, the Austrian fiber company that popularized the material. The fiber yield with Tencel is also 10 times higher than with conventional cotton, even when grown on so-called “marginal lands” that cannot be used to cultivate food crops, it adds.

Ellams’ goal is to create an entire collection, even a eucalyptus-based dress or two.

+ Press Release

+ Heriot-Watt University

]]> http://www.ecouterre.com/could-wooden-jeans-reduce-the-denim-industrys-carbon-footprint/feed/ 0 http://www.ecouterre.com/new-biomimetic-fiber-inspired-by-pine-cones-keeps-you-dryer-longer/ http://www.ecouterre.com/new-biomimetic-fiber-inspired-by-pine-cones-keeps-you-dryer-longer/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:00:31 +0000 Lori Zimmer http://www.ecouterre.com/?p=77050
Photo by Shutterstock A new textile developed in the UK can make your workout a little less sweaty. Called Inotek, the process amps up textiles’ ability to absorb sweat, in effect pulling it away from the body- leaving you clean and dry. Developed by MMT Textiles, Inotek can benefit athletes, gym fanatics, and those moving [...]]]>

Photo by Shutterstock

A new textile developed in the UK can make your workout a little less sweaty. Called Inotek, the process amps up textiles’ ability to absorb sweat, in effect pulling it away from the body- leaving you clean and dry. Developed by MMT Textiles, Inotek can benefit athletes, gym fanatics, and those moving from hot to cold environments.

Photo by Shutterstock

When most fabrics are hit with moisture, then absorb it, causing the fabric to swell. The fabric then becomes damp and heavy, locking in moisture and keeping it close to the body. INOTEK does the opposite. The structure of Inotek textiles are actually inspired by nature. Using the botanical structure of pine cones as a model, the textile mimics the cones’ response to moisture, which opens and closes with higher levels.

As sweat migrates toward the fabric, the fibers in Inotek begin to close like a pine cone, keeping moisture out. To keep the fabric breathing, tiny air pockets open along the surface of the textile as moisture sets in. Contrasting to traditional fabrics like wool, an Inotek blend with wool will actually become 10 percent thinner in moisture laden conditions! Once dried out, the fibers bounce back to their original structure.

With permeability and ventilation, Inotek textile products could help athletes keep cool after a long work out, without massive sweat stains. Even more beneficial, cold weather sports enthusiasts can keep drier when passing from ski slope to warm lodge and back out into the elements again.

+ Inotek

[Via Fibre2Fashion]

]]> http://www.ecouterre.com/new-biomimetic-fiber-inspired-by-pine-cones-keeps-you-dryer-longer/feed/ 0 http://www.ecouterre.com/inspired-by-bastard-hogberry-fruit-new-fiber-changes-color-when-stretched/ http://www.ecouterre.com/inspired-by-bastard-hogberry-fruit-new-fiber-changes-color-when-stretched/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:00:45 +0000 Lori Zimmer http://www.ecouterre.com/?p=76728
Fruit of the “bastard hogberry” plant. Inspiration can strike from the unlikeliest of places. Take the amusingly named bastard hogberry plant, for instance. Indigenous to South America, the fruit of the Margaritaria nobilis evolved its vibrant blue hue to entice birds to gobble it up and facilitate the dispersal of its seeds over a wide [...]]]>

Fruit of the “bastard hogberry” plant.

Inspiration can strike from the unlikeliest of places. Take the amusingly named bastard hogberry plant, for instance. Indigenous to South America, the fruit of the Margaritaria nobilis evolved its vibrant blue hue to entice birds to gobble it up and facilitate the dispersal of its seeds over a wide geographic area. By identifying and replicating the structural elements responsible for the fruit’s color, scientists from Harvard University and the University of Exeter managed to invent a new kind of photonic fiber that shifts from red to blue—and several colors in between—when subject to pressure.

COLOR SHIFT

The resulting multilayer fiber, as described in this month’s issue of Advanced Materials, could lead to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure, such as athletic-wear that changes color in areas of muscle tension or strain.

“Our new fiber is based on a structure we found in nature, and through clever engineering we’ve taken its capabilities a step further,” says lead author Mathias Kolle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “The plant, of course, cannot change color. By combining its structure with an elastic material, however, we’ve created an artificial version that passes through a full rainbow of colors as it’s stretched.”

