Published in AuNAturel
Natural gum, Amazon plant leaves, banana fibres and salmon skin are only a few of the new materials your clothes could be made within the next few years.
The basement at Victoria House in Holborn was bustling with students, researchers and business people looking for the latest in the world of eco-friendly fashion. The 2020 Fabrics Expo is the largest showcase of fabrics and material that are responsibly produced.
With the ongoing climate crisis, the Expo shines a light on the polluting fashion industry, which produces 10% of carbon emissions every year – more than the aviation and shipping industry combined. The aim is to offer materials that help mitigate climate change. The event explores the core of the fashion industry, in fact, the choice of materials can account up to 95% of the environed impact of a product.
Amadeu or Amazonian Materials and Design United is a company from Brazil. They offer products made with natural rubber. The company works closely with local communities by disseminating new methods of rubber production that aim to reduce the impact on people’s health and the planet.
Their sandals are naturally coloured and feel very soft on the skin. Their little clutches are even cuter and very sturdy – and you can’t even tell they are made from natural rubber.
Flavia Amadeu, 41, CEO of the company says: “It is very important that materials are locally sourced, ethical and don’t damage the planet. By working with locals, we make sure that we protect large areas of native Amazon rainforest by signing contracts with cooperatives.”
Products like Amadeus’ have to compete with a growing industry of fast fashion, will we ever see them in shops? Silvia says: “I believe that one day you will be able to buy rubber sandals from the shop and other ethical materials that are not expensive as they are now. It’s going to take long, but this needs to happen. The demand is already increasing so we are hoping that big companies like H&M will be pressured to make a change in their production.”
Walking through the long queues for the seminars, Bananatex has taken a large space in the middle of the exhibitions. The company was born in the Swiss Zurich and uses the Abaca tree from the Philippines, a self-sufficient type of banana plant which requires no pesticides nor extra water. The textile is very soft and lightweight. Its natural colour is light cream, and it mimics canvas for its sturdiness. In fact, you can carry up to 100kg of cement in one bag.
Local workers cut the stalks which will be used to extract the fibres. The stripping is handled at the harvesting site and the fibres are combed to separate them. In a Taiwanese mill, they are then turned into paper and yarns. Some of them are coloured using a certified sustainable dying method.
This product comes from various part of the world. It’s designed in Switzerland, cultivated in the Philippines and sewed in China. What about carbon emission? Hannes Schonneger, Co-Founder says: “It takes one banana tree stem to make one bag and in one year one banana tree can compensate for the emission of production and transport of more than 10 bags, and, it’s fully biodegradable”. Simplicity, ethical and zero plastic. A perfect trio.
Enrico Chiesa, 51, sells Pirarucu Fish leather, a species from the Amazon. He says: “We buy the skin form local tribes in the Amazon. They are the only tribes who are allowed to fish it and they don’t use the skin, they discharge it.”
The company asks the Brazilian and local government if they could purchase the skin from the local tribes. Will this make locals fish more and put this species in danger? “Absolutely not,” says Enrico. “The tribes only fish when they need to feed themselves. We basically only collect their rubbish”.
Leather is known for its very polluting production process. “Our leather is prepared using natural process and colourings. We don’t release any dangerous chemicals into the environment”.
The company is also working on a leather prototype made with big Amazonian leaves which are pressed and coloured with the same process of the Pirarucu Fish. “These are all luxury products because we cannot produce huge quantities, so we mostly work with high-end fashion designers, giving them an alternative to classic leather,” says Enrico.
The fabrics expo draws crowds, large ques and big company. its popularity gives hope for new fashion industry based on ethical works and locally sourced products for an eco-trendy future.
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