Zero waste design
What is the zero waste pattern?
Zero waste pattern design is a pattern-making technique that eliminates fabric waste when cutting garments. pattern design technique that eliminates fabric waste when cutting garments. The fullness of one piece of pattern ron are the voids of another.
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Conventional patterns
The clothing industry is one of the most polluting in the world. It is estimated that 400 billion square meters of textile are produced every year. Of this 400 billion, an average of 15% to 20% is thrown away during the cutting phase: this represents an average of 60 billion m2 of fabric thrown away per year during the cutting phase alone. Fabric production requires considerable human and natural resources, so it's essential to minimize waste.
How do we do it?
For a conventional garment, the curves of the pattern pieces don't fit together. The zero-fall pattern offers an inverted creative process. It's about thinking backwards, about finding out what possibilities geometry offers. The creative process is closely interwoven with pattern-making. It's a new kind of stimulation and creativity in the service of ecology. New constraints emerge: creating according to fabric width, gradation limits (the process of extending patterns in all sizes).
The zero waste pattern
To create a garment in a zero-fall pattern, the fabric inside the pattern rectangle must be used 100% to cut the garment. Sometimes, we need to introduce a few compromises without altering the garment. Frequently, we need to add a seam that would not exist in a conventional garment: the aim is to get as close as possible to the traditional garment by adding as few seams as possible. This method also involves breaking with certain sewing conventions, such as cutting a garment crosswise. It's about opening your mind to new ways of working. The time required to cut a garment is reduced: instead of cutting around each piece, you simply separate two pattern pieces. It also means less time for pattern placement, since the pattern is already predefined.
Become an active consumer
Second-hand is a way of extending the life of clothes, and this market has grown enormously in recent years, which is very encouraging. However, materials are often not recyclable: the system needs to be rethought from the ground up. The quality of fast-fashion clothing is gradually deteriorating. Materials pollute enormously, and textile fibers are becoming shorter and shorter: clothes are becoming disposable. It's inconceivable to buy clothes that will never be worn. On average, a garment is worn 7 to 10 times, and some are never worn at all. It's up to us, as clothing professionals, to propose more ecological solutions to consumers. We all own garments that, at first glance, appeal to us: a love affair with the cut.... That garment stays in the closet because, once worn, it doesn't suit the life we lead. If we look closely, we always wear the same clothes: because they're comfortable, have pockets, we're comfortable in them, we can sit and bend over... When you think about it, these are essential criteria for a garment. Could we imagine a circular garment? In other words, a garment with zero waste, made from an environmentally-friendly material that can be recycled.
The fashion industry
The fashion industry is growing exponentially.
It is estimated that 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the fashion industry. This industry consumes enormous amounts of water, polluting our oceans for working conditions that are often disastrous.
Global clothing consumption is increasing at a dizzying pace.
There are things we can all do on a daily basis to reduce our environmental impact:
Consume less but better.
Think more carefully about your wardrobe: comfortable, timeless clothes for everyday wear.
Buy locally.
A less-washed garment will last longer.
Pay attention to composition: choose natural organic materials (tencel or lyocell, cotton, linen, etc.).
Buy second-hand whenever possible.
Until recently, it was allowed to destroy unsold textiles. Production leftovers (end of rolls, etc.) could be destroyed in this way.
Since this law came into force, new ways have been found of revaluing end-of-stock. Brands now have the opportunity to buy other brands' end-of-production stock. It's an environmentally-friendly way of making clothes.
Out of sight, out of mind?
We pollute even more when we think we're giving to the less fortunate. When we drop off clothes in a solidarity container, only a very small quantity is destined for solidarity resale or second-hand. More than half of these bins are bought by manufacturers, and some end up on the ground in Africa or Eastern Europe. They are sold to retailers in the form of bales, a source of income for them. The quality of these bales (which they buy without knowing their contents) is increasingly poor, and a large proportion of these garments are thrown away as unusable. This proportion is increasing with fast-fashion, which is producing ever poorer textile and manufacturing quality. These open-air textile mountains are burned, releasing toxic smoke and polluting water and soil...
Tencel
Tencel or lyocell is made from the pulp of woods such as eucalyptus or bamboo and a non-toxic solvent.
Characteristics :
Low environmental impact
Environmentally friendly
100% recyclable
Low water consumption: 80% less than conventional cotton production (5000 liters of water to produce 1kg of cotton, less than 1000 liters for tencel)
Manufactured in just 2 stages using a non-toxic solvent
99.7% of the solvent used in manufacturing is reused in the same process: circular, closed-loop use.
Tencel produces 10 times more material per cultivated hectare than cotton.
Exceptional qualities:
Soft to the touch (2 times softer than cotton)
Hypoallergenic
Fluid
Temperature-regulating and odor-neutralizing: breathable
Pleasant to wear
High quality
Washable at 30° (no tumble dryer)
Crease-resistant
Good moisture absorption (superior to cotton and silk)
Antistatic (does not stick to skin)
For some colors, slight white streaks may appear in the first wash, but this remains constant thereafter.
Generally speaking, the wood pulp used to produce Tencel comes from trees planted specifically for its production. These are sustainable forests. The trees used for this production have a low water consumption: the eucalyptus only needs rainwater: no pesticides or irrigation systems.