The multilayer fiber could lead to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.

After studying the structural origin of the seed’s iridescence, the team at Harvard discovered that the upper cells in the seed’s skin contain a curved, repeating pattern that creates color through the interference of light waves. (A similar mechanism is responsible for the way soap bubbles glisten.) Further analysis revealed that multiple layers of cells in the seed coat are each made up of a cylindrically tiered architecture with high regularity on the nanoscale.

It was by replicating these key structural elements that the scientists were able to create a flexible, stretchable, and color-changing fiber using an inventive “roll-up” technique they perfected in the Harvard labs.

“The fruit of this bastard hogberry plant was scientifically delightful to pick,” says Peter Vukusic, associate professor in natural photonics at the University of Exeter. “The light-manipulating architecture its surface layer presents, which has evolved to serve a specific biological function, has inspired an extremely useful and interesting technological design.”

+ Press Release

+ Harvard University

Photo by Shutterstock

In arid areas, clean flowing water is always in short supply. However, once temperatures cool at night, mists and fogs nourish plant and animal life. Inspired by species of beetles and spiders that have adapted to gather droplets from the air, a team from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have developed a cotton fabric coated with a special polymer that collects and retains moisture. The team, who will publish their results in the journal, Advanced Materials later this month, found that with the coating the fabric was able to absorb 340% of its own weight as compared to 18% without the polymer. Up to 93 degrees Fahrenheit, the material strongly attracts water. Once above that threshold, the microstructure changes, becoming completely closed and releasing pure water wherever it is placed.

Photo by Shutterstock

The cotton coated with the PNIPAAm compound has the further advantage of also being inexpensive. As a basic material, cotton can be grown and processed locally, and the coating can be added for roughly 12% of the entire cost of production under current conditions. Able to be placed directly on the ground to irrigate plants, the coated cotton does not need to rely on wind to drive moisture collection.

Researchers are also considering altering the the fabric for use in camping equipment and sportswear. Led by John Xin at PolyU and Dr. Catarina Esteves at TU/e, the scientists plan to further maximize the efficacy of the material and expect to be able to adjust the temperature at which the material switches from a water-collecting to a water-releasing state. The coated cotton has great implications for irrigation and hydration of arid regions, eliminating the need to transport water over long distances, purification systems, or containers.

+ Press Release

+ Eindhoven University of Technology

[Via ScienceDaily]

Great Britain is revving up for the biggest celebration of wool the world has ever seen. Come March, the Campaign for Wool, with the help of veteran interior-stylist Arabella McNie, will transform the West Wing of London’s Somerset House into a veritable wooly wonderland. “Wool House” is set to comprise seven individual rooms, each showcasing the fiber’s versatility in the realms of fashion, art, home goods, and interior design. Contributers include knitwear impresario Donna Wilson, hotel design director Kit Kemp, and rug-weaver Roger Oates, who will exhibit exclusive room sets alongside a giant installation by acclaimed Dutch tapestry artist Claudy Jongstra.

WOOL HOUSE

As the most expansive venture the Campaign for Wool has undertaken to date, Wool House will explore the fiber’s beauty, practicality, and scope under a single roof. In addition to a series of wool-centric designer talks, interactive workshops, and special programs for children, an artisan-in-residence will be on hand to demonstrate the heritage of wool-working to visitors. There will also be spaces dedicated to fine-woven fabrics and tailoring, as well as exhibits celebrating the importance of wool in the fashion industry.

Wool House will explore the fiber’s beauty, practicality, and opportunities under a single roof.

“I am determined to show wool as a modern fiber and visitors will see a broad spectrum from ultramodern and hi-tech to highly luxurious and more traditional,” McNie, the show’s curator, says. “There are some amazing fabrics and flooring and Wool House will showcase some stunning room sets which will really show the difference that wool can make and inspire greater use of the fiber.”

The Campaign for Wool, whose Patron is Prince Charles, is funded by the British Wool Marketing Board, the Woolmark Company, Wool Council of New Zealand, and other wool organizations across the globe, including those in the United States, Norway, South Africa, and South America.

Wool House takes place from March 13 through March 24.

