Transforming Fashion with Regenerative Textile Waste Management

Presenting at Australian Fashion Week was not something I would have predicted as a researcher focused on biotechnology and photosynthesis. But it was really encouraging to see how strongly the conversation around sustainable fashion is embracing bio-based solutions. It was a fascinating discussion alongside fellow panelists exploring the future of education in fashion and textiles, supply chain integration, university–industry collaboration, and emerging sustainability innovations. I was excited to share some of the work we are doing on #algae-based textiles and dye binders, and to discuss circularity in fashion from the perspective of waste integration into fibre production through novel fertiliser sources. There was strong interest in how the textile sector can transition from petrochemical-derived feedstocks toward bio-based alternatives. Encouraging to see science, sustainability, and design increasingly intersecting in ways that create real opportunities for innovation and industry transformation. Lisa Lake, Alice Payne, RACHAEL CASSAR Photo: Timo Rissanen

Do you know the THREE levels of waste in fashion today? We’re deep diving into waste with ANASTASIA VOUYOUKA who has over 40 years experience in fit and pattern making Running a multi € m enterprise that has spanned the last 30 years Anastasia has travelled the world advocating against waste Anastasia comments; ‘In the design process there is only a basic level for consumer consideration. Most times brands are watering down design, sizes and making wrong assumptions in the pattern process and style interpretation. Original design usually starts with an image then there’s a babylonian process! Communication becomes a labyrinth which is a confusing process both for ideas and for technical issues, with often no common language of communication’. People don’t realise that waste starts at the FIRST level and then accumulates into manufacture and then consumers throw away the garments - or do they! Jennifer Holloway will be sharing Fashion-Enter’s policies on sustainability that has contributed to Fashion-Enter Ltd/ FashionCapital being awarded the The King's Awards for Enterprise last week We welcome one of our star learners from our Fashion Technology Academy Paul Markevicius who has a successful consultancy business operating for brands mainly in Europe. Paul will be providing reflections from the manufacturing process ANASTASIA VOUYOUKA further comments ‘Design has failed its purpose by trying to make the product for everyone!’ We’re going to unpick waste! Join us for this free seminar on Monday 18th May 1:30 -2:30 https://lnkd.in/ekSEmbAh

Less talk more action - stop the waste! One reoccurring theme from Leicester Made & Regions was ‘a little less conversation and a bit more action please’! Well, this is why we need to look at waste and in particular lean design processes and systems I’ve known ANASTASIA VOUYOUKA for almost 15 years and she’s never wavered on her commitment to getting that sampling process right first time then ensuring construction is right for production We’re also going to explore other areas of sustainability so your brand can be proud to use that very over used word in fashion today - sustainable! Paul Markevicius it’s been years! Are you still wearing those amazing waistcoats! See you Monday!

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) just dropped a deep dive into the new era of biomaterials and we’re proud to see BioFluff’s Savian leading the conversation. The global fashion industry is at a turning point. We’re moving beyond the choice between animal products and oil-based synthetics. With Savian, we’ve created a 100% plant-based alternative that meets the tactile standards of the luxury world using organic fibers like hemp and flax. A huge thank you to Emma Håkansson and the team at CFDA for the thoughtful feature and for highlighting the shift toward materials that are grown, not extracted. Read the full insight here - https://lnkd.in/e3jabJJS

Spot on! #beautyindustry's sustainability shift isn't just a "nice-to-have", it's a massive opportunity to turn waste liabilities into competitive assets. But it demands a #systemic gaze: bridging fashion waste and beauty packaging under one circular roof. That's where #Respetto® shines, co-designing R-polymers that scale. Let's connect the dots!

Most Beauty & Fashion brands are sitting on an untapped circularity opportunity and don't even know it. Rethink your operating model: textile scraps + beauty packaging waste = your next competitive edge. Fashion generates 92 million tons of textile waste per year. Beauty generates 11 million tons of post-consumer plastic packaging, 40% of it from beauty and personal care alone. Under an EPR framework, these liabilities often belong to the same company. Yet the teams never talk to each other. Here's what a circular operating model sees that a siloed one doesn't: The waste from one division is the secondary raw material for another. Fashion's pre-consumer offcuts, deadstock, and unsellable returns can become the input feedstock for the beauty team's packaging line. The beauty division's post-use bottles can re-enter a certified loop instead of ending up in a landfill. What's missing is an operating model designed to close it. This is exactly what Respetto® technology enables. Respetto® technology can transform your entire fashion waste stream, every fibre type, every offcut, every unsellable return, into  R-polymers. The functional properties are not fixed: they are co-designed with your team, tailored to the specific performance requirements of your packaging line. That's where the real potential of the technology lies. Once the project specs are defined, it scales to industrial volumes. Mixed fibres and leather offcuts go in. Clean thermoplastic granules come out, ready for bottles, pumps, jars, and functional coatings. Food-contact safe. Durable. Fully traceable The business case is straightforward: — Lower virgin polymer procurement costs — directly off your material spend — EU Green Deal compliance, ahead of mandatory timelines — A brand-owned circularity story that holds up to scrutiny — Total system optimisation, not sustainability greenwashing If you work in eco-packaging for beauty or fashion, as a brand, a supplier, or a packaging developer, let's build something together. #CircularEconomy #SustainableBeauty #FashionTech #Respetto #EcoPackaging Alfredo Montanari Debora Montefiori Maria Silvia Pazzi Gloria Mondini Benedetta Calgarini Marco Solfrini

