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reasonsforhope · 4 months

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It’s an open secret in fashion. Unsold inventory goes to the incinerator; excess handbags are slashed so they can’t be resold; perfectly usable products are sent to the landfill to avoid discounts and flash sales. The European Union wants to put an end to these unsustainable practices. On Monday, [December 4, 2023], it banned the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear.

“It is time to end the model of ‘take, make, dispose’ that is so harmful to our planet, our health and our economy,” MEP Alessandra Moretti said in a statement. “Banning the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear will contribute to a shift in the way fast fashion manufacturers produce their goods.”

This comes as part of a broader push to tighten sustainable fashion legislation, with new policies around ecodesign, greenwashing and textile waste phasing in over the next few years. The ban on destroying unsold goods will be among the longer lead times: large businesses have two years to comply, and SMEs have been granted up to six years. It’s not yet clear on whether the ban applies to companies headquartered in the EU, or any that operate there, as well as how this ban might impact regions outside of Europe.

For many, this is a welcome decision that indirectly tackles the controversial topics of overproduction and degrowth. Policymakers may not be directly telling brands to produce less, or placing limits on how many units they can make each year, but they are penalising those overproducing, which is a step in the right direction, says Eco-Age sustainability consultant Philippa Grogan. “This has been a dirty secret of the fashion industry for so long. The ban won’t end overproduction on its own, but hopefully it will compel brands to be better organised, more responsible and less greedy.”

Clarifications to come

There are some kinks to iron out, says Scott Lipinski, CEO of Fashion Council Germany and the European Fashion Alliance (EFA). The EFA is calling on the EU to clarify what it means by both “unsold goods” and “destruction”. Unsold goods, to the EFA, mean they are fit for consumption or sale (excluding counterfeits, samples or prototypes)...

The question of what happens to these unsold goods if they are not destroyed is yet to be answered. “Will they be shipped around the world? Will they be reused as deadstock or shredded and downcycled? Will outlet stores have an abundance of stock to sell?” asks Grogan.

Large companies will also have to disclose how many unsold consumer products they discard each year and why, a rule the EU is hoping will curb overproduction and destruction...

Could this shift supply chains?

For Dio Kurazawa, founder of sustainable fashion consultancy The Bear Scouts, this is an opportunity for brands to increase supply chain agility and wean themselves off the wholesale model so many rely on. “This is the time to get behind innovations like pre-order and on-demand manufacturing,” he says. “It’s a chance for brands to play with AI to understand the future of forecasting. Technology can help brands be more intentional with what they make, so they have less unsold goods in the first place.”

Grogan is equally optimistic about what this could mean for sustainable fashion in general. “It’s great to see that this is more ambitious than the EU’s original proposal and that it specifically calls out textiles. It demonstrates a willingness from policymakers to create a more robust system,” she says. “Banning the destruction of unsold goods might make brands rethink their production models and possibly better forecast their collections.”

One of the outstanding questions is over enforcement. Time and again, brands have used the lack of supply chain transparency in fashion as an excuse for bad behaviour. Part of the challenge with the EU’s new ban will be proving that brands are destroying unsold goods, not to mention how they’re doing it and to what extent, says Kurazawa. “Someone obviously knows what is happening and where, but will the EU?”"

-via British Vogue, December 7, 2023

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theartofmadeline · 6 months

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“hell is real” felt patch sewn onto an upcycled flannel. inspired by the ohio billboard

#fiber art #felt art #felt patch #patch #upcycle #textile art #texile #hell is real #ohio #artists on tumblr #theartofmadeline #im glad i finally did this even if its shitty lol #for my fellow ohio people #ive never used felt as a patch before but it was very fun!#ive been wanting to work with clothes more #please let this find the right audience lol #i would make more of these if anyone would buy them probs #fashion

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thesolarpunkworkshop · 5 months

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Built a greenhouse out of reclaimed windows and scrap wood, took me an embaresing amount of time but it looks good now.

#solarpunk #greenhouse #diy #upcycle #solarpunkdiy #gardening #permaculture

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pabuthefirecat · 4 months

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Throw ut out?

... IS MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT

...I lurv it... 📦🖤🛍

#hunter #black cat #cute #cat #neko #kitty #box cat #upcycle #funny hunny

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jeraliey · 4 months

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So I saw a video on a technique for patching sweater holes, and I really wanted to try it.

Fortunately (unfortunately?) I had an old sweater that got chewed up when it accidentally took an unprotected ride through the laundry. It had PLENTY of holes to practice on, of various sizes.

I decided to start on some of the smaller holes:

It went......okay? I guess? It's a new technique. You can probably see which hole I tried first and what progress I made doing it a second time....