+ Press Release

+ Campaign for Wool

[Via Fibre2Fashion]

SALVAGED CHIC

Appropriately, Pezzano named his collection “Apparition.” “I like that the fabric was found and has a unique history, that [the jackets] are one-off, handmade, and come with deep sense of mystery,” he tells Ecouterre, adding that they would fit easily “on the [alien] planets of Tatooine or Caladan.

“Found materials have an inherent charm that can never be replicated,” Pezzano says.

The designer isn’t a stranger to scavenging for his art. A “naturally frugal” critic of today’s fast-fashion industry, Pezzano chooses to work only with deadstock fabrics, organic cotton, wool, and reclaimed fabrics. “For me, these jackets represent everything I see as important when it comes to creating clothes,” says Pezzano, who embellished his creations with handmade scrap-leather buttons. “Found materials have an inherent charm that can never be replicated. I believe the use of reclaimed materials is the pinnacle of sustainable fashion because nothing is being made.”

After all, every manufactured material, whether organic or not, has an impact on the planet, he says. “Upcycling is even better than recycling because less energy is being consumed,” he adds. “Tread lightly? This is zero treading. Reverse treading even.”

+ Apparition Jackets

+ Urbandon

[Via Sass Brown]

ZPAGETTI \zpə-ˈge-tē\

n. 1 a: A super-bulky yarn, comprising 92 percent cotton and 8 percent elastane, made from the remnants of garment manufacturing. b: Produced by Lion Brand Yarn in the United States. c: Because of the repurposed nature of the material, each colorway is limited edition (and available at random). d: Suitable for knitting, crocheting, jewelry-making, and other forms of crafty tomfoolery.

+ Zpagetti $8.99 per skein

+ Lion Brand Yarn

© Ecouterre, 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

KUBA \kü-bä\

n 1 a: Geometrically patterned cloth traditionally woven from raffia-tree leaves by the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. b: Naturally colored fabric created through a labor-intensive process of hand-dyeing using mud, indigo, or the powdered bark of the camwood tree. c: Typically created by Kuba men on a single heddle loom, then embroidered by women and children to create an uncut or cut-pile appearance (the latter resembles velvet or velour). 2: a Traditionally worn during ceremonial events, primarily funerals, but also found in tapestries and home goods. b: Includes symbolic patterns that indicate a person’s social and marital status, age, and even attributes of a person’s character.

[Via Cloth and Kind]

Photo by Shutterstock

Amazon.com, Leon Max, Macy’s, and Sears have agreed to pay a combined $1.26 million in fines after the Federal Trade Commission charged them with marketing products as bamboo when they were actually derived from rayon. While so-called bamboo textiles are often promoted as environmentally friendly, the chemical-intensive process for manufacturing rayon—even when it’s made from bamboo—is far from “green,” according to the federal agency, which sent a business alert in 2009 advising manufacturers and sellers not to label or advertise a textile as bamboo if it wasn’t made directly of bamboo fiber (“rayon” or “rayon made from bamboo” are the preferred terms.)

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: How Eco-Friendly is Bamboo Fabric, Really?

Photo by Shutterstock

BAMBOOZLED?

According to the FTC’s complaints, each of the four companies violated the Textile Products Identification Act and the FTC’s Textile Rules by claiming, without qualification, that the textile fiber in certain retail and private-label products was bamboo. Amazon.com, for instance, described a “Summer Infant Crib Sheet” as “100 percent organic bamboo.” The retailer also sold a product called the “Scene Weavers Pickles Bamboo Knit Garden Stripe Baby Blanket,” which it labeled “100 percent knit bamboo.”

According to the FTC, the companies claimed, without qualification, that the textile fiber in certain products was bamboo.

The FTC alleged that Leon Max, which does business as Max Studio, sold a “Silk & Bamboo Broadcloth Shirred Shell,” which it claimed was made of a “delicate and eco-friendly bamboo and silk fabric” comprised of “65 percent bamboo, 35 percent silk.” In addition, it sold a “Football Tee” that was labeled “50 percent bamboo, 50 percent cotton.”

Macy’s allegedly advertised and sold retail products designated as “bamboo” and “bamboo fiber” on their textile labels. One product description for the “2(x)ist Contour Campus Pouch Brief,” for example, stated that it offered, “plenty of cool comfort and support…crafted in a cotton-bamboo blend for unbeatable performance.”

