WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare Press - The Sustainable Angle's Nina Marenzi - Future Fabrics

The Sustainable Angle's Nina Marenzi - Future Fabrics

04/03/19 • 36 min

Have you heard that phrase: from seed to garment? Probably, right? Because most natural textiles are grown in the Earth. Around 24% of textiles are made from cotton, while hemp, linen and wool all depend on soil. But how often does fashion get its fingernails into the actual dirt?

Perhaps it ought to start, because according to the UN, globally, one third soil is degraded. If we carry on like this, we could lose all of our precious topsoil in 60 years. Fashion isn't entirely to blame, but it certainly has it's part to play.

Our guest this week is Swiss-born Londoner with a Masters degree in sustainable agriculture, who is now taking on the fashion world. Nina Marenzi runs The Sustainable Angle, which stages the Future Fabrics Expo. It's all about what she calls ‘diversifying the fibre basket' - or rethinking fashion materials.

The Expo showcases 1000s of fabrics that can help lighten fashion's environmental footprint, from organic and eco-friendly versions of our staples, to recycled synthetics right through to 3D printed seaweed and sustainable sequins.

Nina says we need to step up regenerative agriculture, organic and circular materials, and transition to textiles that have don't trash our soil, water and air, and don't pile up in landfills.

Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast in Apple, and join the conversation on social media. You can find Clare on Instagram and Twitter.

Links, further reading and lots more info in the shownotes. Find them here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast in Apple, and join the conversation on social media. You can find Clare on Instagram and Twitter.

Links, further reading and lots more info in the shownotes. Find them here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Sass Brown - Clothing Ethics

Is sustainable fashion elitist? Does fashion contribute to poor body image and eating disorders by perpetuating a single, unattainable beauty ideal? What can we do about fashion's diversity problem? How do we, as consumers of fashion, navigate all this? "You can't do it all at the moment,” says this week's guest. “You have to make choices based on your values and those are your personal ethics.”

Sass Brown is an English designer, educator and the author of Eco Fashion. For many years, Sass taught at FIT in New York. She was the Founding Dean of the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI). She has purple hair, is a dedicated thrifter and has her shoes made by hand. But actually, this is not an interview about a life in fashion...

In this conversation, we focus on how fashion shapes our collective image, and how and why we allow it to dictate culture, and often get it so wrong.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Ecoalf's Action Man - Javier Goyeneche

Who's up for stopping our wasteful ways and reimagining trash as a resource? This week's guest is proving fashion can be made from entirely from recycled materials.

He is Javier Goyeneche, president and founder of Ecoalf, the Spanish clothing company that pioneers high-tech new materials made from waste.

If you're a sustainability nerd, you've no doubt heard of Ecoalf. It was Spain's first B-corp and Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan - a few years back she did a collab with them for Goop.

They've developed fabrics from used coffee grounds, cotton waste from the cutting room floor, old fishing nets and car tyres and ocean plastic, and they've created a cult brand in the process, focused on timeless sporty pieces designed to last.

We've all heard of recycled poly made from discarded PET bottles, some even collected from our shorelines and beaches. But Javier set his sights on cleaning up the open ocean. The Ecoalf Foundation has partnered with thousands of fishermen in Spain and Thailand to fish for the ocean plastic that's turned into Ecoalf's Upcyle the Oceans yarn. “We're not a story-telling company, we're a story-doing company,” says Javier.

This inspiring episode is about what it takes to succeed, and how to harness big ideas. And it's a call to action: As the Ecoalf shirts say, “There is no Planet B."

Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast in Apple, and join the conversation on social media. You can find Clare on Instagram and Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.