Fashion insider offers creative ways to tackle the industry's big pollution problem

Rusty Blazenhoff 5:00 am Sun Feb 18, 2018

These stats are just staggering.

According to Amit Kalra, the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, right behind oil and gas.

He says that in the United States alone, 85% of unsold apparel, a whopping 13 million tons a year, ends up in landfills instead of being donated or recycled.

In his November 2017 TED@Tommy Talk, he offered three creative ways to deal with this issue. Kalra suggests methods for making garments more recyclable and even compostable, and for using spices and herbs to dye fabric instead of the harmful chemical colors that are currently being used.

"There's no fix-all, and there's no one-step solution. But we can get started by designing clothes with their death in mind. The fashion industry is the perfect industry to experiment with and embrace change that can one day get us to the sustainable future we so desperately need."

Programmable, 3D-printed fabric that can "remember" its original shape and transform into new ones

Imagine that your jacket changes shape depending on the temperature or your socks can provide additional support with the push of a button. Harvard engineers created a new material using… READ THE REST
Fashion trends at Goodwill

Goodwill Hunting is a fascinating data-driven exploration of trends at the thriftstore chain's online shop. It is quite exhaustive, breaking down regional trends, brands, prices and much else besides in… READ THE REST
Fed-up cobbler fashions extra-long social-distancing shoes

Romanian Cobbler Grigore Lup noticed that people weren't following the rules of social distancing at his local market, so he decided to make long-nosed shoes as a response. His Euro… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST