About the Exhibit
We are a #GenerationOfWaste. An approximate (and extortionate) 144 million tonnes of textile waste is generated globally every year throughout production and consumption of clothing. Urgent collaborative action is required across the textile value chain to accelerate worldwide systemic change for the fashion industry. We need many solutions working interdependently to address fashion’s complex climate and social justice crisis.
Most importantly, we need world leaders to ACT NOW.
Just as countries measure wealth and success by GDP, the Generation of Waste bar chart visual only begins to surface the complexities of fashion’s supply chains.
We invite you to learn from the exhibit and watch the videos to listen to global voices, and then commit to deepening your understanding of the interconnected complexities of fashion woven throughout and beyond the 8 areas of the textile value chain.
The physical Generation of Waste exhibit is being displayed in the official Blue Zone during COP26, and will be travelling after COP as part of an educational tour in 2022.
CO2e and Greenhouse Gases
The impact of textile production on global emissions is estimated to be 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2e or 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (McKinsey, 2020 & Global Fashion Agenda, 2020).
Plastic Pollution
Clothing (and accessories) is the 2nd most damaging industry when it comes to putting plastic in the ocean (UNEP Valuing Plastics report, 2014). “Fossil fibres are a key enabler of the fast-fashion business model, and their production already requires more oil than the annual consumption of Spain” (Fossil Fashion Report, 2021).
Water
79 trillion litres of water are consumed in the fashion process every year (Niinimäki et al., 2020).
Why a bar chart diagram?
Fashion - which as a global industry is estimated to be worth 3 trillion dollars (Fashion United, 2021) - is complex, messy and undervalued. As Kate Raworth explains in Doughnut Economics (2017), in order to create an economic system that is equitable, regenerative and just, a global mindset and paradigm shift is needed from narrow and linear thinking to holistic and circular systems thinking.
For the Generation of Waste project, we chose to zoom in and simplify the fashion industry’s textile waste through a linear bar chart image based on the historic academic model of the textile value chain. The bar chart display was specifically selected to speak in the language of world leaders and policy makers, acting as an entry point to those whose understanding of fashion is just beginning. However, this does not mean that fashion is linear - or simple.
Despite the highest amount of textile waste occurring at the End of Life stage, it is the decisions that are made throughout the value chain that cause these consequences. Each area interconnects with each other. This means that we need multiple solutions across and between the areas to create transformative change. It means that we need collective action from industry, government, academia, communities, and citizens to address fashion’s complex climate and social justice crisis.
We would love to expand the exhibit to include more global and indigenous perspectives (particularly from the Global South). Please get in touch if you would like to be involved in the project’s development.
The Generation of Waste exhibit is a collaborative project coordinated by Sustainable Fashion Scotland, Beira, and Zero Waste Design Online Collective. View Sponsors and Contributors on the Homepage.
Sustainable Fashion Scotland (SFS) is a community-led social enterprise with the mission to connect the fashion community in Scotland and accelerate collective action for a sustainable fashion transformation. Launched in February 2020, the venture is run by a small but dedicated team based in Scotland. They hold online events to celebrate innovative creatives in the fashion community and enable collaborations, and conduct research into what action Scotland needs to take to transform the fashion system, focusing on education, policy and local communities.
Beira is a disruptive brand with a radical honest approach to luxury fashion operating between Scotland and Italy. Born from leveraging the value of waste, the brand buys discarded materials from the luxury industry and transforms them into beautiful limited-edition women’s clothing to be cherished for a lifetime. Every aspect of the brand’s investment products is made from waste, including the labels and livery. The product is made in Italy in a solar powered factory, and Beira’s radical transparency approach to pricing means artisans are paid a revolutionary 28 euros an hour.
Zero Waste Design Online is an international collective that develops online educational resources in the field of zero waste design and systems thinking for fashion. The four cofounders (Cassandra, Danielle, Mylène, and Holly, based in Scotland, America, France, and Netherlands respectively) aim to transform the industry through education, community collaboration and open dialogue around garment construction, pattern cutting, design methods and innovative use of technology.
Special Thanks To…
Bobby Kolade, Vintage or Violence; Catherine Park; Dr Elaine Ritch, Glasgow Caledonian University; Fiona Ford, Researcher and Consultant; Dr Hakan Karaosman, University College Dublin; Dr Patsy Perry, Manchester Metropolitan University; Eco-Age; Labour Behind Label; Professor Marina Spadafora, Fashion With a Mission; Nick Hall, Manchester Fashion Institute; Peter Bruninckx, website domain donator; Professor Alessandro Brunn, Politechnico di Milano; Prof Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, GCU London; Professor Marylyn Carrigan, Herriot Watt University; Simon Cotton, Johnstons of Elgin; Suzi Warren, Street Stitching; Tamara Cincik, Fashion Roundtable; WaterBear; Nadja Gegner, Mavolu; Mary Beth, ApparelXchange; Izzie Eriksen, ApparelXchange; Liz Ricketts and the team at The Or Foundation; Scott Walkingshaw, NatWest Group; Peter Galiba, NatWest Group; Joanna Allen, Scottish Tech Army; Emma Kidd, Fashion Detox Challenge; Ros Studd, Repair What You Wear; Justin Laney, John Lewis Partnership; Joseph Blenkinsop, John Lewis Partnership; Flavio Forlani, La Rocca Srl; Ann Runnel, Reverse Resources; Mark Cottam, Laing O’Rourke; Irene Gibb, Laing O’Rourke; Cecilia Castelli, Ratti; Fabrizio Goggi, Ratti; Daniela Barlocco, Ratti; Sergio Tamborini, Ratti, Sistema Moda Italia.
And to the #SustFashScotland community, our wonderful volunteers and helpers:
Nikke Kangasmaa, Dan Shay, Neil Murray, Elisabeth Dumortier, Leyden Fionnabhair, Tara Smith, Megan Allan, Beck Hunter, Jessica Turnbull, Jessica Hay, Elaine Wilson, Lyndsay Wilson, Mehwish Ikram, Eilidh Stewart-Harding, Amy McDade, Megan Kivlehan, Alva-Louisa Rose, Isla Grady, Hazel Corcoran, Foteini Kalketinidou, Kirsty Shearer, Claire Fowler, Katie Monteith, Nancy Pilkington, Gina Murdoch.