What if instead of managing fashion waste, we designed it out instead? Today we’re chatting with two people working to help small-scale sewers and bigger brands alike do exactly that, by focusing on zero waste systems that incorporate the whole supply chain.

Holly McQuillan is a researcher at the Swedish School of Textiles and co-author of Zero Waste Fashion Design, and Cassandra Belanger is a Glasgow School of Art graduate and founder of The Stitchery. Their partnership with fellow fashion problem-solvers Mylène L’Orguilloux and Danielle Elsener is Zero Waste Design Online, where they provide workshops and resources to help people realise their zero waste ambitions.

Holly and Cassandra explained to us why the fashion industry is so wasteful, what a zero-waste system entails, and how everyone can implement zero waste thinking into their wardrobes and designs.

Follow Zero Waste Design Online on Instagram for the latest about its work. You can also find out more about the collective in Ruth’s recent article for Eco-Age.

Here are some additional zero-waste design resources, as recommended by Cassandra:

If you liked this episode and you want to support our work, you can buy us a Ko-Fi here.

For more updates on the ethical fashion conversation, follow Common Threads on Instagram, like us on Facebook, and join the conversation on Twitter.

You’ll find Ruth on Instagram: @ruthmacgilp__ and Twitter @ruthmacgilp

You’ll find Alice on Instagram: @styledbyalicex and Twitter: @styledbyalice

Common Threads artwork was created by Mitson Design.

EP. 25 Transforming Textile Waste with Zero Waste Design Online 34:16 Share

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EP. 25 Transforming Textile Waste with Zero Waste Design Online