Israt Jahan Eusha
$70 bn is the market value of global denim jeans market which is increasing with a compound annual growth rate of 2%. Consequently, as a reflection, the EPA or Environment Protection Agency is stating its concern after determining that even wastage of textile including denim account is increasing while occupying 5% of the total landfill space. Researchers, environmentalists, manufacturers and stake owners of textile industries are burning the midnight oil to find ways to somehow reduce the wastage caused by textile industries year after year.
The IFC led Advisory Partnership for Cleaner Textile, popularly known as PaCT, is a result of such holistic research from the experts to support the entire textile value chain from spinning, weaving, wet processing to garment production being environment friendly. Another scheme of aligning different textile organizations’ vision with circular fashion economy is Ellen McArthur Foundation which is dedicated to the circulation and regeneration of denim products. The latest fast fashion retailer that has joined in the Jeans redesign project by Ellen McArthur Foundation is Primark, joining with Arvind Limited, Bestseller through the Vero Moda brand, Boyish Jeans, C&A, GAP, Hirdaramani, H&M Group through the H&M and Weekday brands, HNST, Kipas, Lee®, Mud Jeans, OUTERKNOWN, Reformation, Sai-Tex, Tommy Hilfiger.
All these are being done for the satisfaction of the customers. The customers are developing dynamic, unique and state-of-the-art taste for the timeless denim fabrics but at the same time they are conscious for the environment now more than ever before. For this reason, the manufacturers are trying to find ways which can give the customers the pleasure of wearing their desired outwear without disastrous impact to the environment.
We all can agree to one thing that the projection based on which the amount of goods to be manufactured are determined is obtained from the demand from customers. The demand directly comes from the customers. Therefore, to keep the environment free from getting harmed, the customers should work with hands clasped with manufacturers and sustainability officers.
One way of saving environment from falling victim to the textile wastages is increasing the life cycle of the garment. There is no need to be privy about upcycling a denim product because upcycling ensures the denim to be adding an enhanced value in the consumer’s life rather than being dumped in the environment for the reason of not being brand new. People get hung up on the foundation of fashion industry which is bringing newness to the closet with passing time. The never-ending impulse of bringing something new pushes everyone to get rid of the old stuff even though they are quite usable. We have to call a spade a spade by admitting that fast fashion is here to say even though many awareness programs are running everywhere about the harmful effect of fast fashion on the environment. The world has witnessed previously how fast food was named junk food and awareness were being spread all around the world to keep people healthy. Still fast-food chains are going strong all around the world. In the same way, fast fashion would stay making people want to have more and more new clothes. People are consuming fast fashion without considering the condition of their health. Hence people will keep consuming fast fashion without thinking about environment’s health. That is why we are going to introduce multiple ways to use your denim garment in different ways to give them the vibe of becoming brand new. There are so many interesting ways to upcycle a denim that can mesmerize anyone and people can get these products even by going through DIY or “Do it yourself”.
Denim Lounger Cover can show you how the denims are turned into a unique cover to give your lounger a funky and edgy look. You can place the lounger in a cozy corner of your house to spend quality time with your family and friends.
Winter is knocking at the door and we all are unboxing our winter wear and warm clothes. Quilts and rugs are being washed and dusted to stay warm in the cold winter days. Hence a cute Denim Quilt can be made by cutting and sewing old denim garments. In the similar way, we can make Denim.
Denims can be turned into stylish bags and wallets. In this way, we will not need to spend excessive money to get a brand-new bag or wallet. Also, we all are aware of the tenacity and strength of the denim fabrics which will ensure that our belongings are safe inside our denim bags, no matter how heavy they are. Thus, we will be able to get trending products for ourselves while contributing into upcycling.
We are talking about home appliances and “a home is where mom is”. Our mothers are key person to look after the nourishment of all the family members while making sure we are getting the tastiest cuisines of all time. Therefore, if we are planning to upcycle denim, we can upcycle it to something useful in the kitchen which can be Denim pot holders or woven mittens. Thus, we can increase lifeline of the denim as well. In the same way, denim water coster or table napkin can.
Denim lamp shade can be one of the most unique home decorations at the house. It would be quite soothing sitting in the fading light of the denim lamp shade. This unique lamp models can be used or gifted to people through DIYs. Imagine taking a old ragged pair of jeans from your friend that has been sitting on their closet for so long without any purpose to be thrown away any time, and returning them a brand new lamp shade.
Denim plant pots can be used to nurture nature rather than destroying nature being a textile pollution. These pots can be made in so many forms and design that would give your garden an elegant and refreshing look. This upcycling will give everyone a sense of doing something good for the nature and acting in responsible way towards the nature.
Home decorations can be created from denims. So many different flower patterns can be made from denim that it can turn any boring wall or corner of your house or office into an interesting one. There is no chance of getting bored with differently patterned denim flowers. Also, we know how denim fabrics are famous for the little necessity of being washed. Therefore, these beautiful home decorations would not even need your attention to be cleaned and washed every now and then.
Not only the home appliances, the denims can be upcycled into many decorative stuffs as well. Denims can be used for decorating our houses and adorning ourselves as well. Thus, we can get many ideas to turn denims into home decorations or different sort of jewelries such as choker, bracelet and earrings. The more creative a person is, the more versatile upcycling of the denim can be done by them. We can upcycle denims from shoes for legs to scrunchies for head. But that is a discussion for another time as we intended to discuss on upcycling denims for non-wearable purposes only.
We would like to conclude our upcycling ideas with materials required at our offices. We can convert old denim garments into lunch bags, wall hanger and pen holders as well to decorate our office cubicle and customize it in our own way.
Textile pollution and environment crisis are forcing everyone to rethink the economy. It is known to all that 100% cotton takes 1 week or up to 5 months based on its weight the compost it is subjected to for getting biodegraded. The linen can only be fully biodegradable if it is 100% pure and not dyed or coated at all. Wool takes 1 year to even longer time to get decomposed. Hemp and silk start decomposing after 2 weeks if subjected to proper compost. Polyester and nylon can be expected to degrade after rigorous processes which can take 20 years to even 200 years. But spandex, being entirely non-biodegradable, can never be expected to return to the environment in a basic form which can be nourishing to the environment. As a matter of fact, all the mentioned fibers can never become biodegradable as they are always blended with other fibers in the fabric form and they are always heavily coated with many materials. Therefore, everyone is trying their heart and soul to make effective use of resources and shifting towards alternative renewable materials. The transformation of the way we use and consume the textiles can also contribute in the preservation of the environment. Thus, we should find various ways to upcycle our denim and increase its life cycle by not only wearing it but also converting into multiple household stuff when we think about throwing a perfectly usable garment into the dumpster for the sake of upgrading our cupboard to cope up with the fast fashion.
References
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/72493
https://www.textilepact.net/what-is-pact.html
https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/cop26
https://coveteur.com/2020/10/16/extending-garments-life-cycle/
https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/make-fashion-circular-launches-the-jeans-redesign
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