What is Textiles and Fashion Eco-design?
Textiles and fabrics, and the soft furnishings and clothing that they are used for, all have impacts on the environment. Many of these impacts are not readily apparent during use but may occur throughout a product’s life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials, material processing, product manufacture and distribution, through to shipping and marketing processes, product use and final disposal at the end of its life. Textiles and fashion eco-design is not just about ‘eco-material’ selection, it is also about making decisions that will reduce the overall environmental impacts or improve efficiency of the product throughout its life. This also introduces the issue of sustainable consumption – where textile materials are used (or avoided) in ways to reduce consumption and make them more sustainable. “The fashion industry must consider the process of design from concept to obsolescence. A cyclical approach.
