Bio-inspired textiles promote sustainable fashion

Owing to fashion’s unmatched ability to reflect and influence culture at large, perhaps this industry is well-positioned to move society towards degrowth. It could be the future we choose.

So much of what historically made fashion dangerous to our health has been invisible. It sheds microscopic dust, mingles with our sweat, or wafts off with just a whiff of chemical smell, if it has any odor at all. Without the help of expensive testing equipment, we would never know that it’s there. The most toxic product of the Industrial Revolutio

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Today, thanks to synthetic mauve dye, fossil fuels are the basis for an infinite catalog of textile finishes, pesticides, detergents, pharmaceuticals, glues, plastics, faux leathers, synthetic fabrics, inks, and more. Who would have guessed that 150 years after Perkin peered at his purple fabric, chemistry’s core role in fashion would be almost ent

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“We don’t want a world where fashion does not exist at all. We want a world where fashion is not overconsumption but freedom of expression”, Tsagkari says. “Imagining this new idea of fashion as something creative but also simple and accessible to everyone can be a great challenge.”

Try to avoid anything that starts with poly—such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester, polyamide, or polyurethane (PU)—plus nylon, acrylic, glues, plasticky prints and coatings, glitter, and sequins if you can. These materials can either off-gas or shed toxic substances themselves, or very likely require sensitizing and toxic chemicals during the

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The shifts triggered by the crisis could also reinforce the viability for digital fashion -- clothing rendered in computer-assisted design programmes either for prototyping purposes or to be 'worn' virtually (by avatars, or via augmented reality, for example) -- in place of tangible garments. “I have seen a need for people to express a deeper sense... See more