THE RABBIT HOLE
IMAGINE FOR A SECOND TAKING A PIECE OF PAPER, CUTTING A CIRCLE FROM THAT PAGE, AND THROWING AWAY THE REST OF THE PAPER (BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED IT ANYMORE, RIGHT?). SOUNDS WASTEFUL, RIGHT? WE THINK SO TOO.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S HOW 99.9% OF ALL GARMENTS ARE DESIGNED AND MADE TODAY. FLAT SHAPES ARE CUT, SEWN TOGETHER, AND VOILA- YOU HAVE A ______. RIGHT NOW, THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE FOR ALL CLOTHING IS 20-25% OF WASTE.
TAKING A CROSS-SECTION OF ALL THE CLOTHING MANUFACTURED WORLDWIDE EVERY YEAR, THAT'S A LOT OF WASTED FABRIC. AN ESTIMATED 60 BILLION METERS, TO BE EXACT.
OF COURSE, IT DIDN'T ALWAYS USED TO BE THIS WAY, AND ZERO WASTE ISN'T TECHNICALLY ANYTHING NEW. BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, FABRIC WAS RARE AND EXTREMELY LABOR INTENSIVE AND HARD TO COME BY. AS A RESULT, USING EVERY BIT OF FABRIC IN CLOTHING WAS CRUCIAL. THE KIMONO IS ONE SUCH GARMENT, ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST EVER ZERO WASTE GARMENTS.
OF COURSE, THERE'S ONLY ONE PROBLEM: EVERYTHING FITS LIKE A BOX. WITH THE ADVANTAGE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION'S ABILITY TO MANUFACTURE FABRIC ON A MASSIVE SCALE, ALSO CAME ADVANCEMENTS IN APPAREL DESIGN: PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SHAPE AND FORM. OF COURSE, THEN, WE'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE: WASTEFUL DESIGN. AND THE SOLUTION? SOMETHING NEITHER THE FASHION INDUSTRY NOR HISTORY HAS EVER SEEN: MODERN ZERO WASTE.
AND THAT'S MODERN ZERO WASTE'S GOAL: HOW DO WE USE ALL OF THE FABRIC, WITHOUT COMPROMISING ON FIT AND FORM? AND WHAT EXACTLY DO ZERO WASTE PATTERNS LOOK LIKE? HOW DOES ZERO WASTE FALL WITHIN SUSTAINABILITY AT LARGE, AND WHAT ARE THE NUANCES WITHIN ZERO WASTE ITSELF?
WELCOME TO THE RABBIT HOLE OF MODERN ZERO WASTE.
TO GET TO THE HEART OF THE ISSUE, WE HAVE TO: 1) DEFINE ZERO WASTE APPAREL IN ITS SIMPLEST AIMS, 3) DEFINE ZERO WASTE DESIGN & HOW DECODE APPLIES AND IMPLEMENTS TRUE ZERO WASTE, 2) DEFINING THE NUANCES OF VARIOUS ZERO WASTE APPAREL APPLICATIONS 3) A COMPLETE ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF OTHERS' TAKE OF ZERO WASTE
1) THE SIMPLEST DEFINITION OF ZERO WASTE IN APPAREL: REMOVING ALL WASTE FROM THE FASHION INDUSTRY.
2) ZERO WASTE DESIGN: USING COMPLEX PATTERN ENGINEERING TO ACHIEVE 100% PATTERN EFFICIENCY, MEANING ALL FABRIC IS USED THE FIRST TIME. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTANDING HOW WE DEFINE TRUE ZERO WASTE.
3) AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ZERO WASTE IS REALLY AN UMBRELLA TERM. WE WOULD LOVE FOR ALL FORMS OF ZERO WASTE TO BE TRUE ZERO WASTE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE TOO MANY APPLICATIONS FOR US TO IGNORE.
SECOND, THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALL "ZERO WASTE" METHODS AND APPLICATIONS REQUIRES AN UNDERSTANDING OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSES, PARTICULARLY "BEFORE," AND "AFTER."
THE CONCEPTS WE NEED TO INTRODUCE ARE: PRE/MID/POST PRODUCTION, AND PRE/POST CONSUMER.
