Re:think by Anisha Sispal

Sustainable textile materials & production

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8-9 Traditional leather production 10-15 Grape leather 16-21 Pineapple leather

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04 Sustainable materials

22-27 Mushroom leather 28-31 Will consumers adapt to these changes?

32 Natural vs synthetic dyeing techniques

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Synthetic dyes 44-45 Synthetic colour forecast 48-59 Natural dyes 58-59 Natural colour forecast

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Chemical pollution in the air we breathe, clinging on to our tissue and floating through our bodily fluids slowly intensifying.

Over a billion animals die per year for the production of leather (PETA). Tanneries are a huge cause of pollution with the waste from them including pollutants such as protein, acids, chromium and lead.

The production of vegan leather is 100% cruelty free and significantly less harmful to the environment. Veganism is on a rapid increase and industries know this.

The automotive industry is lacking vegan friendly cars however brands such as Tesla, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Land Rover have started to cater to this market.

Stella McCartney uses vegan leather in all of her products and has done since 2001. Her leather is created using recycled polyester which is much more sustainable than animal leather.

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“As a vegetarian brand, we never use

leather, skin, fur or feathers. By taking

this stance we are proving it is possible to create beautiful, luxurious products that

are better for everyone – animals, people and the environment.”

Stella McCartney

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ABOVE: Stella McCartney Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign

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Traditional leather production consists of 4 main stages; pre-tanning, tanning, post tanning operations and finishing. Each one of these stages contains chemicals to treat the leather which is ultimately leading to air pollution.

Tanneries in less economically developed countries cannot afford proper pollution control and therefore leads to a higher level of pollution.

The tanning industry is the most dangerous as leftover wastage that contains hazardous chemicals is dumped into lakes and rivers.

Not only is the environment affected, the lifestyle and health of the workers is put at risk. They are constantly handling chromium which is harmful to humans when inhaled and acts as a lung irritant. If absorbed into skin it can cause cracked and scaled skin as well as swelling known as allergic dermatitis.

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Grape leather is one of many versions of vegan leather and is created entirely from the leftovers of winemaking.

This demands even less chemical, water and energy consumption than other variants of synthetic/vegan leather.

The Milan-based company ‘Vegea’ specialises in this and was founded in 2016.

They have not yet brought any products to the market but it would be perfect for small accessories and once the production process is expanded it would be ideal for the automotive and aviation industry.

Just using leftovers from winemaking could however prove difficult as it is a small scale production and may not keep up with fast fashion.

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ABOVE: Vegea leather samples

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ABOVE: A visual representation of grape leather being used in industry.

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Pineapple leather is a natural leather made from extracting the cellulose fibres from pineapple leaves which would normally go to waste.

The material is breathable, strong and lightweight making it perfect for a variety of industries including automotive, fashion and furnishing.

Piñatex was developed when Dr. Carmen Hijosa visited the Philipines and saw the shocking impact leather production and chemical tanning was having on the environment.

A guilt-free and harmless option.

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Mushroom leather is 100% biodegradable making it a sustainable source. The key ingredient of this material is Mycelium, the microscopic root threads of fungus.

Mycelium can be manipulated and grown into a variety of shapes and textures making it perfect as a leather alternative.

The material is non-toxic and water repellent making it ideal for outerwear. Due to mushroom leather being so versatile it could be utilised by almost any industry.

MycoWorks is a company that specialises in mushroom leather and it is created using a closed-loop system making it an infinitely renewable technology.

It also takes a fraction of the time and resources to grow mushroom leather in comparison to animal leather.

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ABOVE: MycoWorks leather samples

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ABOVE: A visual representation of mushroom leather being used in industry.

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The world is slowly but surely declining, consumers want to change that.

The leather alternatives mentioned are already starting to take hold in the fashion industry with consumers more aware of the environmental impacts traditional leather production has.

They are even more key with millennials becoming educated on sustainability and their environment after brands are encouraged to be transparent about their supply chains.

