27 December 2023
Brooke Roberts writes on Linkedin that in my latest article for Forbes, I probe the circular textile conundrum, and ask: Since textile recycling at scale is years away, and volumes of fashion production (and waste) are rising, might composting be a sustainable option in the meantime? After all, there’s no silver bullet, as is often said.
I dug into Puma and Ortessa’s RE:SUEDE footwear composting experiment, and shared other examples, including shredded cotton textiles scattered on cotton fields, and cotton waste processed into a superabsorbent powder scattered on soils to boost moisture retention. Materials sustainability solutions are not all about recycling, folks (fortunately!), so check out where composting might just make sense, and how it could influence adoption lower-impact, non-toxic materials and chemistry.
Thanks to Marthien van Eersel of Ortessa, Romain Girard of PUMA Group and Pim Wilgenburg of Nera Leather Tanning. cc. Neesha-Ann Longdon of The Or Foundation Ghana, Cotton Australia, HKRITA – The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel Limited, Shahi Exports Pvt Ltd Project Drawdown Vivobarefoot.
We bring leather, material and fashion businesses together: an opportunity to meet and greet face to face. We bring them from all parts of the world so that they can find fresh partners, discover new customers or suppliers and keep ahead of industry developments.
We organise a number of trade exhibitions which focus on fashion and lifestyle: sectors that are constantly in flux, so visitors and exhibitors alike need to be constantly aware both of the changes around them and those forecast for coming seasons.
