Manufacturing processes generate tons of waste annually, which normally are not managed properly. Developing sustainable business models based on circularity and zero waste manufacturing must be one of the most important sustainable objectives for all industries.
Zero waste manufacturing is closely related to the different circular economy solutions that the fashion industry is aiming for reducing its huge amount of waste produced as one of the biggest polluting industries.
One of the best ways to manage waste is by adopting zero waste policies in your business model. If a company does not generate any type of waste, less effort and resources are needed to manage them. But for the best part of manufacturers, it is not possible to avoid waste production. Using circular solutions such as Recovo’s deadstock fabrics marketplace are some of the solutions to become zero waste.
According to Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA), zero waste follows the next definition:
“The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”
ZERO WASTE INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE, 2020
There are several ways to reduce manufacturing waste, most of them related to how the materials are treated and how efficient the production process is. Depending on the industry, there will be different ways to optimize those processes to reduce waste production or be more responsible about them.
Nowadays, most of the manufacturing processes come from machinery, and so manufacturing waste also. Automatization and on-demand machinery have been some of the most successful advances for zero waste manufacturing, designing them according to product characteristics and making them more efficient.
This is one of the cheapest ways to reduce waste production. Acquiring the most advanced and personalized machinery could be unachievable for some companies because of their high cost. However, some processes can be modified to reduce considerably the waste produced by a company. For example, a good stock management system such as Recovo’s SaaS for fashion companies makes them reduce their raw material consumption, reuse other deadstock, and minimize product inventory.
Science is constantly discovering new sustainable materials that can be used by several industries derived from recycled or bio-based materials, for example. Exploring different ways to build products excluding plastics and other petrol-based materials is one of the most important points that governments are focusing their attention on. New legislation that promotes sustainable materials and society’s increasing demand for more sustainable products, zero waste manufacturing is also a purchase reason for a growing part of society.
For some industries, reducing their waste production by changing manufacturing processes is one of the most difficult ways to completely cut their waste production.
Some of the most common ways to change manufacturing processes to reduce waste production are reusing, recycling, recovering, or repurposing the products and materials involved in manufacturing processes.
As fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, zero waste manufacturing policies and practices, such as Recovo’s recycling service, must be adopted by companies and transform this industry into a more sustainable one.
Zero waste manufacturing lands into the fashion world as zero waste fashion, which is defined by the use of sustainable materials, methods of manimal fabric cutting, upcycling existing garments, and incorporating recycled materials into manufacturing processes.
Everyone knows what is recycling and most of the population is trying to do it at their own homes. These techniques are also transferable to industry, where old products or deadstock materials can be transformed into new ones. The textile industry technology has been working into new ways to recycle textile material. Recycled and recyclable content is more affordable and accessible nowadays, which encourages new collections launched by some of the most popular brands in the world. You can discover many recycled and recyclable fabrics at Recovo’s online store.
Upcycling for Recovo involves a good stock management. It is important to define good practices relative to stocks, before adquiring or producing new ones, use the ones you own. This practice enlarges materials’ lifecycle which can also reduce production costs for brands. Recovo’s upcycling software manages internal deadstock fabrics and other textile materials, optimizing processes that help companies make smarter decisions related to their stock management, production, and purchasing, reducing waste by reusing companies’ owned fabrics and yarns.
In this society where everything must be fast, fashion has been dominated by brands that offer trendy apparel at low prices, bad qualities, and pretend to be easily old-fashioned.
This business model generates enormous quantities of waste and it is important to turn to slower fashion models where garments are produced to be durable over time, increasing qualities and designing clothes with a more minimal style.
Secondhand fashion markets are trendy. You can find many stores where it is possible to buy used clothes at very low prices. Nowadays, we have seen how mobile apps have landed on the vintage fashion market, popularing vintage clothes, where individuals can sell their old apparel and buy old clothes from other users.
Textile waste is not only usable for the fashion industry, it can also be used for consumers who transform their old apparel into newer ones.
The important climate urgency our planet is currently facing is forcing society to change some of the bad habits that we have been doing for years. Over-production and waste management are some of the biggest problems that we must focus on to develop more sustainable consumption habits that respect the environment.
Zero waste manufacturing in fashion is one of the bases of that circular economy that many governmental organizations are trying to achieve for its sustainable benefits, which also achieve high levels of performance and big revenues for companies adopting circular practices to their business model.
Recovo creates circular solutions for the fashion industry. We cover various aspects of the circular economy for brands:
Based in Barcelona, we have a global mission with our websites in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, French, dutch, German
If you want to know more, please contact us
