BRIA x SABINNA: Partnering Up To Improve Sustainability Practices In The Fashion Industry

A collaboration that is transforming end-of-life garments into new 100% recyclable and biodegradable materials.

With collaborations still paving the way for the merger of fashion with technology, the latest comes from BRIA (Brooke Roberts Innovation Agency), a fashion tech innovation agency and SABINNA, a fashion brand. They have partnered up to transform a fashion capsule collection of wardrobe “staples” into new 100% biodegradable materials with the goal to improve sustainability practices in the fashion industry.

Biodegradable Materials

 

Thanks to BRIA x SABINNA, brands creating commercial fashion that is circular can rest assure that their clothes will not end up in a landfill because they have found a way to develop an innovative process that can transform garments into new biodegradable materials. This means that the EU-funded project, supported by WEAR Sustain, has the potential to avoid millions of tonnes of garment landfill waste every year.

Good News for Those Who Like Biodegradable Materials

This is good news when it comes to transforming end-of-life garments made from cellulose-based materials into new 100% recyclable and biodegradable materials. Created similar to paper, card, plastics and even wood, the new materials can be used for garment packaging, tags, building shop interiors and many other applications.

fashion tech innovation agency

When it comes to working together, BRIA and SABINNA co-designed and produced a capsule collection of garments made from solely cotton and viscose, which can then be processed in different ways at the end of their use. “The fibres can be reclaimed via their new processes and recycled into other new materials, which are 100% cellulose-based and therefore biodegradable”, said the team at BRIA.

“The fibres can be reclaimed via their new processes and recycled into other new materials”

Aiming to produce a capsule collection that maximises the circular aspects of production and recycling, the teams at BRIA and SABINNA chose the most ethical and non-toxic chemical processes to dissolve the garments and reconstitute the fibres into new usable materials. The collaboration made no compromise when it came to the aesthetics of the garments or recyclability of the end product.

Biodegradable Materials
This collection offers sustainable contemporary versions of existing fashion ‘staples’ (wardrobe essentials), like a bomber jacket, jeans, and shirts which can be recycled into other materials at the end-of-life.

“The capsule collection was used as a “proof-of-concept” to demonstrate to other brands within the fashion industry that these new processes can be used to transform any garments made from cotton or viscose into packaging materials/shop interiors at the end of their use, rather than these garments adding to the millions of tonnes sitting in landfill sites around the globe”, said Moin Roberts-Islam, co-founder of the fashion tech innovation agency BRIA. Adding, “By using chemical, not mechanical recycling, these methods require less water, generate less waste, require no bleaching and have a lower carbon footprint. The range includes garments made of cellulosic materials, selected depending on which material is the easiest to recycle with the minimum environmental impact.”

BRIA x SABINNA – garment recycling process turning cellulose fibres into new materials from BRIA on Vimeo.

The BRIA x SABINNA team are now looking to partner with global fashion brands to implement these processes to produce brand-specific recycled packaging/store interiors and improve sustainable business practices across the industry as a whole.

Share Your Tips & Corrections

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.