The European Commission put its Ecolabel scheme in place 25 years ago to provide sustainability guidelines for companies and to help conscious consumers know what to buy.
Leading denim textile manufacturer ISKO is so far the only denim mill in the world that has received the EU Ecolabel.
The Turkish company has created fabric that better retains their shape, ultimately calling for fewer washes. And with 23 per cent of the water consumption in the lifecycle of a jean coming from consumer washing, the savings over time becomes substantial. The company also has filtration plants in its facilities to treat the water and use it for other sources, closing the loop there too.
Apparel making has accelerated. That has got a lot to do with fast fashion’s quick and constant turns and the cheap and often disposable nature of the clothing these of-the-moment retailers produce.
The problem with over-production is that it leads to over-pollution, with garments ending up in landfills or incinerators within a handful of years from purchase. From there, only 40 per cent of the material inputs that go into these apparel products get recycled.
People are using ten times more natural resources than they did 100 years ago.
