Imagine throwing out 1 of every 10th piece of clothing you own into the landfill. This is equivalent to the amount of fabric wasted during the production of a garment. The fashion industry wastes a shocking 15% of fabric because of the cutting process. Yes, that 15% is enough to create a wearable item.
How and why does this happen? It has to do with constructing a 3D object from a 2D piece of fabric. We aren’t Flat Stanleys. Everything from the neck hole, armpit curve, and shoulder seam of a garment causes more and more scraps to accumulate during the cutting process.
All the areas around the pattern are subject to being thrown in the trash. Watch this person cut out a garment in a traditional fashion factory. That whole piece of stacked fabric is being wasted! Multiply that piece by the 100 million garments produced each year--wowza, that's a lot of waste! But what if we could eliminate scrap waste altogether? Drum roll please--welcome Zero Waste Fashion to the stage!!!
What is Zero Waste?
Just as simply as the name, Zero Waste Fashion is a designing process that minimizes waste. According to the Sustainable Review, there is not one single way to create in a zero-waste manner. “Waste reduction can be achieved by:
· Choosing garments made from sustainable materials
· Using methods that require minimal fabric cutting
· Incorporating recycled materials
· Upcycling existing garments."
But if you are at all familiar with the process of making clothes, you know first-hand that scrappage happens even when you are upcycling or using sustainable fabrics. That’s because you have to cut the pieces into shapes that form to the non-rectangular human body. Again, sorry Flat Stanley—not everyone is as perfectly square as you.
Zero Waste Patterning
So, you might be wondering, is anything zero waste? Well, yes! Zero Waste Patterning is a process that eliminates scraps from the equation. Picture this, you are given a piece of paper. With that paper, you have to create an origami form. You cannot add or subtract any piece of paper from that single sheet to make the final form. Zero Waste Patterning works in a very similar way. Each piece fits together like a puzzle and is incorporated into the finished garment.
Designing with the zero-waste concept not only is sustainable but allows the garment to have a unique shape. Often garments designed in this way have a boxier fit and focus on the texture and drape of the fabric more than the silhouette of the person. It’s a beautiful combination that gives way to forgiving our bodies and sustaining the planet.
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