Standard vs. Upcycled Fashion Design and Production

Abstract

Value streams for collected post-consumer textiles continue be analyzed within the global challenge to develop and employ commercially viable, yet ethical and sustainable strategies within the fashion industry. Upcycling is an existing strategy applicable to fashion production, with discarded materials used to design and create higher value products, keeping them in productive use for longer. A number of very small, niche upcycling enterprises have emerged in the UK. These brands have succeeded in creating stylistically relevant and commercially successful fashion styles utilizing waste textile materials. The advantages of scaling these enterprises up are not only environmental, but also economic and social, thereby creating a sustainable and innovative business model for UK led fashion production. Due to high levels of three key metrics of carbon, water and waste, UK government agency WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has identified textile products as priority materials for reuse and recycling. Upcycling enables a sustainable design option for reuse techniques to be employed for greatest economic and environmental benefit, in which used clothing and textiles are sourced for the production of newly designed fashion products. This paper identifies the key differences between standard fashion design and production processes and upcycled fashion design and production processes, in order to aid the development of large-scale fashion upcycling in the UK, and contribute to a circular economy.

How fashion can achieve sustainable development through a circular economy and stakeholder engagement: A systematic literature review

“…12 (12.8%) Bloomfield & Borstrock, 2018;Earley, 2017;Fraga et al, 2018;Han et al, 2017;Moorhouse & Moorhouse, 2017;Pal et al, 2019;Pedersen et al, 2019;Pessôa et al, 2019;Singh et al, 2019;Staicu & Pop, 2018;Todeschini et al, 2017;Tunn et al, 2019 Slowing resource loops (22, 23.4%) CF practices implemented to extend the utilization period of products, through the design and production of long-life goods and services, thus contributing to a slowdown of the flow of resources • Designing more durable products…”

Developing Interventions for Scaling Up UK Upcycling

“…As common upcycling materials, wood, furniture, metal, electronics, fabrics and (plastic) packaging as revealed in our study (Section 3.1.1) have been addressed in other existing studies, with wood and fabrics appearing most frequently [22,71,108,[114][115][116]. Online shops or networks such as eBay, Gumtree, Freecycle or Freegle as frequently used source of materials (Section 3.1.1) have been described as useful sites for buying and selling (or disposing and sourcing for free) used materials, typically in households [22,108,117,118] or fashion industries [39,119,120]. Skips and charity shops (Section 3.1.1) are well-known sources of used materials amongst individual makers [22,108] and in the fashion industry [121,122].…”

“…It reduces solid waste [15,37,38]. In industries, upcycling-based businesses can be financially sustainable [39][40][41] and create new employment opportunities especially for disadvantaged people [42,43]. (Upcycling skills and techniques vary.…”

Consumer Acceptance and Preference on Rambuta Seed Food Products Development

“…The response is the reinforcement of behavior that can increase the likelihood of a repeat of that behavior [13]. Response comes from the word response, which means a reply or response (reaction).…”