ANNALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA FASCICLE OF TEXTILES, LEATHERWORK 187 CAN ‘UPCYCLING’ GIVE ROMANIAN’S FASHION INDUSTRY A N IMPULSE ? CUC Sunhild… [601492]

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CAN 'UPCYCLING' GIVE ROMANIAN'S FASHION INDUSTRY A N
IMPULSE ?

CUC Sunhild e1, TRIPA Simona1

1 University of Oradea, Faculty of Energy Engineering and Industrial Management , Department o f Textile -Leather and
Industrial Management , B. Ștefănescu Delavr ancea str eet, no. 4410058, Oradea, Romania ,
E-Mail: [anonimizat]

Corresponding author: Cuc, Sunhilde , E-mail: [anonimizat]

Abstract: Fashion’s impact on the environment includes the entire lifecycle of a garment. There are many
envir onmental issues associated with the textile sector on the entire life cycle of production and consumption .
The clothing industry needs to find imaginative solutions to produce environmental improvements. The aim of
this paper is to review concepts regardin g textile waste that reach the end of their first life cycle and to
evaluate the potential for recyclability of those materials. Intent of this paper also tries to reduce the amount
of textile waste in the landfill by exploring different methods. This was d one by first assessing and analyzing
the waste followed by characterizing the waste for different properties. If the properties of textile waste are not
suitable enough to be manufactured in new fabrics, other alternatives could be explored. One of our pro posals
is to use creativity of designer in order to create new products trough upcycling. Redesigning throug a
creative modification of a product out of used or upcycling in an attempt to generate a product of higher
quality or value than the compositional elements can be a solution to reduce waste yet is still marginal.
Starting or shifting to a business involving taxtile waste can offer an economic benefit of upcycling. However,
upcycling explore to provide an interim solution to the textile waste proble m, by optimising the lifetimes of
discarded clothes from an inefficient system, while recycling technologies moves to develop more sustainable
approaches.

Key words: Recycling, textile waste , fast fashion , waste management , life-cycle of clothes

1. INTR ODUCTION

In an era of fast fashion, or mass -produced, budget -priced, disposable clothing, textile waste
has continued to grow. Moreover fast fashion leaves a pollution footprint, with each step of the
clothing life cycle generating potential environment al hazards. Since we have enormous amounts of
textile and clothing waste, redesign or upcycling has begun to be a popular fashion approach.
Recycling means that the product is transformed into new material or fibres. The recycling approach
needs mono mater ials, which means that the whole garment wh o is made from more materials
(threads, buttons, zipper etc.) must be dismantled beforenhand.

2. THE FASHION INDUSTRY AND CLOTHING CONSUMPTION

The textile and fashion industry is one of the biggest and oldest indu strial sectors in the
world. Over the past decade, the fashion industry has grown at 5.5% annually [1] , to now be worth

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an estimated $2.4 trillion. In fact, not only does it touch everyone, but it would be the world’s
seventh -largest economy if ranked alon gside individual countries’ GDP.
The overconsumption of fashion is stimulated by fast fashion and its cheap, constant flow of
new designs and limited runs. Clothing prices fell drastic during the last 30 years; by 26.2 % in
Europe and 17.1% in the US. At the same time consumption flourished with the number of pieces
sold in the UK increasing by a third, leading to over 2 million tonnes of clothing being consumed
every year. [2] The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that, Americans are throwing away
more than 15 million tons of textiles — about 85% of their clothes — each year, accounting for 9%
of total non -recycled waste. The textile waste increased from 14.33 million tons in 2012 to 15.13
million tons in 2013. In the same time, unfortunately, the percentage being recovered and
recycled dropped from 15.7% to 15.2%. In terms of carbon emissions, the recycling of 2.3 million
tons of clothing each year is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars annually off the road. [3]
According to the European Commiss ion, Europeans discard 5.8 million tonnes every year,
with 75% going to landfill or incineration and only 25% being recycled [4] with the UK alone
responsible for 350,000 tonnes of that [5]. That's problematic not least because nylon fabrics take
around 30-40 years to decompose, rope 3-14 months , while wool emits methane as it decomposes, a
key contributor to greenhouse gases [6] .
Of all the old clothing, 70 % is used as second hand clothing , 6 % is waste bags and zips,
8% is used for reclaiming fibres a nd making recycled products, 7 % is used as wiping material and
the remaining 9 % is shredded and used as stuffing. It is a surprising fact that over 70 percent of the
world’s population uses second hand clothing [7].

3. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ON THE LIFE CYC LE OF THE
CLOTHING SECTOR

There are many environmental issues associated with the clothing sector on the entire life
cycle of production. In figure 1 we mention only the solid waste arising from yarn manufacturing of
natural or artificial fibres, fabric and garment production, in use and disposal of products at the end
of their life. Over their life -time, products can contribute to various environmental impacts. Life
cycle thinking considers the range of impacts through the entire life of a product. Life cycle thinking
can be used to help decision -making in the field of waste management and to identify the best
environmental options. It can help policy makers understand the benefits and compromise they have
to confront when making decisions on waste man agement strategies [8]

Fig. 1 . Estimated contribution (%) of each stage of the garment life -cycle to the waste footprint (Source:
adapted from WRAP,2011)

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4. RECYCLING AND UPCYCLING OF GARMETS

There are multiple environmental benefits associated with r ecycling clothing. It reduces the
amount of pesticides used in growing cotton or to make fabrics from petroleum sources and the
water needed to dye fabrics, and cuts down on the pollutants, greenhouse gases and volatile organic
compounds released into the water and air from manufacturing processes.
During the last 30 years industrial development has achieved environmental improvements
and has moved towards a smaller environmental impact. However, at the same time production as
well as consumption has incre ased by the same levels, which erodes the environmental benefits of
the technological advances: i.e. the rebound effect [9, 10]. The increasing amount of textile and
clothing waste has led to the necessity of development of methods using the textile waste, i.e. reuse,
recycling or redesign.
The waste management hierarchy, presented graphical in the form of a pyramid, indicates an
order of preference for action to reduce and manage waste. The strategy to waste management must
give priority in the first plac e the prevention, in the second place recycling, reusing and
revalorization and finally dispose waste [11, 12 ] .
The fashion industry can become environmentally active and contribute to our society more
than just economically. McDonough and Braungart, creators of the cradle to cradle concept [13],
have advocated radical design innovations for perpetually circular material reuse [14]. They offers
a broad definition claiming that upcycling is “ optimizing the materials, ingredients, and process
pathways in such a way that waste is converted to raw materials for nature or some other
industry ”[15]. Many leading apparel retailers like H & M, Inditex or sportswear retailers like Adidas
and Nike presents and market their products with the percentage of recycled material in the product
profile. On their Annual Reports an inportant place is taken from their statistical data that disclose
the quantity of clothes they have collected from their shoppers and the amount they contribute to
international charity from the ir revenue.

Fig. 2. Schematic life -cycle for clothes

4.1. Recycling of textile waste
There are in essence two types of textile recycling: fiber recycling and polymer recycling.
Fiber recycling means the garment is shredded back into fibers that are t ypically blended with new
fibers to make a new yarn for new product s. Polymer recycling is typically used with polyesters that
are shredded and ultimately melted down and turned into plastic pellets that are then are respun into
fibers for new polyester ap plications [16] .

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The recycling of clothi ng process includes more steps. Clothing consisting of fabrics such
as cotton, polyester, nylon and rayon. First, the unwearable garments are sorted and graded as
natural, synthetic and blended fabrics. There are f undamental differences between natural and
synthetic fibers but the sorting plants that recycle textiles are able to determine the future of the
unwanted clothes .
In the recycling process for natural fibre (cotton, wool, silk etc) clothes , first of all, the
unusable natural textiles are sorted into colours. Color so rting results in fabric that does not need to
be re -dyed. The color sorting means no re -dying is required, saving energy and avoiding pollutants.
The textiles are then pulled or shredded so th at what is left is an amalgamation of different fibres.
Depending on the end use of the yarn, other fibers may be incorporated. The yarn is then cleaned
and mixed through a carding process. After that, the yarn is re -spun and ready for subsequent use in
weaving or knitting. These newly produced recycled textiles are then picked up by sustainable
designers and manufacturers. Woolen garments are sent to other firms that make fibre renewal to
make yarn and fabric. Not all fibers are spun into yards; some of t hem are compressed for textile
filling such as in mattresses, for fillers in car insulation, roofing felts, loudspeaker cones, furniture
padding, panel linings and many other uses. Cotton clothes are recycled and used for paper
manufacture, automotive, and mining industries and different other uses.
In the case of polyester -based textiles, garments are shredded and then granulated, and
processed into polyester chips. Polyester is a relatively easy material to recycle. Because its oil
based, it can be melted down and reformed into new fibers. The polyester chips are subsequently
melted and used to create new fibers for use in new polyester fabrics. [16]

