A Wren Says

An often -repeated issue that many people have with the fashion industry is waste. We aim our ire towards the fast fashion industry and the literal trash it produces, those countless clothing pieces that fill landfills after the consumer discards them. And yes, post-consumer waste is an issue. However, there is another problem the public doesn’t focus on often enough: Fabric scraps. Those little pieces of cloth, the offcuts from pattern making, litter the factory floor and end up discarded. But what if it had another life? What if those most luxurious of offcuts –cashmere scraps– could be turned into something new? Well, BloomLabs hope that their new innovation Everbloom will provide that solution.

Here is perhaps the least qualified summary of how this process works:

Everbloom collects fabric scraps from cashmere mills throughout Italy. It then takes those pieces through a process to extract the proteins, refine the fibers, and produce fabric pellets. It can then send the pellets to mills to be incorporated into fabrics. (Please check out their website learn more about how this really works.)

This is a new technology with a lot of financial backing from investors. It also comes at a time where many people have sustainability on the brain. However, it comes at a time that many other alternative materials manufacturers have failed. What will it take for Everbloom to become a long-term success story? What would it take for Everbloom to become the next ecofriendly equivalent to Lycra, a branded material that is so wide ranging in its fabric integrations?

In truth, it is going to take more than just manufacturers buying in. Consumers will have to adopt a new narrative. When they see recycled and sustainable fabrics, they have to see it as a plus, instead of trash incorporated into their clothing. It is going take perhaps just as much work developing new stories as the startup put into developing their technology. If they can get that piece right, perhaps Everbloom will really bloom.

Daily writing prompt

Tell us about the last thing you got excited about.

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