Guide
Zero-Waste
Created by
Redress
Quick Access
Learn more fashion industry terminology from the Glossary.
Quick Access
Learn more fashion industry terminology from the Glossary.
What Is It?
Zero waste is a design technique that eliminates textile waste at the design stage.
It is part of the ‘MAKE & REMAKE’ circular strategy, with a focus on designing for Low Waste.
Why Do It?
Approximately 15% of textiles intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor. 1 When textiles are wasted, so too are the resources which were invested and embedded into the textiles. It is vital to address the source of the problem by maximising the use of textile materials and by minimising the wastage. Adopting a zero-waste design approach reduces textile waste and the demand on natural resources.
How To Do It?
- First, decide
There are various approaches to making a zero-waste garment. The one rule is that there should be no wastage. So first, decide what type of garment you wish to make and which zero-waste technique to use (for example zero-waste pattern, draping or knitting), as these will inform your design and sourcing options.
While some designers understand ‘zero-waste’ as reusing the scraps or yarn leftovers they generate to make other new products, ‘zero-waste’ in the strictest sense is creating a product that utilises the entire amount of material without any scraps or leftovers to create ONE product only.
- Zero-waste pattern
This technique relies on creative pattern cutting: pattern pieces are placed in a jigsaw-like arrangement to utilise 100% of the fabric.
Credit: Pattern from Le Ngoc Ha Thu, 3D design simulation from Queenie Cheng
Le Ngoc Ha Thu, Redress Design Award 2020 winner, created this shirt by deconstructing a yukata and developing a zero-waste pattern to utilise the pieces of fabric to make this shirt.
- Zero-waste draping
Similar to the zero-waste pattern, this technique relies on creative utilisation of 100% of the fabric, this time by draping fabrics directly over a body or a mannequin.
Image credit: Redress
Damini Mittai, Redress Design Award Alumna, created this maxi skirt using the zero-waste draping technique.
- Knitting (and crochet): fully fashioned and whole garment
This method relies on knitting or crocheting products to the exact shape and measurements of the final product. The fully fashioned technique is to knit (or crochet) flat panels to the correct pattern shape to then assemble them. Whole Garment knitting (also called 3D knitting) is to knit the entire product without the need for panel assembly.
Image credit: Laura Krause, Redress
Laura Krause, Redress Design Award Alumna, knitted this dress by hand to the exact measurements of the model, without the need for cut-and-sew or panel assembly.
Expert Tips
”When I first started with zero-waste design I worked in a way that I had always worked, which was to sketch things and then move onto the pattern-cutting phase. But I changed my approach to zero-waste design when I realised that keeping an open mind regarding the final outcome, with the same goal of making beautiful garments, allowed me to explore and invent new outcomes.”
Co-Author of Zero Waste Fashion Design (Bloomsbury, 2015) and several other publications, and Associate Professor, Fashion and Textiles at the University of Technology Sydney
- Then design and source
The zero-waste design technique is an integrated design process, where designing and sourcing go hand in hand. This means that you need to know your textile dimensions to be able to design your garment; and likewise you need to know your design dimensions to source your textile. Knowing both this information is vital, as you do not want to limit your design by having to work with set textile dimensions, as this can often lead to creating unnecessary embellishments and compromise your design. Creating a zero-waste garment is about minimising wastage, so when you source, find the textile that will work for your design.
Expert Tips
”The textile width is always a crucial consideration in zero-waste design. You can’t design zero- waste without knowing exactly how wide the textile is. The textile width is the space within which you create zero-waste fashion design.”
Co-Author of Zero Waste Fashion Design (Bloomsbury, 2015) and several other publications, and Associate Professor, Fashion and Textiles at the University of Technology Sydney
- Finally... Make!
This is where your sketching and pattern will be tested. Whether you drape, knit or use a zero-waste pattern, the important thing is that the whole textile is used and that there is no wastage.
Expert Tips
“Here are my top tips to zero-waste design:
- Think before you cut and be inventive and experimental
- Construct a zero-waste pattern or drape the textile
- Sew or heat-seal the textile together
- Knit and you will only ever use the necessary amount of material
- Be inspired by origami”
Fashion Designer
- Get Inspired
Image credit: Hellen Van Rees
Hellen Van Rees sources leftover yarns from factories and through a combination of knotting, fusing, and knitting, constructs garments with no seams, cut-offs, or leftovers.
Image credit: Angus Tsui
Angus Tsui, Redress Design Award Hong Kong 2012 People’s Choice winner, created this zero-waste garment by pleating rectangular textile waste scraps.
Image credit: Yeohlee Teng
Malaysian and now New York-based designer Yeohlee Teng created this zero-waste, one-size raincoat. Yeohlee is a zero-waste design pioneer who has a strong philosophy in using textiles efficiently and minimising waste.
Image credit: Holly McQuillan
New Zealand-based zero-waste designer and researcher Holly McQuillan created this ‘Twinset: Embedded Zero Waste’ collection to experiment with applying multiple garments into one pattern.
Image credit: Julian Roberts
British designer Julian Roberts developed a technique called ‘subtraction cutting’, which utilises the negative spaces in traditional dressmaking.
