Fashion and Sportswear brands take urgent action to utilise recycled material waste

SEAQUAL ™ changes plastic waste to filament yarns.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

There is no time to wait and see with the critical problem we are facing on this planet after many years of not realising the damage that plastics, despite their amazing range of usefulness, have contributed to polluting our environment, our oceans, our cities, our countryside, and affecting the health of all living beings, ourselves, our nature and our wildlife.

The BBC nature programme Blue Planet II had driven the message hard and highlighted the immense urgency we are facing in one of their critically-acclaimed programmes hosted by nature guru and UK national treasure David Attenborough.

One shocking fact we have learned is that less than 50% of the 480 billion plastic bottles sold in 2016 were collected for recycling. It is indeed a responsibility of all of us to take action and tackle this irreversible global crisis.

Sundried sportswear made from
recycled plastics.

While politicians, activists and environmental agencies are reportedly taking action plans to promote recycling and minimising waste, many companies and brands are giving new lease of life to recycled plastic bottles by turning the waste into new ethical and environmental friendly products.

One such company is activewear brand Sundried whose sportswear range is made from 100% recycled materials including plastic bottles.

While helping to clean up the global excess of plastic bottles which would otherwise take thousands or even millions of years to decompose naturally Sundried are also reducing harmful emissions and water waste used to create new textiles.

Sundried was founded by personal trainer and triathlete Daniel Puddick. His goal was to create a brand that his children would be proud to be associated with in years to come.

Puddick says: "Being a parent makes you think about the bigger picture for the world, so business for me now is more than just creating a financially successful brand."

From the ten-piece pilot collection launched in 2016, Puddick has grown Sundried in size and together with his small team of designers have created sportswear made from recycled materials whilst ensuring a low carbon footprint.

Sundried activewear made from recycled materials
including coffee waste.

Sundried founder Puddick adds: "Creating collections made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled coffee waste has been a really exciting part of this journey and we are continuing to research the best, ethically-sourced materials available."

Fashioned from Nature exhibition - Victoria and Albert Museum, London until January 27 2019.
Photo © by Lucia Carpio 2018.

Of course Sundried is just one of many brands and designers who are all too aware of the plastic crisis and material waste.  Designs by the likes of Nike, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney are on show among fashion specimens highlighting the close relationship between fashion and the environment at the Fashioned from Nature exhibition currently on at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.  Forming an important of the exhibition is the forcus on practices in the fashion industry that threaten people, the lives and the environment.  Running until January 27 2019, this is billed as the first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature over the last few centuries, from 1600 to the present day.

Recognising that urgent action is required quickly to tackle marine plastics pollution, a Spanish company of textile fibres has recently unveiled its commitments to initiate a new eco-friendly yarns called SEAQUAL ™ filament yarn made out of plastic waste retrieved from the ocean.

Seaqual 4U was founded in 2016 to tackle marine pollution with as a starting point the recovery of plastic waste collected in the oceans and recycling them into a range of continuous and discontinuous yarns.

Its ingenious plan is to dredge then upcycle plastics from the bottom of the sea and turn them into fibres and yarns.  The company partners with some 400 fishing boats off Spanish coasts that help it to collect the plastic waste.

The company has thus set up a virtuous chain involving various stakeholders in the textile industry including spinners, weavers and brands. 

SEAQUAL ™  fibres is a real catalyst engaging the entire textile industry and thus inspire consumers to buy products made of sustainable fabrics made from recycled plastics.

New innovations from SEAQUAL ™ will include exclusive yarns in staple fibres for blending with other fibres such as recycled cotton, Tencel ® , viscose, wool, linen and will be available as both continuous and discontinuous versions in their natural ecru shade or dyed into different colours. 

RepAir is the first smart T-shirt that cleans the air around you.

A recent analysis by the BBC showed that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe in polluted air everyday, based on recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO),  while the British Lung Foundation has also revealed that people in towns and cities across the UK are living with ‘dangerous levels’ of air pollution.

