Eco-conscious readers already know that the garment industry has a lot of issues when it comes to environmental and social concerns. Aside from the question of which fibers are used and how they are dyed, another BIG problem in the industry is waste.
If you've ever cut out a pattern to sew your own garment, you're familiar with the little scraps that are left over in the process (sometimes they are pretty big). Home sewers have no problem adding scraps to the stash and finding creative uses for them ... but imagine multiplying that pile of scraps by hundreds of thousands, if not millions! Most of those fabrics can't be composted, so it's a huge problem.
Enter the new movement in the fashion design world of 'zero-waste' pattern design. It's quite amazing to imagine that all pieces of a pattern can be fit onto one rectangular piece of fabric with NO waste.
Below is an image from designer Timo Rissanen's blog, discovered via Fashion Incubator: these two articles go in to depth on the subject, so if you're interested I recommend reading both, and their comments.
It's so encouraging that forward-thinking designers are considering not just the final design, but also the impact of the design and what is left behind. I'm sure this adds a new level of challenge to an already difficult art. Impressive!
Maybe pattern companies will catch on and start designing dress patterns with minimal waste as well. Of course, then the quilting scrap pile would suffer (but I'm sure we'll manage).
Comments