62% of millennials prefer to buy more sustainable products (McKeegan, 2018).

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It takes 2700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt (WWF).

The fashion industry is one the largest polluting industries in the world which needs to change.

Fashion can be beautiful without killing the environment. These small changes would really make a difference and decrease the environmental impacts whilst giving you a new aesthetic to work with.

Circular fashion is becoming more important making it the perfect time to try some of these fresh fabric alternatives.

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ABOVE: 2011 Patagonia Black Friday campaign encouraging customers to ‘think before they buy’ to reduce consumption and environmental impact.

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ABOVE: Grupo Adi dye samples

Title Page

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PREVIOUS PAGE: An image from Greenpeace’s ‘Detox my fashion’ campaign of The Tullahan river in the Philippines with a pink effluent in the river water from textile dyeing factories.

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Synthetic dyes are damaging our health and poisoning our water, this can change.

Synthetic dyes have always been the popular option when it comes to textile dyeing due to the long-lasting and vivid colour pay off. The wide range of colours available makes it almost the only option to many designers.

Although it might make clothes look beautiful, there are serious drawbacks to synthetic dyes which some are unaware of.

The dyes are made up of chemical compounds which are harmful to the environment. Some contain mercury, lead, chromium and sodium chloride and exposure to these chemicals can have severe effects on the human body.

The vibrancy of these dyes make them ideal for the majority of industries from activewear to automotive. As they have been around for so long, industries will benefit from change and the environment certainly will.

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ABOVE: A synthetic colour dyed representation of a rain poncho.

OPPOSITE: Block colour fashion illustration 38

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PREVIOUS PAGE: Abstract dye in water image sourced from Pinterest.

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ABOVE: Prada Fall/Winter 2018 campaign featuring neon lights and fluorescent dyed garments.

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Vivid hues.

Contrasting neutrals.

Theatrical brights.

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The beautiful natural world slowly taking over and injecting colour into the uniform industries.

Natural dyes come from plants, fruits, vegetables and other natural resources. They are organic, vibrant and come in a range of colours although it is sometimes understood that only earthy colours are available.

Over time, the colours do not change completely but do become a softer version of the original which is something to consider depending on what is being dyed. Natural dyes are more expensive than synthetic dyes but one of the reasons for this is the lack of designers using them so the demand is extremely low in the current climate.

In the future, natural dyes are definitely a more economically and environmentally viable option for textile design as well as other large industries.

There are still developments to be made to make them more long lasting but the fashion industry would benefit a great deal from these changes.

As millennials are showing more interest in saving the environment and supporting sustainable brands, it is predicted that sales would stay the same if not increase.

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ABOVE: The flowers that were used to dye the fabrics for Banana Republic’s Summer 2017 collection.

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OPPOSITE: An Indonesian brand, RŪPAHAUS, which creates a wide range of products. Naturally dyed and ethically handmade.

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Earthy neutrals.

Rich tones.

Natural beauty.

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Reference list: *Page 7 https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/fashion/ stella-mccartney-s-autumn-winter-2017campaign-revealed-1.610595 *Page 12 https://www.vegeacompany.com/en/vegeawinner-of-the-peta-innovation-award-inlondon/ *Page 24 https://www.mycoworks.com *Page 31 https://www.sarahbeekmans.com/patagonia/ *Page 33 https://www.adigrupo.com/en/chemicalproducts/textile/textile-dyes-auxiliaries/ *Page 34-35 https://www.greenpeace.org/international/ act/detox/ *Page 40-41 https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ pin/417005246717661287/ *Page 43 https://www.accessoriesmagazine.com/ fall-2018-fashion-campaigns-pradas-neondream/ *Page 52 http://annstreetstudio.com/ngg_tag/pieceand-co/nggallery/image/banana_republic_ piece_and_co_artisans_34 *Page 54 https://www.rupahaus.com/im-fruhling/ 62