Creative Design: Professional

Making Fashion Better: Rescue Waste and Reduce Invasive Species

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Abstract

Textile and apparel industries produce 10% of global greenhouse emissions and the world produces approximately 92 million tons of textile waste every year, but fashion is also good for us. Fashion is also an important economic driver. Clothing helps us function better and live healthier, and adornment is one of the characteristics that distinguishes humans from animals. Thus, despite environmental damage we see personal and economic benefits. This fashion paradox is a wicked problem, when the solutions to problems create more problems. 

This piece addresses wicked fashion problems of textile waste and vegan leather. The submission represents the stated goal around investment theory of creativity where the designer “bought low” by utilizing moth-ridden sweaters, material destined for the landfill, in a zero-waste felting technique and by using the invasive carp leather, thus “selling high.”  Designers can build on this concept to give value to textile waste and preserve ecosystems.

Keywords: leather, felting, zero waste, invasive species, sustainabilty, sustainable fashion, textile waste, textile, creativity

How to Cite:

Ruppert-Stroescu, M., (2025) “Making Fashion Better: Rescue Waste and Reduce Invasive Species”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 81(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18871