Sustainable Fabrics and DIY Projects

Last week's post touched a bit on the material our designers used to craft their masterpieces. For instance, they used fair trade-certified cotton, recycled synthetics like PET, and bamboo fibre. Some of these material are the most alien mentions when it comes to textile, but read on! There's just more!

The "Green" Material

What qualifies a fabric as "green"? A fabric is considered sustainable if it:

1. Makes use of fewer toxic chemicals.
2. Uses less land or water.
3. Reduces emission of greenhouse gases during production.

Apart from these, a sustainable fabric also uses sweatshop-free labour, energy-efficient processes, alternative energy, and low-impact dyes in manufacturing. Workers working in a sweatshop are made to work in difficult and hazardous working environment. Therefore, the term "green" concerns both environmental and social factors.

A video on sweatshops:

Here are some examples of sustainable fabrics and the reasons they are "green".

1) Hemp

Hemp comes from the Cannabis sativa plant. It grows very quickly like weed. Therefore, making fabric out of the Cannabis plant is a sustainable practice.

2) Organic cotton

Cotton takes up 25% of the total worldwide utilisation of pesticide annually. Organic cotton is grown in a such a way that it reduces use of energy, water and toxic chemicals (e.g. pesticides).

3) Bamboo fibre

To clear our readers' doubts about the sustainability of bamboo, we have found out that bamboos are rapidly renewable plants. They also do not require pesticide or fertilizer to grow and take larger amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air than other plants because of its rapid growth rate.

Visit "Is Bamboo Fabric Eco-Friendly?" to read more!

4) Ramie

Ramie fibers are one of the strongest natural fibers. Ramie can be up to 8 times stronger than cotton, and is even stronger when wet. Therefore, clothes made from Ramie are more durable.

5) Nettle fibre (made from weed)

Who would have guessed that the same weed we barely notice everyday could form your next t-shirt? Weed is a common plant breed that grows rapidly under almost any condition.

6) PET polyester

As mentioned in the previous post, PET is derived from plastic bottles. Visit Bionic Yarn @ buzz-beast to find out how PET is integrated into any existing fabric.

You may like to visit EcoTextile News for updates on the "green" material and organicclothing for a more extensive read on what sustainable fabrics are all about.

Trash-to-fashion DIY Projects

To start on your own DIY project, you have to first take a tour around your own house. Engaging in an eco-fashion DIY project is different from any other DIY projects. The material must be readily available - you can't buy them, they're basically just scrap material.

The mini tour around my house left me with these "trash":

1) Old magazines

2) Left-over fabric

Let our DIY project commence!

Magazines to Accessories

This project was first introduced to me by my grandmother. During the school holidays, she would keep me occupied with craft works. I was 6 when I first ventured into this project. If I could do it then, so can you! It's simple, really! Just follow these steps.

1) Cut strips of paper from the pages of those old magazines. Keep them colourful!

Measurements (you don't have to follow them strictly): 20cm by 1cm

Keep one end pointed/narrower.

2) Roll the strips starting from the broader side.

3) Glue the pointed end.

4) Keep repeating these steps until you have enough paper-beads for your accessories.

5) Connect these beads using a friendship band string. Be creative with the colours! You can add other beads if you want.

Scrap to Floral Hair clips

This project was inspired by pictures from Etsy.

For this project, you'll need:

• superglue & scissors
• thread & needle
• left-over fabric
• bobby pins

1) Cut the fabric into squares measuring 5cm by 5cm.

2) Fold the fabric into a triangle.

3) Sew the two sides of the triangle. Do not tie a dead knot.

4) Pull the thread so that the two ends of the triangle meet and forms a petal.

5) Sew the two ends together and tie a dead knot.

6) Repeat the previous steps until you have 5 petals.

7) Cut a smaller square shape for the "bud" of your flower.

8) Connect the 5 petals to their bud.

9) Use superglue to paste your flower to a bobby pin. Alternatively, you can stick it to an elastic.

I hope you've found some fancy ideas to keep you occupied this holiday! Why not engage in a DIY project while acting responsibly towards the environment and the society? You could sell your inventions too! Keep the creative juices flowing! ;D

Do leave a comment about your own DIY experience or eco-fashion experience. ;D

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Celebrity Activists of Eco-fashion

As you explore eco-fashion, you might want to know the people who share the same interest as you. These celebrities, amidst their paparazzi and stardom, plants a thought for the environment at the back of their mind.

Emma Watson and "Love from Emma"

Take for example, Emma Watson, who launched her own eco-friendly fashion line. She collaborated with the British fair trade fashion label - People Tree.

The collection - Love from Emma - includes:

• knitwear for women and men
• cotton T-shirts
• jersey dresses
• poplin skirts and shorts

To support sustainable fashion, 80% of this collection is made of fair trade-certified material.

What is a fair trade? You might ask. In a fair trade, the objective is not profit at any cost, but to help people in the world's most marginalised communities (e.g. Bangladesh) escape poverty and promote sustainability. This can be done by providing training to artisans and their organisations so that they can improve their skills and businesses.

Watch Emma Watson's experience and insight on fair trade in Bangladesh:

Pharell Williams and Plastic Jackets

Another celebrity that deserves credit is Pharell Williams. He is an American recording artist, producer, musician and fashion designer. Pharell owns a textile company, Bionic Yarn, that makes fabric from recycled plastic bottles.

Apart from this, he collaborated with Franco-Italian activewear label Moncler to launch a collection of men’s jackets made entirely from Bionic Yarn fabric - Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

Local designer Angelynn Tan fashions clothes from bamboo fibres

Closer to heart, we have our 35-year-old local designer Angelynn Tan. She fashioned her clothes line from bamboo fibres. She makes tailored suits and dresses using fabric interfacing and recycled rubbish bags. She has also created a range of jewellery built from zipper pulls, button eyelets and industrial bolts.

Do you think that bamboo fibre sounds unwearable? I thought so too until I found out otherwise.

Bamboo fibre is biodegradable and breathes easily. It has a soft and fine texture and does not crease easily, hence you don't have to iron them regularly!

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There are so many people keen on the green fashion line. They generate ideas, design clothes and then launch their collections. According to popular (and true) belief, designers' clothes are usually quite pricey. Would you be keen in going green on your clothes then? How can we make eco-fashion more affordable? Share your thoughts with us!

What is eco-fashion?

The first ever thing you need to know to explore eco-fashion

is probably what it is at all.

Eco-fashion is a trending green fashion line that is also known as sustainable fashion. It has become more popular as more designers and celebrities start supporting it. Many eco-fashion shows have been organised all over the world to promote ethical clothing. Who would have known that daily routines like choosing your clothes could affect the environment too?

Many popular brands support eco-fashion too.

Below are some examples:

Your Ipanema slippers never seem to wear out!

Vans shoes with the green tags are made from eco-friendly material.

Be inspired to make your own trash to fashion bags from Ben & Bear.

Other local and international brands include Etrican, Belle and Dean, Aravore Babies, Howies, Nancy Dee and Terra Plana.

Hopefully, you've an idea on what eco-fashion's all about.

Do share your own experiences on eco-fashion by commenting :)

Stay tuned for the next post on celebrities and designers who do incredible things to promote eco-fashion!