Zero Waste Fashion: Why Shop Compostable Clothes In 2020?

The most common phases are known as the three 'R's' - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Most brands looking to be more sustainable take part in this usually by reducing their use of resources, reusing materials where possible and using recycled PET plastic. However, only a small percentage are addressing the waste created during the disposal phase. As a result, more than 300,000 tonnes of clothing still end up in landfills each year. This figure continues to rise due to fast fashion. The unresolved question still remains... What really happens to clothes at the end of it all?

There are two methods for disposing of clothing and it's either through burning or dumping in a landfill. Burning clothes is a common practice for luxury brands to get rid of unsold stock and in most cases, protect their brand identity. Remember that time when Burberry unceremoniously burned $150 million worth of unsold stock? Yeah, not good. Dumping clothing in landfills is the most common method. The only problem is that landfills are not designed to break down waste, only store it. Because of the lack of oxygen, bacteria in the waste produce methane gas, which is highly flammable and dangerous. It is also a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO².

As you can imagine, neither of these disposal methods are good for the environment as they contribute to global warming, which causes climate change. Due to the overproduction of products and the industry's unsustainable disposal methods, some parts of the world have experienced its hottest day in recent years. It's about time we unfuck the planet by rethinking the ‘normal’ life cycle of a garment in a way that doesn't harm our planet.

At Baçura, we're tackling every phase in the waste hierarchy by designing out waste. We concluded that the best way to do this was by ensuring that every one of our products is designed to be 100% compostable from the very start. This means that every single component in our product (down to the thread and buttons we use) is made from natural, bio-based materials. So given the right conditions, our garments will safely decompose in a compost bin in about 6 months. If you’re thinking about going zero waste but don’t know where to start, make sure to buy 100% compostable next time you go clothes shopping. This ensures that the next garment you own will not be destined for landfill.