PRE-PRODUCTION: THIS IS LARGELY CONSIDERED THE DESIGN PHASE
MID-PRODUCTION: HOW A DESIGN IS MANUFACTURED
POST-PRODUCTION: WHAT IS LEFT OVER AFTER THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
PRE-CONSUMER: ANYTHING EVER INVOLVED BEFORE A CUSTOMER BUYS A PRODUCT
POST-CONSUMER: THE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT, ACCESSORIES TO THE PRODUCT( WRAPPING, PACKAGING, ETC) AND HOW THAT PRODUCT IS DISPOSED OF AT "END OF LIFE." IN SUSTAINABILITY TERMS, THIS IS HOW PRODUCT IS TREATED WHEN A CUSTOMER IS FINISHED WITH THE PRODUCT, AND WHETHER THE PRODUCT/ACCESSORIES ARE RECYCLABLE, RECLAIMABLE, ETC.
CUT & SEW PRODUCTION: THIS IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF PRODUCTION, BY A SIGNIFICANT MARGIN. IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE OF APPAREL PRODUCTION, CUT & SEW PRODUCTION IS LIKELY TO CONTINUE BEING THE MAJORITY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
THE ONLY PROPER WAY TO MAKE A REAL JUDGEMENT CALL IS TO GRADE THESE APPLICATIONS ON TWO IMPORTANT FACTORS: SCALABILITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS. IN SHORT: IS ALL WASTE TRULY REMOVED FROM THE PROCESS? HOW REPEATABLE, SCALABLE, AND EQUIPPED IS THIS PROCESS IN TRANSFORMING HOW WE REMOVE ALL WASTE FROM THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS?
PRE/MID PRODUCTION X PRE-CONSUMER WASTE: WASTE IS NEVER CREATED (TRUE ZERO WASTE) (+/+)
ZERO WASTE DESIGN/PATTERN ENGINEERING FOR CUT & SEW PRODUCTION (IDEAL: ACHIEVES ZERO WASTE, AND IS IMMINENTLY IMPLEMENTABLE/SCALABLE): THIS IS DECODE'S BRAND OF ZERO WASTE. HERE ALL PATTERNS ARE 100% EFFICIENT. WHEN PAIRED WITH CUT & SEW PRODUCTION, NO WASTE IS LEFT IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS, MEANING ALL FABRIC IS USED THE FIRST TIME. BECAUSE CUT & SEW IS HOW MOST GARMENTS ARE MADE, THEN IMPLEMENTING ZERO WASTE DESIGNS ON A MASS SCALE IS IMMEDIATELY POSSIBLE.
3-D KNITTING (IDEALL: ACHIEVES TRUE ZERO WASTE, BUT IS NOT YET QUITE TRULY SCALABLE): THIS METHOD RE-INVENTS THE METHOD OF PRODUCTION. WHILE IT ACHIEVES TRUE ZERO WASTE AND REMOVES DESIGN LIMITATIONS, THIS METHOD OF MANUFACTURING REQUIRES 3D KNITTING MACHINES, TECHNICIANS. THIS POSES ITS OWN QUESTIONS OF IMMINENT SCALABILITY, BUT WILL LIKELY SOLVE THESE ISSUES IN TIME.
POST-PRODUCTION X PRE-CONSUMER WASTE: REPURPOSING THE BY-PRODUCTS OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS THAT NEVER MADE IT INTO A GARMENT (+/-)
RE-ROLL (IN THIS CASE, USES PRE-CONSUMER FABRIC SCRAPS, STILL LEAVES SMALLER SCRAPS IN PRODUCTION, NON-SCALABLE)
DEADSTOCK** (USES PRE-CONSUMER LEFTOVER FABRIC ROLLS, NON-SCALABLE, STILL WASTEFUL IF NOT USING ZERO WASTE DESIGN PATTERNS)
RECYCLED FABRIC (UNKNOWN CARBON FOOTPRINT, SCALABLE, BUT STILL WASTES 20% OF FABRIC IF USED WITH NON ZERO WASTE DESIGN PATTERNS)
POST-PRODUCTION X POST-CONSUMER WASTE: REPURPOSING GARMENTS/FABRIC FROM GARMENTS (-/-)
RE-ROLL (USES POST-CONSUMER SCRAPS FROM GARMENTS, NON-SCALABLE, STILL LEAVES FABRIC SCRAPS)
UPCYCLING: (REPURPOSING USED OR UNSOLD GARMENTS, LEAVES SCRAPS, NON-SCALABLE)
RECYCLED FABRIC (UNKNOWN CARBON FOOTPRINT, SCALABLE, BUT STILL WASTES 20% OF FABRIC IF USED WITH NON ZERO WASTE DESIGN PATTERNS)
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S HOW 99.9% OF ALL GARMENTS ARE DESIGNED AND MADE TODAY. FLAT SHAPES ARE CUT, SEWN TOGETHER, AND VOILA- YOU HAVE A ______. RIGHT NOW, THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE FOR ALL CLOTHING IS 20-25% OF WASTE.
