Green Cotton

Why not make something useful from fashion and textile waste?

“Limited Resources -  Limited Consumption”

We better start planning (and re-using) now, if we hope to have resources (and clothing) for generations to come. That is part of the mantra of Looptworks, a new eco-fashion brand on the scene, who launched September 9, 2009  in Portland, Oregon. Looptworks’ mission and rasion d’etre is to create lifestyle active wear made from fabric remnants (a.k.a fashion industry waste).

As the saying goes: Since there is only a finite amount of matter on the planet, we must be careful about how we use and allocate resources. As such, the question then becomes why did it take us so long to start re-using these valuable remnants?

Well, the answer is that others have been doing variations on this for a while. In fact, we know of several designers in the Boston area that make their deisgner collections out of re-purposed clothing. In addition, there is the design team Feral Childe. Feral Childe has been using fabric remnants and “mill-ends” for years now, integrating them into their unique collections. However the difference is that most designers who use this approach do not base their whole collection on remnants. They often use them when they find cool fabrics they like. In the case of Looptworks however, they seem to be the first to do this on a larger scale, with the whole focus of their label being on “remnant-to-garment”.

So Looptworks has created a unique approach to “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” in the fashion world, by re–using industry waste, and creating limited edition garments – all made from fabric scraps.

Indeed, these guys are inventive, bringing recycling to a new level and scale. Why not tap into the yards and yards of fabrics that get left behind at factories? Personally, we believe this is invaluable because remnants are rarely re-used, and often end up on landfills, so why not bring them into useful existence?

Led by Hamlin, Gary Peck and Jim Stutts,  all are apparel industry veterans with extensive experience from Nike, adidas and Royal Robbins. The team apparently came together in their distaste for traditional manufacturing models with the vision to create a more sustainable system: e.g. creating products from abandoned materials.

Every week, one garment factory can dispose upwards of about 60,000 pounds of textile waste, which goes directly into landfills. Looptworks taps into this excess of material thrown away by figuring out how it can be re-purposed into modern, useful and fashionable clothing.
Due to the nature of the source material, each production line is very small and each garment a limited edition. In fact, each item is hand numbered.

Working with waste instead of virgin materials also affects the entire design process. Development time for their garments is around 9 weeks, compared to the typical 54 weeks for the average apparel company. Given that, it’s easy to see how Looptworks could position itself not only as a sustainable brand, but also as a trendsetter.

Even though the production cycle is extremely fast, and materials acquired second-hand, Looptworks builds clothing and accessories to last a long time. Each material is tested for shrinkage and durability before being incorporated into designs. Products are double-needle stitched on all seams and triple-needle stitched on critical seams.

The company’s debut collection includes a variety of hoodies, tees, shorts, fleeces and jackets (for more see Looptworks).

The newly launched website welcomes visitors to see the world through a new lens, using two circles to showcase fresh videos on its homepage, to both educate and inspire. Clicking on the men’s and women’s product categories provides the shopper an overview of each collection. There are eight men’s products and nine for women, with additional styles being added on a regular basis.

Shoppers can rollover the static product images to magnify and discover the unexpected, signature Looptworks details, like craftily-designed pockets, and whimsical, unmatched buttons and snaps. Even the logo is attached to a loop that has the number of the garment etched in by hand.

Hats off to Looptworks joining the eco-fashion growing flock — looking beyond the “now” to future generations with the understanding that we cannot pursue our current production models for much longer if we hope to foster a sustainable future. One downside: if you like something on their site, you gotta buy it fast, since it wont last long. Fabric remnants cannot be re-produced.Check out looptworks.com and let us know what you think… do you like this model? Tell us your thoughts.

Photo source: Looptworks

By: Julie Finkel and Shana Yansen

Photosource: www.tias.com

NY Times reported this week on the latest surge in consignment & thrift store shopping.

Rising oil prices? Tightening of the credit markets? Increases in foreclosures? Greater demand for brand-name luxury items at reduced prices? Or perhaps clothing-in-closet overload? Whatever the reasons, a great opportunity is emerging green-ify our closets in one of the best ways possible.

I agree fully with the NY Times that the trend is increasing and for me personally, I could not be more enthusiastic about it. Buying and selling used items is one of the greenest ways to stay chic AND keep textiles in the marketplace, thereby preventing or delaying their ultimate arrival to the landfill.

More and more celebrities and women of all walks are turning to vintage, consignment shops to buy, sell and/or trade in their goods. Take Fashion Dig for example offering this Debbie Harry outfit for $2500 (on sale). Or Ricky’s Exceptional Treasures, a luxury resale store on eBay. Apparently last month Ricky Serbin, the owner, recorded over 150,000 hits to the online store. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…thousands of sellers on eBay are reselling their clothing, and that does not even include all the local consignment and thrift stores found in every major city in America.

Whether the shopping is for luxury labels or new summer hits, bringing clothing back into the market and then buying used goods are remarkable ways to stay eco, while looking fresh. For me personally, I always try to drop my used clothes off at a local charity that accepts clothing…I like knowing that someone else will get use out of the clothes and that they are being recycled somehow. Since I recently moved back to the Boston area, I have not found one non-profit yet that turn to regularly; however today I learned about a cool local organization called ‘Second Chances’. Turns out they are actually having a clothing drive happening on June 25th in Somerville. They appear to have some excellent local partnerships and uses for the clothes.

Another good practice that is fun is to drop off clothes with a consignment store and get a % of the proceeds from the sale when sold. I recently discovered Porch & Wardrobe boutique in Arlington and had good success selling some clothes there so far.

Rule of thumb: if you have not used something or more than 12 months, chances are, you are not going to use it. The item is just taking up space in your closet. Meanwhile, someone else could be making use of it. Drop it off at a charity or sell it on eBay!

Quick Facts:
50% of the textiles we throw away are recyclable. However, the proportion of textile wastes reused or recycled annually in the US is only around 20%. That means that approximately 80% of textiles head straight to the landfill! What can we do to reduce that?

Here are 3 Simple Tips for Greening your Closet

1) Keep your clothes ‘in the cycle’ by dropping them off at a local charity, thrift or consignment store or re-selling them on eBay. 80% of textiles end up in landfills. Lets try to reduce that! Note: If your clothes are brand-name, re-sell them on eBay. There is a HUGE market for slightly worn brand name items.

2) Turn old garments into new garments. That is if you have a designer-creative side in you, cut them up and re-sew. Be creative. In fact Greenloop recently had such a contest the ‘re-shirting’ contest to see who could make the coolest shirt out of an old shirt (without adding any new fabric!). Contest ended May 23.

3) If the clothes are really old and ratty, cut them up and use them as rags.

What do you do to stay green and recycle your textiles? Tell us your favorite vintage, consignment or clothing recycle story.