Thus it is remarkable to hear that a new technology incorporated into clothing can be utilised to combat air pollution.

Italian garment company Kloters has come up with its own smart T-shirt under the brand RepAir, which is described to be capable of cleaning air pollution using a unique technology.

According to Kloters, RepAir is a genderless cotton t-shirt entirely produced in Italy by trusted suppliers.  It utilizes “theBreath®”, a patented material, certified according to ISO, ANSI /AHAM AC – 1- 2002 standard, that captures pollutants including NOx, Sox, bacteria and unpleasant odours.

The RepAir t-shirts are available in black and white, are made in high-grade cotton with reinforced seams. Laboratory tests demonstrate that every T-shirt removes the pollution created in one year by two cars, says the company.

According to Kloters, “theBreath®” technology is based on a “three-layered system”, three active parts with different and complementary positions and roles.  It is the core of this technology, made of carbon mesh on a polyester substrate mixed with active nano-molecules, and its main function is to adsorb gassy pollutants, making the air cleaner and more breathable.   The activating nano-molecules block the impurities inside its fabric structure and prevent them from being released back into the environment.

The RepAir T-shirt features a micro-zip in which “theBreath®” is inserted in a zipped pocket and can be removed when the T-shirt is ready to be laundered.

Imagine if each of the 2 billion T-shirts sold in the world each year could clean the air around the persons wearing them, what positive impact it would have on our polluted world?

RepAir will be available on Kickstarter in May, while it will be sold in stores and on www.kloters.com starting from June.

HanesBrands and US National Park Foundation launch exclusive apparel range

The magnificent landscape of YellowStone Park, USA with the Rockies in the background.  Photo © Lucia Carpio 

The national parks and landmark destinations of America are well-known the world over for their great beauty and regal scale.

Awe-inspiring grizzly bears and wildlife are major attractions one
can spot in US National Parks. Photo © Lucia Carpio

Having visited many of them, I am pleased to learn HanesBrands - best known for everyday basic innerwear and activewear apparel – along with the US’s own National Park Foundation (NPF) @GoParks is launching an exclusive new collection of apparel celebrating the magnificence of America’s natural, cultural and historic treasures, just in time to celebrate the country’s National Park Week.



Look for the Hanes short-sleeve T-shirts, which feature Golden Gate, Rocky Mountain, Zion and Sequoia national parks, the “Pack it In, Pack it Out” message and, for the first time ever on product, a licensed logo from the National Park Service.   The logo, unveiled in 2014 as an expansion of the National Park Service brand family, complements the iconic Arrowhead that continues to serve as the official insignia of the National Park Service.

“Wear your love of parks on your sleeve with apparel that gives back to our national treasures in a huge way,” said National Park Foundation President Will Shafroth.

HanesBrands is the first National Park Foundation partner to launch product incorporating this licensed logo as part of the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement to help raise awareness about America’s national parks.

The inaugural designs - first-of-its-kind apparel collection are initially available online at hanes.com/nationalparks.

The licensed collection is a component of a five-year partnership between HanesBrands and the National Park Foundation – the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service – that will generate US$4 million for NPF.

“As the official apparel of the National Park Foundation, HanesBrands is focused on greatly expanding the distribution of NPF-affiliated apparel, raising the profile of the foundation, increasing revenue for the foundation, and using our consumer-leading brands and significant graphic apparel capabilities to create beautiful clothing worthy of the grandeur of our national parks,” said John Marsh, group president of global activewear for HanesBrands.

HanesBrands also intends to market officially licensed T-shirts, fleece sweatshirts and bottoms, socks, hats and other innerwear and activewear clothing under its other leading brands, including Champion, Alternative and Gear for Sports.  Officially licensed apparel will be available in all consumer retail channels, including mass merchants, mid-tier and department stores, along with the Hanes online store and retailer selling websites.

