Why up-cycling clothes is the next big thing in sustainable fashion

Why up-cycling clothes is the next big thing in sustainable fashion

By now we all know is exactly what is meant by the words “Fast Fashion” and if you don’t, fast fashion is to the environment what fast food is to your health (but much worse). Yes, everything in moderation is good, but fast fashion is the complete opposite of moderation. And because of this very thing, fast fashion has become a catalyst for a big problem in the textile industry (by the way, this problem has been around for a very long time, but we will talk about that later).

In the last 15 years, the production of clothing has grown by more than 50%, and this is because of a growing middle-class population all over the world. A bigger middle-class equals more buying power.

The textile industry is the second biggest polluter in the world, the first being oil (imagine that!) It’s easy to think that the oil industry is polluting our air, water, climate and environment, but to think that the clothes that you and I are buying, are just as bad. 

Not all is doom and gloom though. Remember when hand-me-downs were considered “cheap”? Not anymore now it’s seen as sustainable. Yip, wearing/buying second-hand clothing could very well help slow down the environmental impact the textile industry plays. Yes, the onus lies on the consumer, but at least it’s helping. Small steps towards living a more sustainable life, really are important. One way in which people are contributing is by up-cycling clothes, and it’s becoming so popular, that it’s now an industry by itself.

What does up-cycling clothes mean?

Up-cycling clothes is to take old, worn out or damaged clothing and transform it into something new.

Clothing that doesn’t fit any longer, is torn, stained or otherwise damaged, can be refashioned into a new product. At SoulShooz we are very proud of our signature up-cycled tyre soles. Because we have given old tyres new soles. This is our way of making apparel more sustainable.

The difference between up-cycling and recycling

The only thing that up-cycling and recycling have in common is that word cycling. They are actually very different.

Up-cycling is reusing the same fabric and turning it into something else. Recycling is the breaking down materials before they are reconstituted into something else. This is usually done in two ways; mechanically and chemically.

Mechanical recycling is when a fabric, such as cotton or wool, is shredded, then the resulting fibre is woven into a new fabric.

Chemical recycling is when a fabric is treated with a chemical and then dissolved. The resulting fibre can then be mixed with other fibres to make a new fabric.

Recycling uses a lot of resources and – in the case of chemical recycling – utilises harmful substances to create something new.

Up-cycling on the other hand isn’t as damaging to the environment and uses no other natural resources.

Just to confuse things, there is also down-cycling which is to take old clothes and, instead of making them into something better, turn them into rags for cleaning.

Why bother up-cycling clothes?

As we have discovered, the current apparel industry model is extremely wasteful and massively polluting.

Statistics estimate that the textile industry contributes around 10% of global emissions – more than shipping and flights combined.

In its current state the textile industry creates clothes that take a huge amounts of resources  to make, then these clothes are bought and worn less than a handful times, and before being dumped in landfills. BUT if we up-cycle clothes we break this cycle of mass waste and environmental damage.

So, why is up-cycling clothes is the next big thing in sustainable fashion, because society is waking up, industries are taking note (maybe not for the right reasons), but they have realised that the old way ain’t working so well anymore.