UP

Wooden clothes on the recycled Christmas list?

Home page Interesting
12 Punto 14 Punto 16 Punto 18 Punto

If you're struggling for an original Christmas present - how about a wooden dress?

Axar.az reports citing BBC.

At a recent state gala, Finland's first lady wore a dress made from the country's birch trees.

But there was nothing frivolous about why she chose the dress - she wore it to support a new technology which could reduce the environmental damage caused by the fashion industry.

The dress worn by Jenni Haukio, a poet and wife of the president, was created by academics at Finland's Aalto University using a new sustainable technology called Ioncell.

The academics say the process is more environmentally-friendly than cotton and synthetic fibres and makes use of wood that would otherwise be wasted.

In eastern Finland's forests, there is a thinning process of removing some trees to make room for others to grow - and these smaller birch trees are now becoming the source for clothing.

Off the peg

This process creates textile fibres from materials like wood, recycled newspaper, cardboard and old cotton textiles, which can be turned into dresses, scarves, jackets and even iPad cases.

Prof Pirjo Kaariainen of Aalto University is pleased with the feedback on the dress.

"It was designed by a young fashion and design student here at Aalto who wanted to give respect to Finnish nature and to the country's tradition of strong women."

Prof Kaariainen says the fibre works well for clothing because it is "soft to touch, it has a lovely sheen and falls beautifully".

There are growing calls for the fashion industry to urgently reduce its damaging effects on the environment.

Sustainable fashion

The industry causes 10% of global carbon emissions and uses nearly 70 million barrels of oil each year to make polyester fibres, which can take more than 200 years to decompose.

Plastic microfibres from synthetic clothing are part of the problem of human-made materials that wash up along ocean shores.

Campaigners are calling for consumers to buy new clothes less often, but changing consumer behaviour is difficult when fashion companies promote new lines every season.

Making clothes from sustainable materials could be a more realistic alternative.

Although Ioncell was developed by chemists and engineers at Aalto and Helsinki universities, Prof Kaariainen says it was important that the dress was made by designers so that people would want to wear it.

"People want garments that look good and make them feel good, so there is no choice but for the design to be good," she says.

"We need to make a systemic change where sustainable materials are embedded in the system and people can easily buy beautiful and comfortable garments which don't cause environmental problems."

Date
2018.12.30 / 23:17
Author
Axar.az
Comments
See also

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry congratulated Bulgaria

Musk sends internet satellites into orbit

Royal aide reveals the Queen's code name is 'Sharon'

Police did 146 illegal searches including Beckhams

'Breaking Bad’ star lookalike wanted in Illinois

‘We are not alone’: Aliens may have checked out Earth

What is the most expensive country in for alcohol?

Putin reveals how his judo helps him in politics

'Snow White' gravestone on show in German museum

Area 51 raiders may find 'Underground City' - claim

Latest
Xocalı soyqırımı — 1992-ci il Bağla
Bize yazin Bağla
ArxivBağla