Additionally, HanesBrands will be a preferred supplier of licensed NPF and NPS apparel for the official Find Your Park store.  Royalty income generated by HanesBrands will benefit the National Park Foundation’s Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks.

The I LOVE LINEN campaign has landed in London

I LOVE LINEN being promoted in the atrium of the Peter Jones department store, Sloane Square, London.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

Sharp-eyed shoppers and eco-conscious consumers probably already notice that an extensive campaign is going on in London this month in major retailers and brand name shops around town where a natural and wonderfully versatile fabric – Linen - is being promoted.

Following successful campaigns in Milan (2017) and in Paris (2016), the I LOVE LINEN campaign has arrived in London to raise the awareness on the wide range of applications and qualities of this eco-friendly natural fabric.

Billed as the world’s oldest fabric, linen comes from flax, the only fibre of plant that originates from Europe, here 80% of the world’s supply is grown along Normandy and the northern coasts of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

During the month of April until May 13, a series of special events are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in a network of some 40 local partner brands. The I LOVE LINEN message is splashed across some 200 shop windows representing the best of British fashion and home furnishings.

Jaeger is one of the brands promoting
linen in their Spring 2018 collections.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

For example, at John Lewis and Peter Jones department stores in London where metres of linen fabrics are hung in the centre atrium of the stores promoting the I LOVE LINEN campaign.

Other participating brands include Poetry, Oska, L.K. Bennett, Ally Capellino, Jigsaw, Uniqlo, Vivienne Westwood, Jaeger, Skandium, Brora and Velorution, to name but a few – all promoting the qualities of linen through men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, children’s wear, sportswear, home furnishings and fashion accessories etc.

Just opened this week at the V&A is the event Fashioned from Nature and it is the UK’s first exhibition to showcase the complex relationship that fashion has with the natural world.  The comprehensive and informative exhibition highlights how fashion has been inspired by nature, and the demand the industry calls for raw materials, the enormous impact on the environment and the technology advancement is affecting our daily lives.   The European Confederation of Flax and Hemp - CELC, the authority of linen, is the major sponsor of this landmark exhibition which runs to January 27, 2019.

Also at Chelsea College of Arts – University of the Arts London, third year BA textile design students explore the fibre and fabric as part of a special creative project, in tandem with the V&A.
For more information on linen you can visit the ilovelinen.uk website.

I LOVE LINEN is jointly financed by the flax/linen industry and the EU. 

Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018.

London Sustainable Fashion Rooms Pop-Up Shop for Fashion Revolution Week

It’s Fashion Revolution Week (April 23 – 29) and a number of London events are held to look at ways to bring greater transparency and responsibility to the fashion industry.

During the week, ethical consumers can take part in the journey to find sustainable solutions and deepen your knowledge of the issues and do something.

Taking centre stage will be London sustainable and vegan brand Po-Zu which is gathering a number of ethical fashion designers for a pop-up boutique in which workshops and panel discussions with industry leaders are taking place.

Po-Zu’s pop-up shop is set at the Truman Brewery at the heart of Brick Lane.  In the London Sustainable Fashion Rooms, Po-Zu has brought together some of London's best known ethical fashion brands and designers, including Po-Zu's own SS18 Mainline and Star Wars | Po-Zu range of sneakers; Fair Trade fashion pioneer and womenswear leader - People Tree; vintage-inspired ethical fashion and knitwear by Lowie; Howies; luxury clothing from Wear the Walk; “Who Made Your Clothes?” installation by Brothers We Stand and Earth Positive.

Here is a list of other events during Fashion Revolution Week.
Monday 23rd April 17:00-19:30
Speed networking & launch of London Sustainable Fashion Rooms -
Tuesday 24th April 18:30-19:30
Rana Plaza - Never Again - 5 Years On
Thursday 26th April 18:30-19:30
Sustainable Design, Sourcing and Buying
Saturday 28th April 11:00-12:00
The New Frontier - Broadening the Media Debate on Ethical Fashion and The Vegan Revolution

For full programme and more information, Click HERE.