Sears allegedly claimed that some sheet sets sold in its stores and on its websites were made of “Pure Fiber 100 Percent Bamboo.” The retailer also sold a “Ty Pennington Style Bamboo Sheet Set,” which it characterized as “55 percent bamboo/45 percent cotton.”

“When attempting to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, companies need to ensure they don’t cross the line into misleading labeling and advertising,” Charles Harwood, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, says in a statement. “If a textile is made of rayon, sellers need to say that, even if bamboo was used somewhere along the line in the production process.”

Aside from the civil penalties each company has agreed to pay, the proposed orders settling the FTC’s charges prohibit the companies from failing to properly identify the fiber content of the “bamboo” textiles they sell, including products sold or marketed as antimicrobial, antibacterial, or antifungal.

+ Press Release

+ Federal Trade Commission

Your car and home aren’t the only sources of greenhouse-gas emissions. Clothing has an ecological footprint of its own, as well. But African-grown cotton might have a considerably smaller impact on the environment than conventionally grown cotton, according to an independent study commissioned by Cotton Made in Africa, an initiative of the Aid by Trade Foundation to help African smallholder farmers improve their lives through trade rather than handouts. Compared with Pakistan-grown cotton, Systain, an independent consulting firm based in Hamburg, found that cotton cultivated on the continent emits 70 percent less carbon. It also saves around 18,000 liters of water per kilogram of cotton lint.

COTTON FOOTPRINT

Upon closer examination, the reasons for Systain’s findings are obvious: The continent’s climate, with its high average temperatures and alternation between dry and wet seasons, provides the ideal conditions for growing cotton, which thrives in warmth and requires about 200 days of sunshine to flourish and bear fruit. African cotton is also almost exclusively grown by smallholder farmers using rainfed cultivation methods, which means no form of supplemental irrigation is necessary.

Africa cotton is also almost exclusively grown by smallholder farmers using rainfed cultivation methods.

“At zero cubic meters of freshwater per kilogram of cotton lint, this gives [cotton made in Africa] a clear ecological advantage over conventional cotton with an index of five cubic meters per kilogram,” reads the report. Translated to the amount of cotton required to manufacture a T-shirt, Systain says that African cotton conserves about 2,000 liters of water through the sustainable cultivation of the raw material alone.

The study also noted that African cotton released only 1.9 kilograms of greenhouse gases, less than half of conventional cotton’s 4.6 kilograms. African cotton produces no emissions from mechanical energy to work the land, while these account for 34 percent of all emissions for conventionally grown cotton, says Systain. While the bulk of the greenhouse gases released by African cotton—or 70 percent—results from the production and use of fertilizers, the Cotton Made in Africa initiative prohibits the use of pesticides on the Rotterdam Protocol and Stockholm Convention lists and those classified by the World Health Organization as “extremely hazardous” or “highly hazardous.”

TRADE, NOT AID

Since only 8 percent of cotton traded on the world market originates from Sub-Saharan Africa, there are plenty of inroads for African cotton to make. To boost the fiber’s profile, Cotton Made in Africa has developed its own woven tag, featuring a white cotton bloom on a burgundy background, to identify garments derived African cotton.

Cotton Made in Africa has developed its own woven tag to identify garments derived African cotton.

The group is more than a labeling scheme, however. Cotton Made in Africa works directly with farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Côte d’Ivoire to achieve a “sustainable increase” in farmers’ incomes while establishing a stable demand for sustainably grown cotton worldwide.

At the same time, the Aid by Trade Foundation is building a network of international clothing retailers as a Demand Alliance. Participating companies buy African cotton at world-market prices but pay a licence fee—currently about 2.5 percent of the purchase price of the garment—to the foundation. This surplus cash is used to conduct agricultural training in the growing areas, as well co-finance social projects such as the building of schools.

+ Press Release

+ Cotton Made in Africa

Did you ever think you’d be wearing plants while hanging ten? Outdoor adventurist brand Patagonia has been making strides with their experimentation with eco-friendly wetsuits. They’re latest line borrows from the plant world- replacing petroleum-based synthetics with bio-materials, making the world’s first plant based wet suit.

Patagonia is no stranger to sustainability or customer service, their recent R1 wetsuit was designed to please customers in warmer waters, and is made entirely from recycled polyester. The company itself hopes to change the game of active fashion, leading the industry into green fashion.