TAKING A CROSS-SECTION OF ALL THE CLOTHING MANUFACTURED WORLDWIDE EVERY YEAR, THAT'S A LOT OF WASTED FABRIC. AN ESTIMATED 60 BILLION METERS, TO BE EXACT.
OF COURSE, IT DIDN'T ALWAYS USED TO BE THIS WAY, AND ZERO WASTE ISN'T TECHNICALLY ANYTHING NEW. BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, FABRIC WAS RARE AND EXTREMELY LABOR INTENSIVE AND HARD TO COME BY. AS A RESULT, USING EVERY BIT OF FABRIC IN CLOTHING WAS CRUCIAL. THE KIMONO IS ONE SUCH GARMENT, ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST EVER ZERO WASTE GARMENTS.
OF COURSE, THERE'S ONLY ONE PROBLEM: EVERYTHING FITS LIKE A BOX. WITH THE ADVANTAGE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION'S ABILITY TO MANUFACTURE FABRIC ON A MASSIVE SCALE, ALSO CAME ADVANCEMENTS IN APPAREL DESIGN: PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SHAPE AND FORM. OF COURSE, THEN, WE'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE: WASTEFUL DESIGN. AND THE SOLUTION? SOMETHING NEITHER THE FASHION INDUSTRY NOR HISTORY HAS EVER SEEN: MODERN ZERO WASTE.
AND THAT'S MODERN ZERO WASTE'S GOAL: HOW DO WE USE ALL OF THE FABRIC, WITHOUT COMPROMISING ON FIT AND FORM? AND WHAT EXACTLY DO ZERO WASTE PATTERNS LOOK LIKE? HOW DOES ZERO WASTE FALL WITHIN SUSTAINABILITY AT LARGE, AND WHAT ARE THE NUANCES WITHIN ZERO WASTE ITSELF?
WELCOME TO THE RABBIT HOLE OF MODERN ZERO WASTE.
TO GET TO THE HEART OF THE ISSUE, WE HAVE TO: 1) DEFINE ZERO WASTE APPAREL IN ITS SIMPLEST AIMS, 3) DEFINE ZERO WASTE DESIGN & HOW DECODE APPLIES AND IMPLEMENTS TRUE ZERO WASTE, 2) DEFINING THE NUANCES OF VARIOUS ZERO WASTE APPAREL APPLICATIONS 3) A COMPLETE ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF OTHERS' TAKE OF ZERO WASTE
1) THE SIMPLEST DEFINITION OF ZERO WASTE IN APPAREL: REMOVING ALL WASTE FROM THE FASHION INDUSTRY.
2) ZERO WASTE DESIGN: USING COMPLEX PATTERN ENGINEERING TO ACHIEVE 100% PATTERN EFFICIENCY, MEANING ALL FABRIC IS USED THE FIRST TIME. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTANDING HOW WE DEFINE TRUE ZERO WASTE.
3) AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ZERO WASTE IS REALLY AN UMBRELLA TERM. WE WOULD LOVE FOR ALL FORMS OF ZERO WASTE TO BE TRUE ZERO WASTE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE TOO MANY APPLICATIONS FOR US TO IGNORE.
SECOND, THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALL "ZERO WASTE" METHODS AND APPLICATIONS REQUIRES AN UNDERSTANDING OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSES, PARTICULARLY "BEFORE," AND "AFTER."
THE CONCEPTS WE NEED TO INTRODUCE ARE: PRE/MID/POST PRODUCTION, AND PRE/POST CONSUMER.