Footwear images above from Po-Zu.

Eco-friendly, sustainable luxury bags from Ministry of Tomorrow

The Ministry of Tomorrow (MOT), reportedly Africa’s hottest eco-fashion House, has a mandate to “save the world one bag at a time.”

The brand for vegan, eco-friendly, sustainable luxury unisex bags is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with its bespoke atelier located in Nairobi, Kenya. 

CEO and founder Julian  Prolman set up the MOT-built facility in Nairobi to help solve the unemployment problem in Kenya, such as sponsoring skilled tailors who are recruited from within Kibera, one of Africa’s largest slums to make designer unisex bags, creating sustainable livelihoods for its employees, who are paid fair wages, receive bonuses based on quality production and are able to work in a safe, comfortable, and clean environment.

Only vegan and animal-free materials are used to create the MOT bags. Where fabrics are used, the company choose either cruelty free leather from Italy or Japan, or 100% Certified Organic and Fair-Trade cotton, sourced from Rajlakshmi Mills in Kolkata, India that buys its cotton from the Chetna Organic Farmers Association a collective of more than 6,000 organic cotton farmers.

The farmers growing the cotton are paid a fair price for their crop, are not exposed to harmful pesticides, and the organic farming methods do not contaminate the earth.

For more information, go to the Ministry of Tomorrow website.

UNIQLO X JW ANDERSON - SS2018 collection inspired by the English Beach culture

The English Channel - Photo © Lucia Carpio

The English summer may be unpredictable but to many of us in the UK it is a glorious time of the year when we will find any excuse to head out to the beach.   And one of our favourite beaches very accessible from London is in the southern coast on the English Channel. 

Brighton Beach is inspirational for many creative souls including London-based fashion brand JW ANDERSON which is launching a new Spring Summer 2018 men and women’s collection at UNIQLO, the Japanese global apparel retailer that has a strong following in the UK market and around the world.

Uniqlo announced that the new UNIQLO X JW ANDERSON collection will launch at UNIQLO stores* and UNIQLO.com in 19 countries and regions from Friday, April 20**.

Uniqlo photos.

The line highlights designer JW Anderson’s unique take on the Brighton culture. Complementing the unisex designs that are basic to the range are items enabling casual mixing and layering for an array of styling alternatives. The collection highlights the enjoyment of LifeWear fashions for everyone, regardless of age or gender, according to Uniqlo.

Commenting on the launch of the 2018 Spring/Summer line, Jonathan Anderson, founder of JW ANDERSON, said  celebrates the 1950s heydays of Brighton.

“In the 2nd collection of the collaboration, I’m looking for this idea of ‘British Summer,’ the idea of being on the Brighton beach. Something which is very lightweight, very airy, with a lot of linen, and cotton that has a 1950’s sub-cultural movement. With a little bit of ease and something which is quintessential.” He added, “As a UNIQLO customer, I know exactly the quality that the brand gives to its products. I am very proud of the level of execution and the attention to details that we delivered on this new Spring/Summer collection.”

Commented Yuki Katsuta, Group Senior Vice President of Fast Retailing and Head of UNIQLO Global Research and Design, “As befitting its dedication to ‘Simple made better’, UNIQLO’s mission with LifeWear is to create apparel that embodies simplicity, quality and longevity and is always stylish.

Uniqlo is known for its wide range of functional designs and designer collaborations, fusing quality fabrics with fabulous fit.  This week, Japan’s Fast Retailing Co, owner of clothing chain Uniqlo, posted a 35 percent rise in second-quarter operating profit and upgraded its full year forecast by 13 percent as its international sales continue to drive growth.

*Availability for collection items may vary. **Launch dates will differ in some markets.