The fashion industry continues to be one of the largest polluters. The growing consumption of clothing (60% more clothing than 15 years ago), also means that we are disposing of these clothes more frequently, with an estimated 60% of all clothing finding its way into landfills or incinerators within a year. Ethically there are also many issues with the fashion industry and how it treats its workers, with many people around the world working in unsafe conditions and on extremely low wages. Fashion for Good is an innovation platform which tackles the problems faced by the fashion industry. To make this change, they believe disruptive innovation and industry wide collaboration is needed. This can be in the form of biomaterials, a more sustainable material alternative, which is why they have created an exhibition to showcase leaders who are creating biomaterials which can be used in the fashion industry.

Fashion for Good is a global initiative, with their headquarters in Amsterdam. They work directly alongside innovators, and bring them together with brands, retailers, suppliers and manufacturers. This allows easier collaboration, which in turn brings these sustainable innovations into the mainstream. They also bring these innovations to the public, mainly through their museum in Amsterdam. The GROW expo explores how innovations can take inspiration from nature and work with it symbiotically. Showing how innovators and scientists are able to make these sustainable materials of the future. The year-long exhibition explores all things biomaterials, and asks questions around the topic. How do these materials differ from already natural materials, such as cotton and hemp? Also, whether “bio” always means better? Alongside the exhibition they will be running the Grow talent project, a three-month program that starts in July 2021, which brings together creatives to use these innovative biomaterials to craft the sustainable garments of the future. The garments made during the programme will be showcased in the GROW 2.0 exhibition (opening in October 2021) that will show what the future of fashion will look like.

The permanent museum tells the stories behind the clothes you wear and how your choices for those clothes can have a positive impact on the fashion industry. Within the museum there is also a retail space called “The Good Shop”. The shop features a curated selection of product collections related to the topic at the time showcasing the innovations that are being used in products that are available to consumers today. This year’s exhibition called “GROW” allows visitors to experience new exciting biomaterials from designers and brands aimed for use in the fashion industry. The exhibition explains the differences between the materials, as well as delving into how the industry can use these innovations to become more sustainable. Some of the biomaterials on show are still in development, but a few are already available as a product. The materials include fruit skin fabric, mushroom ‘leather’, spider-silk, dye made by bacteria and algae fabrics. One product shown is BioGlitz, the world’s first biodegradable glitter. The glitter is made from FSC-certified eucalyptus cellulose, and coloured with cosmetic pigments. Glitter is extremely unsustainable as it is usually made from plastics, and uses harsh glues. But this compostable glitter can be applied with an algae-based body glue.

GROW is open now and runs until March 2022

Virtual tours of the exhibition can be booked at www.fashionforgood.com/tickets/

Fashion for Good not only holds exhibitions in their museum, but they also work to bring the fashion industry together through their Innovation Platform. Supporting start-ups and designers so that they can grow and scale up. While introducing them to brands and manufacturers, they also have access to a mentor and investor network, expertise and funding. Fashion for Good also has a co-working space in their Amsterdam headquarters, where they host a Circular Apparel Community. 

Their Mission

“For true Good Fashion, and a circular supply chain, to exist, all elements, from design to end-of-use, must be reconsidered and for this to happen, and considering the enormity of the challenge, collaboration is required. It’s our mission to bring together the entire apparel industry — brands, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators, funders and the wider public — to innovate and collaborate for Good Fashion.”

The Five Goods

“To facilitate this collaboration, there needs to be a robust definition of what ‘good’ is — an aligned vision as the starting point for change that every single part of the global fashion supply chain can be inspired by and aspire to. Drawing from the Cradle to CradleTM framework, Good Fashion is not fashion that simply looks good or is mostly good; it is good in five important ways:

Good Materials — safe, healthy and designed for reuse and recycling

Good Economy — growing, circular, shared and benefiting everyone

Good Energy — renewable and clean

Good Water — clean and available to all

Good Lives — living and working conditions that are just, safe and dignified”

References:

Fashion for Good

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Images by:

Alina Krasieva

Bio Glitz