Peclers Paris on Sustainability : Creative for Good

With an increasing number of consumers expecting from brands to be facilitators in keeping consuming whilst doing better for the environment, what appeared as forward a couple of years ago now is a prerequisite. As new thrilling bold initiatives become the new horizon to thrive for, here is a curation of inspiring projects, some of them for outside of the clothing world but offering interesting possibilities for the fashion industry.

VIRTUOUS BLACK: BIOBLACK TX BY NATURE COATINGS

Nature Coatings, an American biochemicals company created BioBlack TX to replace petroleum-derived carbon black for all silkscreened and rotary printing uses, denim, leather or non-leather coatings, patinas, packagings, pigment dyes, etc.

Made 100% from pre-consumer industrial wood waste (FSC®-certified forests), it is traceable throughout the entire supply chain and no chemicals are added during the manufacturing process. 

Produced in a closed circuit, its only by-product is steam, that is then captured and used to power certain parts of the production process. Carbon-negative, it retains more CO2 than it emits, thus counteracting greenhouse gas emissions (based on a preliminary life-cycle analysis).

It also has the top lightfast index (8/8) which means that it will neither fade norchange color. Its current production capacity, 70  tons per month, makes it a large-scale solution for various industry actors ranging from the Kering group to Levi’s, Vollebak, Target and Weekday.

AS GOOD AS WOOL: BREWED PROTEIN FIBERS

Japanese biotech start-up Spiber usues synthetic biology to produce new protein materials by microbial fermentation of plant-derived ingredients, hence creating new polymers to replace animal-derived fibers.

Their spun fibers is almost as soft as cashmere and offers almost equivalent thermal and breathable properties. Their studies show that their technology emits fewer greenhouse gas emissions, requires less water and causes 97% less land-use damage than cashmere production. 

Brewed Protein are completely biodegradable, disintegrating in the soil or in marine environments. Spiber intends to exclusively work in the future with agricultural waste in a circular fashion, as will soon be the case in their USA production unit that will operate with co-products from the local corn industry derived from sustainable and regenerative farming practices.

They have already collaborated with many textile brands including The North Face, Goldwin, Ron Herman and Pangaia.

FROM TEXTILE WITH LOVE : WASTECARE TM

German-Japanese home linen company Aizome, whose proprietary dying technologies aims at creating textile that are both healthy and environment friendly, created Wastercare a premium skincare made from wastewater from their plants.

The genius idea? The ecological dyes sourced by Aizome for their linen collections are made from plants known to provide health benefits, an idea born after one of the founder’s mother got sick.

Looking for a way to recycle their consequently precious wastewater, the company found a way to encapsulate its pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory and skin rejuvenating properties into skincare. A great intake on repurposing textile mill waste and turn it into an opportunity for horizontal developments (clothes that are good for your skin?)

WOOL, IN GREAT SHAPE : FLOCKS WOBOT

Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma developed robots capable of constructing three-dimensional structures in wool. Her objective: find a new outlet for the 1.5 million kg of wool thrown away each year in the Netherlands. The Flocks Wobot robot works in the same way as a 3D printer to build layers of wool, using a form of felting instead of a filament to create three-dimensional woven structures.

In addition to using natural virgin wool, it is also possible to blend it with recycled wool to enrich the color palette.

Applications to the apparel industry are not planned yet, but with the frontier between fashion and object design getting blurrier, one can dream of 3D printed clothes that would create less waste and be produced locally to save shipment costs and impact on the environment.


Peclers Paris.
As a leading consultancy specialising in creative strategy and prospective trends (fashion, beauty, design & lifestyle), Peclers Paris works with brands to shape their future, reveal their uniqueness and develop more desirable products, services and experiences. For a committed and positive future.