This is incredible 👏🏽 Thank you Bezos Earth Fund for investing in the future of sustainable fashion. It breaks my heart seeing the mountains of waste piling up in our community landfills. What do we do with them? Burn them and release harmful chemicals into the air our children breathe? Bury them and poison the soil? Or throw them into the ocean to harm marine life? No. We must find a better way. At https://blvr.space, we’re turning this waste into valuable, durable, and beautiful fashion pieces. Follow us for the future of circular fashion BLVR.SPACE

*️⃣ Management Articles Digest #9 *️⃣ --- #️⃣ The fashion industry produces 10% of global CO₂ emissions — more than aviation and maritime combined. Yet most brands are still addicted to overproduction. There is a research paper in one of the leadership journals, which introduces a practical framework to help and trigger fashion companies break this cycle. --- 🔷 **The Quadrilateral Sustainability Model** The corporate approach for the same is described below: 1. **Durability-Centric Design** — Build clothes that last, reducing replacement cycles and waste. 2. **Disjunctive Product/Service Approaches** — Shift from selling to repairing, and reselling. 3. **Equitable Promotion & Information** — Transparent, honest marketing that empowers consumers. 4. **Circular Product Life Cycle Management** — Design for recyclability; close the loop on textile waste. --- 📊 **Real Companies Leading the Way** #Patagonia — Worn Wear program repairs 100,000+ items per year #H&M — "Let's Close the Loop" in-store textile recycling since 2013 #Levi's — Second Hand buy-back & resale keeping denim out of landfills #Vinted — Peer-to-peer marketplace keeping garments in circulation --- 🔺 **Pyramid of Business Strategies** 5️⃣ Continuous Improvement & Innovation 4️⃣ Sustainable Marketing & Consumer Education 3️⃣ Collaborative Consumption Models 2️⃣ Circular Product Design & Manufacturing 1️⃣ Ethical Sourcing & Transparency ← Foundation --- In short, Sustainable fashion isn't just good for the planet — it's good for business. Responsible practices build consumer trust, open new revenue streams, and future-proof brands in a rapidly changing market. The urgency is real. The roadmap exists. Now it's time to act ! --- #Sustainability #FastFashion #CircularEconomy #ESG #FashionIndustry #GreenBusiness #ResponsibleConsumption #Greenwashing #MBA #ManagementResearch

TESTEX CIRCULARITY is now part of a global BBC StoryWorks film on the future of fashion. Featured together with ARC’TERYX in the series Fashion Redressed, TESTEX shows how circularity can be supported through durability testing, measurable product performance, and independent verification. For Indonesia’s textile and apparel industry, this matters because global brands are looking for more than circularity claims. They are looking for proof. That means manufacturers need credible ways to demonstrate: • Product durability • Material and design performance • Measurable circularity progress • Independent verification • Alignment with evolving brand expectations With TESTEX CIRCULARITY, we support companies in moving from ambition to measurable action at product level. The BBC StoryWorks feature highlights TESTEX’s leadership in advancing practical, science based solutions for circular textiles, and why measurable performance is becoming more important across global supply chains. 🎥 Watch the film to see how circularity can be tested, verified, and brought into practice. #Circularity #TextileIndustry #Innovation #Sustainability #Durability This film was produced for TESTEX by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions

The wheel wasn’t invented for transportation. It was invented for fashion.** 🧵✨ Long before it revolutionized logistics, the very first wheel used by humanity was the **spindle whorl**—a small, circular tool designed to spin raw fiber into yarn. Before we moved goods, we moved threads. This means the foundation of human innovation is deeply intertwined with the world of textiles. The circular motion that once created the first yarns has evolved into the driving force behind today's global fashion industry. But today, that "circle" needs a new meaning. 🔄 As the fashion and textile industries continue to evolve, the focus is shifting from the mechanical wheel to the **circular economy**. True innovation today isn’t just about creating beautiful yarn; it’s about sustainability. > **The future of fashion relies on making the wheel come full circle:** > * **Sourcing:** Choosing organic, regenerative, or recycled fibers. > * **Production:** Minimizing waste and water footprint in spinning and weaving. > * **Longevity:** Designing garments built to last, reuse, and eventually biodegrade. > From the ancient spindle to the modern sustainable supply chain, the story of the yarn has always been about shaping the future. Let’s make sure the future we are spinning is a green one. 🌍 Orsola de Castro WRÅD #TextileIndustry #SustainableFashion #CircularEconomy #FashionHistory #Innovation #Sustainability #YarnSpinning