rethink sustainability
The CLIC® Chronicles: Meet Ecoalf – the fashion-forward brand bringing recycled materials to the fore
For most of its existence, waste has been regarded (or ignored) as the fashion industry’s necessary evil. After all, if you need raw materials to make clothes that, sooner or later, must become worn out or simply unwanted, then waste is surely an inevitable by-product. And, according to the latest data, the by-product of today’s fashion industry is massive: the number of items of clothing produced globally each year exceeded 100 billion for the first time in 2014, and the equivalent of three out of five of these products will end up incinerated or dumped in landfill1.
Unnecessary evil?
In 2009, fashion entrepreneur Javier Goyeneche was moved to question the necessity of this evil. If, in principle, 95% of discarded clothing could be reused or recycled2 , then surely we have the drive and creativity to figure out how to produce the clothes we want without bequeathing to our children the problem of fashion waste pollution?
At Lombard Odier, we believe that the transition to a Circular, Lean, Inclusive, and Clean (CLIC®) economy will unfold through revolutions in 3+1 major systems. One of these systems is materials, where we expect to see the extraction and use of raw materials decline by 30% by 2030.
Achieving this reduction will require visionary companies who recognise that the fashion industry’s approach to resource usage is unsustainable and must be reinvented if our children’s environmental inheritance is to be preserved. One such company is sustainable fashion brand Ecoalf.
Building a better legacy
“Where others see waste, Ecoalf sees natural resources.” That, according to Carolina Álvarez-Ossorio Speith, the company’s Head of Marketing and Communications, is Ecoalf’s approach in a nutshell.
Watch our CLIC® Shapers film with Carolina Álvarez-Ossorio Speith here:
Ecoalf begins by seeking out waste products that could be used to create recycled materials, with a particular focus on pollutants. The company has already developed some 500 such materials from waste ranging from plastic bottles and fishing nets to spent coffee grounds, which the company uses to create clothes from outerwear to accessories for men, women, and children. Today, around 70% of Ecoalf’s collection is made from recycled materials.
Read also: Vitra, a Swiss design icon targeting net positivity
In 2015, a fisherman contacted Ecoalf to encourage the company to focus more on collecting and finding uses for the increasing amounts of trash he saw littering the seas. Upon joining one of his expeditions and seeing the problem and potential of ocean waste for themselves, Ecoalf placed containers on fishing boats into which fishermen can dispose of any waste they catch in their nets, such as plastic bottles, glass, tyres, and metal. Today, around 4,000 fishermen across 70 ports in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain gather waste for Ecoalf, which works with a range of partners to collect and sort the materials. The waste then enters the recycling process, where it is controlled for quality, cleaned, and turned into a raw material. One such raw material is plastic flakes, which Ecoalf uses to make Ocean Yarn: one of the many recycled threads found throughout its collection.
Read also: The CLIC® Chronicles: 10 ways to build a circular economy
Built to last
For Ecoalf, a sustainable material is one that is not just recycled, but which also meets the highest standards of quality and durability. As Álvarez-Ossorio Speith explains, “Every season, what we’re focussed on is making sure that we extend the longevity of the garments.” One particularly hardy example is Ecoalf’s recent collaboration with Michelin: an extremely rugged, high-performance trainer made from Cordura – the most durable recycled polyester fabric available – for the upper, a sugarcane midsole for comfort, and an outer sole made from 20% reused scrap rubber from Michelin for performance.
Ecoalf’s focus on durability also extends to its designs. While the company does use some colour, it focusses primarily on neutral tones throughout its collection. This approach ensures that Ecoalf’s designs are timeless enough to be worn proudly however fashions evolve over the years.
When things are built to last in this way, there’s only one thing that might cut short the potentially long lifespan of the product and its materials: the “fast-fashion” mindset, in which clothing is seen as something to be used for a while before being disposed of and replaced with something new. The company is taking a two-pronged approach to closing the loop and enabling full circularity. First, Ecoalf advocates for behavioural change, encouraging its customers to treat their garments as long-term purchases rather than disposable items and, when they’re either worn out or unwanted, to recycle or donate their clothes so the product or its materials can be reused. Second, the company will support its customers in making these changes through the upcoming launch of Made to be Remade, a range of products made from recycled materials that are designed to be sent back to Ecoalf for recycling when they’re no longer needed.
“Fashion influencer”
Ecoalf’s founding vision is deceptively simple: as Carolina Álvarez-Ossorio Speith puts it, “We wanted to create a new generation of recycled products with the same quality and design standards as the very best non-recycled, to prove that there is a way to do things differently.” In bringing this vision to life, Ecoalf is showing its industry peers that it is possible to minimise waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and use less water, all while continuing to make clothes people want to wear again and again.
1 Remy, R., Speelman, E., and Swartz, S. (2016) ‘Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula’, McKinsey.
2 E D G E Fashion Intelligence (2022) ‘Fashion Industry Environmental, Waste, and Recycle Statistics’
Important information
This document is issued by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd or an entity of the Group (hereinafter “Lombard Odier”). It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a document. This document was not prepared by the Financial Research Department of Lombard Odier.
Read more.
share.