3 Ways to Make Use of Old Toiles and Fabric
Sustainability.
A lot of people probably don’t even know how to even begin to approach the topic, ESPECIALLY in fashion. When I was really young and going shopping with my friends, I never thought how my purchasing decisions made an impact on the environment, let alone the whole design and manufacturing process. Now that I have actually immersed myself into the fashion industry from a number of angles, I was faced with this conundrum of feelings where I felt insanely selfish for wanting to enter the fashion industry knowing well that I would be contributing to an already huge amount of waste and pollution. Nonetheless, no matter if I heard the usual “why bother trying to make a difference or be sustainable" - you’re only one person”, I truly believe that even making small changes can make a big difference for the future of the industry. After all, if we cannot develop our own habits and better ourselves for the sake of the world and those buying our products in it, what is the point of even calling ourselves the next generation and minds of fashion? So that is why I wanted to rethink my development habits immediately, as that’s what I find the most wasteful - wasted ideas, wasted fabric and discarded designs tossed to the side. I think by making good habits from the very beginning, will only prove better for the end result. Hence why, I wanted to bring up even just a few ideas on how to rethink what we do with our past resources and experiments.
Unpick and Re-use
This is probably the most time consuming way to re-use the fabric from past projects, but since clothing can be quite fabric-consuming, it is a great way to save money and material. I would normally unpick or cut into old toiles and then sort out the material into different sizes. That way, it is easy to grab and iron out a piece of calico, for example, and then proceed to use it in the development of another garment. As for the little pieces, I seperate them if they are suitable for a collar or cuff pattern, and if not, well they either go to the next steps or, then, and only then, when all other options are exhausted, I bin them.
2. Return it to Mother Nature
I do have to give credit to my father for this, because once during a mass clean-up I was surrounded by bits of fabric and he mentioned to not throw anything away because it can be used to tie plants to a stake. At first, I was reminiscing of how my mother would take out fabric from the bin to cut up as cleaning cloths, and thought this idea gives off the same energy. So I gave him as much of calico and poplin as I could, not truly undertanding how useful it is to re-purpose them for the garden until recently, when the east of Australia all got hit with huge torrential rain and storms. I was worried for my flowers after they began to part like Red Sea, so I panic tied them to stakes for extra suppport, and having material for that was quite handy.
Since there was also an unhealthy amount of smaller scraps in my collections of toileing fabric, which could not really be re-used for fashion, I instead used it on the bottom of my pot plants. It allowed the water to drain but keep the soil inside.
3. Re-Purpose in other Projects
I remember in first year a classmate was speaking about how they didn’t know what to do with all the scraps left from the first semester’s projects, and made a pet bed from leftover fabric and then stuffing it with the scraps. Over time, I found my own ways of repurposing the fabric for other subjects or assignments, such as using them for a textile manipulation assessment, and for a base for my embroidery. With the embroidery, I found it perfect for finding all the pieces I couldn’t use for garments and embroidering onto them to create appliques, as once they’re complete and cut, no one would be able to tell you used calico or poplin, rather than fresh fabric. It also goes to show how many different aspect of the creative world overlap, and can help each other out.
Although this post is short-ish, I do hope it will help or encourage others when it comes to rethinking of the aftermath of an insane fashion assignment or collection. The spotlight is now on the ethics and sustainability of the fashion industry now more than ever, and even luxury brands such as Alexander McQueen are donating unused fabric to students. The thing is, this is just the tip of the iceerg of course when it comes to creating a sustainable idustry, and there is a lot of work and changes to be done - but any change, whether it is in the material we use, our process, our designs or our post-production management - I do truly believe that by changing our mindset and being aware will bring about a positive change for many people, including us, the designers. It only needs to start with one person. We can do it.
Enjoy life,
Nina