Most wetsuits are made of neoprene, a petroleum-based synthetic that both shields surfers from water while keeping them warm. Greener versions of the synthetic, which also include recycled materials, are available, but it can never be called truly green as long as they contain neoprene. Enter Patagonia, who went on a mission to create a neoprene-free suit.

Four years into the research, they’ve achieved a 60% plant based wet suit. With the help of clean technology company Yulex Corporation, Patagonia was able to create a wetsuit made with guayule, a renewable non-food crop. Guayule is grown widely without pesticides in the U.S. and is structurally sound. The company will continue to develop the material and hopes to make a 100% guayule based suit in the coming years.

The 60 percent plant-based suit will launch in Japan next spring.

+ Patagonia

Affordable clothing doesn’t just mean price, but also durability. UK retailer, Marks & Spencer understand the value of a buck, and are turning to technology to make their school uniforms even more durable. Their Stay NewTN technology uses an enzymatic bioblasting process to keep clothes looking as fresh as the first day of school.

Kids can be rough on their clothes, especially when they have to wear the same uniform day in and day out. M&S was sympathetic to parents on a budget, and wanted to create a solution that would alleviate costs without impacting the environment. In a collaboration with Novozymes, the retail giant has developed the Stay NewTM technology, in an attempt to not only add value for their customers, but also as part of their goal to become the most sustainable retailer by 2015!

The sustainable enzymes are adding to the garments during the textile production, helping the uniforms to be stronger right from the get-go. The enzymes are added during the bleaching and dying process, ultimately saving water and reducing energy during production.

The bioblasting enzymes help the fibers strengthen from the inside out, helping to eliminate fiber ends that can stick out from the surface, causing pilling or tears. The Novonzymes are also environmentally safe, being derived from natural proteins.

With the additives of Nonozymes, the surfaces of the uniforms are more durable, resistant to tearing and wear called by use and washing. The Stay New Uniforms have already hit M&S stores, and have received rave reviews. With this technology, parents will only have to splurge on new uniforms when their kids hit an inevitable growth spurt!

+ Marks & Spencer

+ Novozymes

[Via Fiber2Fashion]

Make do and unmend? Meet the “un-knitting” machine, a pedal-powered apparatus designed to recycle unwanted knitwear. The curious contraption is the brainchild of Imogen Hedges, a London-based product-and-furniture designer who discovered that charity shops sometimes spend hours unraveling sweaters by hand. “They can make more money out of selling the wool than they can from the sweaters,” says the Kingston University graduate, one of a select group of student designers exhibiting at the The National Centre for Craft & Design this month.

Read the rest of Pedal-Powered “Un-knitting” Machine Unravels Sweaters to Recycle Yarn

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Tobacco, as it turns out, is good for more than a smoke. According to one North Carolina company, the plant can also be harnessed as a sustainable, cost-effective resource for the apparel and home-goods industries. Because tobacco is cultivated only for its leaves, tobacco farmers typically throw away hundreds of millions of tons of agricultural waste each year. Through decades of research, however, Suzanne DeVall, founder of Ploughboy Organics, uncovered the plant’s untapped potential, not only as a nontoxic dye but also a fiber that blends well with yarns such as cotton, wool, silk, and cashmere.

REFORMING TOBACCO

Based in Raleigh, the company is on a mission to create low-cost organic dyes and fiber using raw materials that are free from chemical agents and pesticides. Ploughboy only sources its tobacco from small, independent, and certified-organic tobacco farmers in the southern states, for instance. But more than simply using up an existing resource, DeVall’s patent-pending technology also requires a mere fraction of the energy and water used by conventional dyes. Plus, she claims that the process leaves virtually no toxic byproducts behind, eliminating the need to treat the resulting wastewater.

DeVall says her patent-pending technology requires a mere fraction of the energy and water used by conventional dyes.

Ploughboy has two lines in the works: “Avani,” a palette of 18 colors and “Onatah,” a forthcoming collection of fabrics and apparel spun from the tobacco stalk, which is said to be naturally antimicrobial. “We consider Onatah, along with our Avani dyes, to be a paradigm shift in the textile industry,” DeVall says.

