SAN FRANCISCO — July 7, 2016 — Fashion designers looking for certified circular materials for their next collection can now look to the Fashion Positive Materials Collection. As of July 1, 2016, designers can access these materials online and browse a portfolio of materials that are Cradle to Cradle Certified™ or have received a Material Health Certificate, which at higher levels of certification ensures safe materials suitable for circular design.
Fashion Positive is an initiative of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which aims to transform fashion one material at a time. Together, with a community of pioneering brands, designers and suppliers, Fashion Positive identifies and certifies key building blocks of the fashion industry — creating a growing collection of “positive” materials available through the Materials Collection. The goal is circular materials that can be perpetually cycled. Some materials are further along that pathway than others, so each material has been assessed and improved based upon five categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness. A Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum Certification indicates where the material falls.
The new Materials Collection allows apparel companies and designers to search for textiles and other materials—like dyes, buttons and labels—for apparel and accessories. Each entry includes detailed material specifications; available colors, sizes and weights; and information about stock and custom ordering.
“For many brands, designers and suppliers, it’s a long journey to circular fashion. Fashion Positive meets our members wherever they are on that path and provides the leadership, the vision and methodology to assist our partners in the transition to circularity; the Materials Collection is a big step in that direction. Materials are also assessed against our Standard, so not only are they potentially circular, they are also making a positive impact right now. To obtain Cradle to Cradle Certification materials are assessed against requirements in five standard categories ensuring holistic environmental quality that goes beyond circularity,” says Lewis Perkins, the President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Currently, 14 Cradle to Cradle certifications and 12 Material Health Certificates cover a total of 39 materials for fashion.
Some of the materials included in the new Fashion Positive Materials Collection include:
- Lauffenmühle’s infinito® toolkit (elastic bands, buttons, sewing thread, woven labels,
- woven ribbon, interfacing, monofilament for 3D printing)
- DyStar dyes (reactive, vat and disperse dyes for wool, cotton and polyester)
- Maiyet’s FAIR cashmere (cashmere and cashmere/silk yarns)
“Being a part of Fashion Positive’s Materials Collection is huge for us. The assessment process was thorough and incredibly rigorous, which is why we’re proud that our dyes received a Material Health Certificate at the GOLD-level,” says Fanny Vermandel, Vice President, Global Marketing Coloration, DyStar Colours Distribution GmbH.
Posted July 8, 2016
Source: Fashion Positive / Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
