Kurozome Rewear is an offshoot of Kyoto Montsuki, which has been working with textiles since 1915. The shop’s specialty is black montsuki, a traditional piece of Japanese formalwear. Using old techniques that include multiple rounds of dyeing cloth and letting it dry in the sun, Kyoto Montsuki’s artisans are able to create a deep black color that reflects as little light as possible.
https://www.trendwatching.com/innovation-of-the-day/kyoto-artisans-grant-old-clothes-new-life-with-traditional-black-dye?utm_campaign=iotd&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Kurozome%20Rewear&utm_content=Kurozome%20Rewear
Category Archives: manufacturing
The Future of the Amazon, and Maybe the Planet, Depends on Brazil’s President-Elect Lula
I asked Lula about the path to zero deforestation, and suggested that his “moral responsibility” was huge. “People around the world are expecting you not only to save the Amazon but to save the world,” I said. He nodded, then raised his voice and said, “Yes, I know, and that scares me, because people are very optimistic about our government. I spoke to President Biden, and I just spoke to Josep Borrell,” the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. “People are expecting that something will change, and it will change. As for the question of the Amazon, I intend, in Egypt, to make a speech to show what the Amazon will be from now on. We don’t want to transform the Amazon into a sanctuary for humanity. What we want is to study, to research the Amazon. Nor should it be a place where you cut down a tree for no reason. If you want to make a lumber factory, you should have a policy of afforestation, to plant new trees, so that later you can cut them down. There has to be a replacement plan.”
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-future-of-the-amazon-and-maybe-the-planet-depends-on-brazils-president-elect-lula
The trend to mend: how repair shops are leading a fixing revolution
Bath’s Share & Repair says it has repaired more than 3,000 items in the five years since it opened, 60% are electrical or electronic items, mainly kettles, toasters, radios and lamps. The project also lends out household items and runs workshops on how to maintain your bicycle, use a sewing machine or darn a jumper.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/08/the-trend-to-mend-how-repair-shops-are-leading-a-fixing-revolution?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab
Fast Fashion Waste Is Choking Developing Countries With Mountains of Trash
Less than 1% of used clothing gets recycled into new garments, overwhelming countries like Ghana with discards.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-02/h-m-zara-fast-fashion-waste-leaves-environmental-impact?leadSource=uverify%20wall
Balmain and Evian rethink manufacturing synergies
Balmain’s Evian gown is itself fully recycled and recyclable: Evian asserts that the dress could be transformed into a new Evian water bottle as part of its circular journey, if so desired.
https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/balmain-evian-bottle-dress-recycled-plastic/
Bella Hadid’s Spray-on Dress
The innovative material was developed by a company called Fabrican that is exploring uses in fashion, healthcare and the automotive industry.
https://www.thecut.com/2022/10/how-bella-hadids-spray-on-dress-was-made.html
Nest Fosters Upcycling in Artisan and Fashion Production
While the industry pivots toward sustainability, innovative solutions beyond upcycled designs are emerging to combat its environmental impacts. In addition to supporting upcycling collaborations, Nest is launching a more scalable solution with Queen of Raw, a digital platform for buying and selling deadstock fabric. In response to the vast amounts of excess fabric reported to be sitting in warehouses around the world (worth more than $120 billion USD), the founders launched an online marketplace where brands can offload these materials and anyone from makers to small brands can purchase them at a reduced price. The intent is to prevent these textiles from being burned, buried, shredded or otherwise destroyed by enabling them to be upcycled into other products.
https://www.buildanest.org/nest-fosters-upcycling-in-artisan-and-fashion-production/
A Hotline Garment Workers Can Call When They Face Harassment on the Job
In an industry that has long been largely allowed to police itself, these hotlines are part of a greater movement toward accountability for brands and factories. But even their supporters are quick to point out that they are not a cure-all. Many of the conditions that make gender-based violence hard to stamp out in the world at large — like stigma and victim-blaming — exist in factories too. And in an industry beholden to the frenzied pace and dizzyingly low prices of fast fashion, working conditions remain difficult to regulate.
https://inthesetimes.com/article/lesotho-women-workers-labor-unions-hotline
Fast fashion: European Union reveals fast fashion crackdown
For every person in the EU, textile consumption requires nine cubic metres of water, 400 square metres of land, 391kg of raw materials, and causes a carbon footprint of about 270kg.
In the UK, politicians have called on the government to change the law to require fashion retailers to comply with environmental standards.
The government rejected most of the Environmental Audit Committee’s recommendations in 2019, including making clothes producers pay for better clothing collection and recycling, but has made textile waste a priority.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60913226
Medieval colors.
The palette of natural, plant-sourced dyes.
Analyzing Trends with Tim Stock 