We’re hearing a lot of negative things about the state of the environment these days. Pollution in our oceans, on our land and in our air is rising and taking a toll on our health.
It’s well known that the unregulated and unethical manufacturing practices of the global fashion industry make it the second most polluting industry in the world. And, it’s estimated that more than half of our fast fashion clothing is thrown out in under a year with one garbage truck full of textiles being landfilled or burnt every second. This, combined with a very low rate of recycling—less than 1% of material is actually recycled—is depleting resources at an astounding rate. The use of harmful substances in textile production is having a detrimental impact on the health of workers and the environment. Add to this the estimation that half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres (which are shed during washing), end up in the ocean and our food chain, there’s no doubt we need to develop a circular textile system offering better societal, environmental and economic outcomes.
There’s a growing number of people innovating beyond streamlining processes and cutting costs, pushing past the constraints of traditional market models. Meet HNST Founder, Tom Duhoux, who is bringing his vision for a circular economy within the fashion industry to life through his brand of denim jeans. Invested in the circular economy for well over a decade, he’s helped other brands achieve a lighter footprint on the planet through consulting as a Cradle-to-Cradle sustainability expert. Now, he’s weaving that knowledge into the HNST brand, which successfully launched last month with a tight collection of denim pieces for men and women.
“For the past 15 years innovation in the fashion industry could be summarized in three words: faster, cheaper and more. We believe that real innovation is all about a positive impact and a completely different way of thinking. It all starts with: the resources. Why don’t we use what we already have in our closet?”—Tom Duhoux
Based in Antwerp, Belgium, HNST (pronounced ‘honest’) is a dynamic start-up being built on the transparent building blocks of closed-loop production, where the materials are chosen not only for their suitability to the performance and longevity of their range of garments, but also for their ability to be reclaimed at end-of-life and be recycled into new products.
So much time goes into developing a new product, and at the cutting edge of smart design for closed-loop production there is an enormous amount to consider. The fabric for HNST jeans is woven using yarn made from 56% recycled denim jeans. This is currently the highest amount of recycled denim used in a yarn to produce a new pair of jeans. The recycled denim is blended with 23% virgin cotton and 21% Tencel©, a biodegradable fabric made of wood pulp, with the view to moving to recycled or organic cotton in the future.
The inner pockets of the jeans comprise 50% recycled post-consumer white t-shirts and 50% Tencel©, and the buttons use a special screw system so they can be dis-assembled and reused at end-of-life, while the use of embroidered rivets for the pockets help streamline recycling when each pair of HNST jeans is returned to be recycled once again.
Aside from the fact that each pair of HNST jeans uses 6,000 litres less water to produce than conventional jeans, the dye process used is much safer for the environment.
Every year, around 15 billion metres of denim fabric is produced globally. Enough to stretch around the earth 374 times! The dying process uses approximately 66,000 tons of indigo powder, which requires a hefty dose of toxic chemicals and heavy metals to make it water soluble and able to be used as a dye. It’s harmful as hell to people and the planet and the issue here is that not only is the production process polluting, but every time we wash jeans that have been made this way, we release more of this chemical cocktail into our water streams.
To dye their jeans, HNST use a process called Smart-Indigo™, where the indigo powder is fixed to the fabric via an electrochemical process using soda and water. They also use a waste-product of the food industry (shellfish shells), which allows the indigo to better adhere to the denim fabric (resulting in longer lasting colour), rather than the harmful substances used in traditional indigo dying. It’s these innovations by companies like Italdenim in Italy, that help HNST minimise their environmental impact.
All production partners (spinners, weavers, dyers and garment manufacturers) are based in Belgium, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands, keeping HNST’s carbon footprint small while supporting the European economy. In fact, they’re on their way to achieving a Carbon Positive rating by offsetting emissions with tree planting through WeForest, which extracts CO2 from the air as nutrients and stores it as building substances.
Jeans donations are welcome. And, as part of their closed-loop process, you’ll be able to return your HNST jeans at their end-of-life for recycling. Just as many Cradle-to-Cradle businesses do, HNST rewards returns with a discount on your next purchase. We think the feel good factor of returning your jeans and being part of a community doing right by the environment is enough, but the discount is certainly a kind gesture and an incentive for many.
“We want to change the way the textiles industry currently works. We want to move from the current take-make-dispose model and move to a circular solution that provides benefits to business, society and the environment.”—Tom Duhoux
Smaller textile companies working more sustainably, like HNST, pave the way for major brands to step up and make positive changes. As our community of well-informed, environmentally-conscious global citizens grows, we have the power to swing the economy in favour of the circular model, and away from the take-make-dispose model. One will see us prosper into the future, the other is short-term and short-sighted with an outlook that’s not rosey at all.
Hop over to the HNST website and check out their first collection. It’s available for pre-order. I’m sure their philosophy for doing things differently, doing things better, along with their transparency will resonate with you.
x KT
Images: Courtesy of HNST
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