FASHION CONSCIOUS VIDEO - FUTURE FABRICS

FASHION CONSCIOUS VIDEO - THE FUTURE OF FABRICS

Seaweed fabric - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p07ktc8g/fashion-conscious-future-fabrics

Today I watched a BBC iPlayer video which surrounded the current worldly issue of textiles waste-pollution. 

The 'Future of Fabrics' exemplified various alternatives to our commonly used, non sustainable man made fabrics which included; Seaweed fabric (as pictured above), salmon leather and yam leaf. The fabrics that came from the fish skin for example were considered sustainable as they were from fish that were already dead and shortly after dyed naturally. Therefore no killing of the fish was involved and consequently no damage to the environment in regards to manufacture pollution. 

Moreover, sustainable fabrics such as recycled materials and 90% organic cotton were also shown as being better alternatives. One supplier in particular which was shown in the video stocks 1 metre of fabric onwards, which avoids any high minimums for those wishing to purchase it and make garments out of it. This consequently encourages people to make their own clothes which is evidently much better for the environment. Not only that, but it also makes people value their clothes much more by knowing who made it (and usually also feeling proud of making it themselves!) which in turn would prevent them frivolously sending items to landfill. 

Fish skin fabric 

However, some negative aspects of these arguably sustainable fabrics were also highlighted in the video. The cost of them being one. Skins from rarely found fish are of course majorly exclusive and therefore the fabrics are luxury, expensive items which thus are not sold in high street stores for the average person to buy. Likewise, this particular fabric also brings ethical issues (as many people wouldn't wear the skin of an animal no matter how it died), as well as sustainable issues in that this fabric is hard and rare to get hold of. 

Therefore looking into the future of fabrics it's evident that if we all demand sustainable fabrics then overtime they will most likely become more affordable. 

But in the mean time, we need to; 

• buy fewer clothes
• stop throwing out unwanted clothes
• check labels 
• stick to our own style (stop buying unnecessary fast fashion items that we'll only wear once)
• instead; buy clothes we love !!