+ Ploughboy Organics

Controvery, schcontroversy. As the biggest global user of certified-organic cotton for the second year running, H&M has plenty to crow about. The revelation comes courtesy of Textile Exchange, a nonprofit organization whose Organic Cotton Market Report looks back on 2011 as a “year of contradictions” filled with peaks and valleys. Among the high points? H&M, which not only maintained its position as the No. 1 buyer of certified-organic cotton but also increased its use of the white stuff by nearly 100 percent in 2011.

STILL NO. 1

The Swedish fast-fashion retailer began using organic cotton in earnest in 2004. Three years later, it offered its first 100 percent organic-cotton garments, followed by the semi-regular Conscious Collection in 2011. Organic cotton, according to Textile Exchange, now represents 7.6 percent of H&M’s total cotton use. Combined with expected future growth in the use of “Better Cotton”, the company says it’s on track to sourcing 100 percent of its cotton from “more sustainable” sources by 2020.

H&M says it’s on track to sourcing 100 percent of its cotton from “more sustainable” sources by 2020.

“We congratulate H&M for again leading the list of the biggest users of certified organic cotton in the world,” says LaRhea Pepper, managing director of Textile Exchange. “H&M’s ambitious program continues to drive demand for organic cotton and other more sustainable fibres. This supports farmers, encourages innovation and with its fashion-forward Conscious Collections, H&M lifts more sustainable fashion to scale. This strategic work serves as a model for adopting and expanding the use of greener materials in the fashion industry.”

As a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, an initiative whose partners include the World Wildlife Fund and Solidaridad, H&M has invested more than €2 million in helping hundreds of thousands of cotton farmers grow their crops with less water, fewer chemicals, and greater dignity.

The road to healthier cotton hasn’t hasn’t always been easy, but H&M says it wants to make the environmentally friendly option an accessible alternative. “We plan to further increase our use of organic cotton in the future, beside making strong investments in Better Cotton and gradually increasing our use of recycled cotton,” says Henrik Lampa, sustainability manager product at H&M. “Cotton is the raw material we use the most and our good progress against our goal means major improvements for people and the environment in cotton-producing communities.”

TOP 10 USERS OF ORGANIC COTTON IN 2011

1. H&M
2. C&A
3. Nike
4. Inditex (Zara)
5. Anvil Knitwear
6. prAna
7. Puma
8. Williams-Sonoma
9. Target
10. Otto Group

+ Press Release

+ H&M

HAGFISH SLIME THREAD \ˈhag-ˌfish ˈslīm ˈthred \

n 1: The fibrous protein component of the defensive slime of the hagfish (also known as Hyperotreti), an eel-shaped bottom-dwelling marine animal that is the only known living organism with a skull but no vertebral column. 2 a: An affordable, sustainable alternative to oil-based polymers as discovered by Atsuko Negishi, a researcher at the University of Guelph in Canada. 3 a: A member of the “intermediate filament” family of proteins, with remarkable mechanical properties that rival those of spider silk. b: Has the potential to be isolated, purified spun, and woven into high-performance biomaterials.

[Via Ecotextile News]

Thanks to a fast-fashion based industry model, coupled with consumer desire to pay the least possible price for product, we have been left to deal with over-consumption, waste, and a plethora of “Frankenstein” fabrics.These low-grade, synthetic and petroleum based textiles are on the rise with stores like H&M and Forever 21 knocking off larger design houses as well as indie designers.

Photos by Shutterstock

Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion says even the used clothing market is getting junked up with these creepy clothes from fast fashion venues. This is driving up the price of vintage clothes, because there’s hardly any “good” clothing made of natural materials being made today.

“Wool, which used to be the dominant fiber, is now hard to find in a mainstream store and is almost considered a luxury textile. My generation and the one behind me is not familiar with the feel and
inherent beauty of many natural fibers, including linen, silk, wool, and high-grade cashmere.”

Cline adds that because this cheap fashion is mostly made of polyester and its cousins, fast fashion is environmentally unsustainable on a shocking number of levels.
“It’s poorly made and designed to fall apart, it’s largely made from non-biodegradable petroleum-based fabrics and lastly, a lot of it can’t be recycled. It’s really not a flattering combination.”

But by recycling and combining natural and synthetic, there’s hope for continued reuse.