4.2. Upcycling of textile waste
Upcycling can be seen as a new environmentally conscious view in fashion d esign that
repurposes discarded garments and textile waste and reintroduces it back into the fashion market.
It’s an improved form of recycling that, instead of transforming down the clothings or fabrics, uses
them in their original form, giving them a ne w purpose and a much better quality.
Murray (2002) describes it as “ not merely conserving the resources that went into the
production of particular materials, but adding to the value embodied in them by the application of
knowledge in the course of their r ecirculation. So, if one can add value – economic, intellectual,
emotional, material – to a product through the process of reuse, it can be called ‘upcycled’ ”[17]
The process involves a substantial amount of creativity and vision, based on a fundamental
environmental consciousness. The end result is typically a product or item that is unique and
sustainable. It takes courageous imagination to propose systemic solutions that bypass the
mainstream of what we regard as philosophy about fashion and clothing b usiness. The world of
upcycling has exploded in the past few years, and there are a large number of inspirational designs in
this facet of sustainable green fashion. At the beginning of the 21st century several designers have
made use of the concept of upc ycling in designing trendy products. Producing eco -friendly fashion
is becoming more of a priority for brands across the board from luxury (ex. Reformation, Charlote
Bias, Viktor & Rolf ), to high street. Mega brands now recognise how important sustainabl e fashion
is to their consumers. Even large companies have begun to be involved, such as the British fashion
brand Marks & Spencer who launched a special suit line, which is made of recycled materials [18].
Upcycled fashion offers creativity and individua lity because consumers won't see someone else
wearing the same outfit. This is an ideal way for those who want to be self -expressive to find fashion
that fits their style.

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4.3.Textile waste and upcycling in ROMANIA
Although the amount of waste pre -consumption has steadily decreased [19] , textile waste in
Romania has seen a tremendous growth lately , both due to rising imports of clothing and especially
due to large imports of used clothing. Because such large volumes of second hand clothing are
constan tly being imported and consumed, large volumes re worn clothing held by the user are
discarded. It creates a large waste stream at the end of the functional life of clothes, which are finaly
disposed of in landfills but Romania has no large scale recycling [20]. From a total of 4379
companies in the garment sector, approximately 57.8% (2530 companies) have fewer than 9
employees, 26,1% ( 1144 companies) have between 9 -49 employees, and only 0,28% from the
Romanian have more than 250 employees. The sharp com petition in the sector and continued
decline in competitiveness of Romanian garment industry [21] may challange some companies to
migrate to upcycling of textile. Integrating redesigned clothing into the fashion system could be one
of many alternatives to environmentally harmful consumer behavior, such as disposing of unwanted
clothes into landfills. Redesigning throug a creative modification of a product out of used or
upcycling in an attempt to generate a product of higher quality or value than the compos itional
elements can be a solution to reduce waste yet is still marginal. Starting or shifting to a business
involving taxtile waste can offer an economic benefit of upcycling.

5.CONCLUSIONS

The clothing industry needs to find imaginative solutions to produce environmental
improvements. Upcycling has become lately a very popular subject in the fashion industry. It is one
of the most sustainable circular solutions in the waste hierarchy, positioned between reuse and
recycling, since upcycling typical ly requires little energy input and can eliminate the need for a new
product [22]. However, upcycling explore to provide an interim solution to the textile waste
problem, by optimising the lifetimes of discarded clothes from an inefficient system, while re cycling
technologies moves to develop more sustainable approaches.

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