PRE-PRODUCTION: THIS IS LARGELY CONSIDERED THE DESIGN PHASE
MID-PRODUCTION: HOW A DESIGN IS MANUFACTURED
POST-PRODUCTION: WHAT IS LEFT OVER AFTER THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
PRE-CONSUMER: ANYTHING EVER INVOLVED BEFORE A CUSTOMER BUYS A PRODUCT
POST-CONSUMER: THE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT, ACCESSORIES TO THE PRODUCT( WRAPPING, PACKAGING, ETC) AND HOW THAT PRODUCT IS DISPOSED OF AT "END OF LIFE." IN SUSTAINABILITY TERMS, THIS IS HOW PRODUCT IS TREATED WHEN A CUSTOMER IS FINISHED WITH THE PRODUCT, AND WHETHER THE PRODUCT/ACCESSORIES ARE RECYCLABLE, RECLAIMABLE, ETC.
CUT & SEW PRODUCTION: THIS IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF PRODUCTION, BY A SIGNIFICANT MARGIN. IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE OF APPAREL PRODUCTION, CUT & SEW PRODUCTION IS LIKELY TO CONTINUE BEING THE MAJORITY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
THE ONLY PROPER WAY TO MAKE A REAL JUDGEMENT CALL IS TO GRADE THESE APPLICATIONS ON TWO IMPORTANT FACTORS: SCALABILITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS. IN SHORT: IS ALL WASTE TRULY REMOVED FROM THE PROCESS? HOW REPEATABLE, SCALABLE, AND EQUIPPED IS THIS PROCESS IN TRANSFORMING HOW WE REMOVE ALL WASTE FROM THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS?
PRE/MID PRODUCTION X PRE-CONSUMER WASTE: WASTE IS NEVER CREATED (TRUE ZERO WASTE) (+/+)
ZERO WASTE DESIGN/PATTERN ENGINEERING FOR CUT & SEW PRODUCTION (IDEAL: ACHIEVES ZERO WASTE, AND IS IMMINENTLY IMPLEMENTABLE/SCALABLE): THIS IS DECODE'S BRAND OF ZERO WASTE. HERE ALL PATTERNS ARE 100% EFFICIENT. WHEN PAIRED WITH CUT & SEW PRODUCTION, NO WASTE IS LEFT IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS, MEANING ALL FABRIC IS USED THE FIRST TIME. BECAUSE CUT & SEW IS HOW MOST GARMENTS ARE MADE, THEN IMPLEMENTING ZERO WASTE DESIGNS ON A MASS SCALE IS IMMEDIATELY POSSIBLE.
3-D KNITTING (IDEALL: ACHIEVES TRUE ZERO WASTE, BUT IS NOT YET QUITE TRULY SCALABLE): THIS METHOD RE-INVENTS THE METHOD OF PRODUCTION. WHILE IT ACHIEVES TRUE ZERO WASTE AND REMOVES DESIGN LIMITATIONS, THIS METHOD OF MANUFACTURING REQUIRES 3D KNITTING MACHINES, TECHNICIANS. THIS POSES ITS OWN QUESTIONS OF IMMINENT SCALABILITY, BUT WILL LIKELY SOLVE THESE ISSUES IN TIME.
POST-PRODUCTION X PRE-CONSUMER WASTE: REPURPOSING THE BY-PRODUCTS OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS THAT NEVER MADE IT INTO A GARMENT (+/-)
RE-ROLL (IN THIS CASE, USES PRE-CONSUMER FABRIC SCRAPS, STILL LEAVES SMALLER SCRAPS IN PRODUCTION, NON-SCALABLE)
DEADSTOCK** (USES PRE-CONSUMER LEFTOVER FABRIC ROLLS, NON-SCALABLE, STILL WASTEFUL IF NOT USING ZERO WASTE DESIGN PATTERNS)
RECYCLED FABRIC (UNKNOWN CARBON FOOTPRINT, SCALABLE, BUT STILL WASTES 20% OF FABRIC IF USED WITH NON ZERO WASTE DESIGN PATTERNS)
POST-PRODUCTION X POST-CONSUMER WASTE: REPURPOSING GARMENTS/FABRIC FROM GARMENTS (-/-)
RE-ROLL (USES POST-CONSUMER SCRAPS FROM GARMENTS, NON-SCALABLE, STILL LEAVES FABRIC SCRAPS)
UPCYCLING: (REPURPOSING USED OR UNSOLD GARMENTS, LEAVES SCRAPS, NON-SCALABLE)
RECYCLED FABRIC (UNKNOWN CARBON FOOTPRINT, SCALABLE, BUT STILL WASTES 20% OF FABRIC IF USED WITH NON ZERO WASTE DESIGN PATTERNS)