Photo by Shutterstock

With the textile fiber of post-consumer garments oftentimes wasted and worn, Dutch consortium Textiles 4 Textiles says recycling them often poses challenges.
Marc Fredriksz, Textiles 4 Textiles’ Project Manager for Recycling says after the textile has gone through their textile pulling line, and “re-fibered,” a test often shows the fiber is sometimes too short to spin into a yarn, while woven fabrics are harder to pull and re-fiber, than knitted fabric.

“Garments are not always made from only one material. In jeans we see more and more elastane, lycra and polyester in the jeans fabric. The contamination can’t be separated, after re-fibering and this contamination will give problems with the rotor during the spinning of the yarn process,” says Fredriksz.

While many of these fibers can be remade clothing, inferior fabric blends can be used for other sustainable purposes such as textile reinforced plastics or composites for wall panels, clothing hangers, street name signs as well as sound or temperature isolation for housing or automotive industry.

Pickering International, a sustainable textile supplier in San Francisco says the afterlife of fabrics they sell begin with salvaging scrap fabrics from cutting rooms, collections of off-grade materials from other fabric mills and sewing factories. Once the fabrics are gathered, they are sorted out by fiber categories, then shredded and processed to the fiber form, spun into yarns again and made to be recycled fabrics.

“We pretty much have to do blends from the very beginning as fabric scraps almost always come in many blended forms in their previous life,” says Dawn Pickering, owner of Pickering International, on modern-day fabric non-homogeneity.

“However, some recycled yarns might not be as strong as new yarns, we have to blend some new fibers to improve overall performance though,” she adds.

Entering the fashion stream from a different start point is Nin Castle, founder of London based fashion line Goodone, Castle has been working with upcycled fabrics since the launch of her line in 2006. In addition to designing from a very mature place with the blended fabrics, Castle offers up a useful fact: If every Briton purchased one item made from recycled wool a year, it would save 371 million gallons of water, 480 tons of chemical dyes and 4571 million days of an average family’s electricity needs.

“Our aim is to use as much reclaimed fabric as possible in every garment but it has to always compliment the design. Somebody once said as a company we are informed by the reuse of textiles and not restrained by them, which I liked very much.”

Castle is son to start working with a local mill and friend Daniel Harris at the London Cloth Company making new fabric from discontinued dead-stock yarns.

Castle says when she first started designing she made 100% up-cycled garments but just couldn’t keep the quality and standardize it enough for shops wanting to buy the same color combinations in a good size break down.

“Now we mix sustainable fabrics with locally made fabrics and reclaimed textiles…its always our aim to use as much reclaimed fabric as possible as to us it is the greenest fiber around. There is no additional strain on the environment or use of chemicals to make it as it already exists.”

The original blue-jean company is making efforts to turn its iconic garment green. On Tuesday, Levi Strauss announced the launch of “Waste<Less,” an upcoming collection of denim that incorporates post-consumer waste, specifically plastic bottles and food trays. Set to debut in January, the line of skinny jeans, straight-fit jeans, and trucker jackets will comprise a minimum of 20 percent recycled content, or the equivalent of eight 12- to 20-ounce bottles per jean. The entire collection is expected to utilize over 3.5 million recycled bottles, according to Levi’s.

WASTE LESS

Levi’s will work with its partners to collect polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials—including brown beer bottles, green soda bottles, clear water bottles, and black food trays—through municipal recycling programs across the United States. The bottles and food trays are sorted by color, crushed into flakes, and spun into polyester. The polyester fiber is finally woven with conventional cotton yarn by Cone Denim, which runs one of the nation’s oldest denim mills in North Carolina.

The color of the bottles used, according to Levi’s, adds a “beautiful undertone” to the denim fabric.

The color of the bottles used, notes the company, adds a “beautiful undertone” to the denim fabric, which reveals green and brown specks in the right light.

“From the beginning, we have designed our products with purpose and intent. By adding value to waste, we hope to change the way people think about recycling, ultimately incentivizing them to do more of it,” says James Curleigh, global president Levi’s, in a statement. “This collection proves that you don’t have to sacrifice quality, comfort or style to give an end a new beginning.”

The Waste<Less line comes on the heels of “Water<Less,” a finishing technique designed to reduce denim’s water footprint by up to 96 percent.

“We don’t just want to reduce our impact on the environment, we want to leave it better than we found it,” Curleigh adds. “We are committed to making products in ways that are good for people and better for our planet.”

+ Levi Strauss