Eco design in textiles: what is it?

Important decisions are made during the design phase such as the definition of business models, logistics, collection and infrastructure systems and the selection of materials.

Designers today have to define a clear strategy for the entire life cycle of a product.

It's no longer just about designing beautiful shapes, lines and selecting on-trend colours: designers can truly impact the textile and fashion supply chains

In the case of physical products, the way in which the different materials are combined and how easily they can be reused, repaired, refurbished or disassembled is also decided during the design phase.

These choices are essential because they influence every stage of the subsequent production process and use of a product, up to the end-of-life management of the same.

In the fashion sector, however, design aimed at circular management of the end of a product's life is not a widely adopted practice since 73% of the materials used to produce new clothes are disposed of in landfills or incinerated.

In response to the data listed above, the European Commission approved the "EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles" with the aim of outlining a series of actions to establish design requirements for fabrics to make them last longer and to facilitate repair and recycling operations.

In order to align with the new European commitments for a more sustainable fashion, it is important to apply a fundamental tool for the circular economy, namely eco-design.

Eco design is a type of design that allows you to integrate environmental aspects into the product development process, balancing ecological and economic needs.

Through eco-design it is possible to search for design solutions that offer the lowest possible environmental impact during the entire life cycle of the product thanks to four design strategies:

• Design for low waste;
• Design for low impact materials and processes;
• Design for longevity;
• Design for recyclability.

The Design for low waste allows to minimize the amount of textile waste produced. In this case, designers can choose three paths:

• Zero Waste: innovative design technique that allows for the elimination of waste in the design phase of a garment;
• Up-cycling: technique of revaluation and transformation of textile waste into new products through creativity;
• Reconstruction: process of deconstructing unsold or used clothing and subsequent reconstruction to produce new garments.

The ZEROBARRACENTO company is a perfect example of the application of Design for low waste.

The name ZEROBARRACENTO, in fact, derives from the company's great attention to sustainability and production tracking:

• zero waste, reduction of pollution and emissions, gender and age
• 100% Made in Italy quality, use of fabrics, sustainability and transparency of production

As far as the Design for low impact materials and processes is concerned, it is essential to understand the fibers to give life to a circular model, since the fibers play a key role in diverting fabrics from disposal to the fashion system.

Durability is a key value for design: Design for longevity takes into consideration the life span of the garments being created. Designing for longevity highlights the physical and psychological aspects that create a connection with clothing, extending its life cycle.

Ultimately, Design for Recyclability helps designers unlock opportunities for “infinite transformation” to ensure products never end up in landfills.

Today's take-use-dispose model leads to dramatic economic loss, along with numerous negative environmental and social impacts.

Designers can build a circular model aiming to achieve the ultimate goal of a closed loop system, infinitely maintaining the value and quality of all materials.

Eco design in fashion for sustainable design

In order to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of circular business models in the fashion sector (rental, resale, repair/remanufacturing and recycling) it is necessary to implement eco-design practices to design the garment with the longest possible life cycle.

In particular, the product must be designed to be "regenerated" once it has reached the maximum number of intended uses and, finally, recycled, with the aim of keeping the materials in circulation for as long as possible.

Consequently, manufacturing companies must design products that are:

• Durable from a physical point of view: using high quality materials that allow to extend the useful life of the product;
• Durable from an emotional point of view: maintaining a high level of desirability of use of a garment over time;
• Recyclable and regenerable: facilitating disassembly, repair, disassembly, remanufacturing and recycling operations.

Designing durable products from a physical point of view

Designing products that are physically durable first means selecting materials that can withstand frequent washing and damage.

Subsequently, it is also important to insert elements of reinforcement of the components to allow the garment to resist longer over time.

A virtuous example is that of ERDOS, a Chinese company that uses cashmere to produce high quality clothes.

The SHAN 2019 collection, in particular, uses "self-cleaning" cashmere, which is water and oil resistant and easy to maintain.

Furthermore, this particular cashmere is worked through a weaving technique that does not need stitching, thus saving both on materials and on the energy used during production, and making the product more resistant.

Given the high physical durability of their products, ERDOS also offers repair and maintenance services for the garments, ensuring greater use over time.

Designing durable products from an emotional point of view

Clothes to be durable in time must also maintain a certain degree of relevance and desirability to customers.

When referring to the emotional duration, it means how long people want to continue using a product.

This depends on several factors such as: timelessness, rarity, history and meaning of the garment.

If a consumer can read the history of a product, understand its value and uniqueness, then he will be encouraged to use it for a longer period of time, as that product will no longer be linked to the temporality of fashion and style.

A brand that has made the uniqueness and timelessness of its products the center of its action is Beyond Retro.

Founded in 2002, the company offers a unique and exciting sales experience to its customers through, for example, the development of theater performances in stores.

By focusing on the uniqueness of their Beyond Retro products, in 2014 alone, it managed to save 608 tons of CO₂ and 300,000 m³ of water.

Design regenerable or recyclable products

Lastly, sustainable design must create products that are recyclable and regenerable.

Products must be designed and manufactured to facilitate disassembly, remanufacturing and recycling.

During the design phase it is necessary:

• Reduce the amount of elements and accessories that make up the product;
• Reduce the amount of elements that are not easily separable and recyclable (e.g. zips, buttons, padding, etc…);
• Prefer single material fabrics;
• Avoid waste through tools like zero-waste modeling.

Ensuring that its products are designed to be easily regenerated and recyclable is what the Napapijri company has done with its series of Circular jackets.

For this product, the company has simplified the design so that the entire jacket, including the padding, is produced from a recyclable polymer (Nylon 6).

Customers can also return Circular Series products after use so they can be remanufactured and recycled into new products.

Conclusions

In order to ensure greater sustainability in fashion, the importance of eco-design should not be underestimated, i.e. a product design that guarantees greater durability over time, easier reuse or recycling, and a strong emotional bond.

By acting in a conscious and targeted manner on the entire life cycle of the product, it is possible to reduce waste and devise, already in the design phase, alternative and creative ways to increase the life of the product itself.

For this reason, we at Cikis support you in the search for materials with low environmental impact, with the aim of promoting sustainable and circular product design.