Upcycling: An emerging textile waste management strategy for the fashion industry

Abstract

The fashion industry is the second largest polluting industry in the world. Different fashion cycles provide various options in the market, which leads to the rising concern of the environmental impact of the industry. Wastewater, carbon, and textile waste are different types of waste being generated by the industry. Textile waste is generated in two phases i.e. during production (textile leftovers) and post-production (discarded textiles). Therefore, it is important to look at the environmental impact of the textile industry and take initiatives to reduce the overall impact on the environment. The purpose of the research is to study how a couture brand manages the textile waste generated during the production and to generate ideas to reuse them. The couture brand in which the study was conducted was Shriya Som. The waste management strategy of the Couture brand Shriya Som was studied and analyzed in terms of waste generation and its reuse. The amount of waste being generated by the brand daily was evaluated and how much is reused and how much was going to landfill. Strategy to utilize the leftover fabrics were developed keeping in mind the brand identity. This study gives an overall perspective of textile waste management strategies being adopted by the industry. Also suggests ideas to reuse textile waste. It was found that most of the leftovers can be creatively reutilized in the product line itself to reduce or completely zero down the waste going to the landfills.