I ended up getting myself a new toy to continue (a latch hook, because my crochet hook was doing well-enough-I-guess but I figured I could neaten it up a little if I was less likely to drop loops). So I decided to go after one of the bigger, more irregular holes:

(this picture actually has the most accurate portrayal of the real-life color of the repair yarn. I don't know why it's so grass-green in the other pictures. It's even a little darker than it looks in this picture, and blends in better with the rest of the sweater colors.)

Which also went....okay........I'm new-technique satisfied......and there are a lot fewer holes in the sweater now, anyway. (I did a weave-darning on the spot on the very right, but that was only to try it out to see how it looked.)

So it got me brave enough to try some of the really big holes:

The first of which went okay:

but I'm still clearly struggling with how much working slack to leave on the loops, which you can see with the increasing tension as I worked from right to left.

But you know what?

This monster is next. We'll see how it goes! Regardless, I'm enjoying the technique and learning a LOT. Plus....I'll be able to wear this sweater again!

#visible mending #mending #fiber crafts #sweater #upcycling #upcycle #textiles #repair

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kellyaroman · 2 years

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Embellishing a vintage corduroy Edwardian style jacket. It’s going to be dragonfly/pond themed :-) will post more progress soon!

#art #wip #artists on tumblr #upcycle #upcycled fashion #diy #dragonfly #pond #cottagecore #insects #painting

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lord-paul20 · 18 days

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first time doing embroidery!

I added some spiderwebs to the collar of a shirt I thirfted recently. I don't have much embroidery experience so the line work isnt fantastic but I love it.

#embroidery #gothic fashion #Gothic embroidery #sewing #thirfting #alternative fashion #alt fashion #embroidered #crafts #stitching #fibre art #upcylced #upcycle #2000s emo #punk

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africanmorning · 8 months

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*Knee of my pants tears*

Me: Clearly the only logical course of action is to create an embroidery pattern of Master Chief by hand on graph paper, cut up an old curtain, and use modified cross-stitch through two layers of fabric to put John Halo Himself on my otherwise crappy pair of jeans.

Bad photo of the pattern I made in case anyone else wants it (I might try to digitize it later, Idk):

#embroidery #mending #cross stitch #halo art #master chief #personal story #crafts #embroidery pattern #cross stitch pattern #upcycle #i guess but i don't like the term 'upcycle' for reasons #anyway the thought process was that cross stitch and sashiko are basically the same thing right?#so why not patch with cross stitch #so labor intensive but my only regret is that i didn't do this on a pair of pants that fit me better

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high-cloud · 5 months

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Enchanted Objects" by Hanne Zaruma

High-Cloud

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somnambulant-seraphim · 14 days

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I saw these fingerless skeleton gloves and I thought they were so cool!!! I got so inspired I had to try a version of the idea out for myself! :)

I looked up a sewing pattern online and followed that. I cut out two pieces for each hand and sewed them together. I tried to make them a bit more roomy and not so snug, since it was my first time making them.

I used paint and reference photos to add the bones. It took quite a few layers and they're not perfectly accurate, but I think they turned out nice! 𐐒(୨୧ᵕᴗᵕ) 𓍊𓋼𓍊 <3

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hithertoiluvatar · 4 months

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I had some vinyl and an empty juice container I wanted to put to good use. I had seen several Furby carriers that act more like a harness than a carrier so I decided to make one specifically for this purpose. Behold my up-cycled creation!

#furby #diy #safefurby #furby fandom #furby community #furblur #furby cult #furby love #sewing #sewer slide #handmade #izzy hands #upcycle #hand sewing #crafts #vynil

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lilsproutcare · 1 year

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✨ now kiss ✨

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thesolarpunkworkshop · 5 months

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Sealed up the greenhouse from earlier and added growlights. All running off the solarpanel.

#solarpunk #permaculture #diy #greenhouse #solarpunkdiy #upcycle #lunarpunk #gardening #container garden

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moonhedgegarden · 5 months

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orangesoda-fizz · 22 days

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I will wear my clothes until they're literally falling apart. I will wear them until it's one thread holding it all together. And then I'll cut it up and make something new that brings me joy.

#fizzytxt #solarpunk #anti consumerism #anti capitalism #fast fashion #diy #crafting #upcycle #hopecore #do what you can #that's enough

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kellyaroman · 2 years

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Finished embellishing the back of this jacket! Just need to do the front, then add some crystals for some extra shimmer 🧚🪷💎

#artists on tumblr #fashion #diy #art #painting #embellished garment #costume design #upcycle #fairycore #faeriecore #faerie #cottagecore #dark academia #dragonfly #dragonflies #moon and stars

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