How can you make sure that your textile designs have a low environmental impact?

The first step is to educate yourself on materials, production methods, shipping and the rest of your supply chain. Keep in mind that it’s impossible to have no impact on the environment, your goal should be to minimize your impact, so now that you’re educated on your options, choose what are the areas that you want and can focus on and set up specific goals. The second step is to design your product with circularity in mind. Think about the life of the product after the customer is done with it. Can it be recycled, repaired, repurposed. In most cases designing a product that last will have a lot more impact than using sustainable materials that end up in land field. Good luck.

Fundamental, y añadiría que debemos elegir fibras naturales que necesiten menos consumo de recursos para su obtención. Recursos hídricos principalmente, pero también otro tipo de recursos como el uso de la tierra y la superficie que requieren. El aprovechamiento de fibras recicladas es otro pilar básico para la ecología y lo más importante, reducir el consumo, la compra compulsiva de ropa para evitar todos los problemas que genera y porque no nos hace falta.

Making a garment that will last and is good quality helps a lot with its sustainability. Consider a material that can be repaired or reused for another purpose

With most every physical product there is always a packaging aspect correlated to the product itself. It's wise to also consider the sustainability of the packaging that will be used throughout the entire process from sourcing to processing to delivering the physical solution. Oftentimes there's considerable amount of unintended or unplanned packaging waste which can offset all the good and thoughtful sustainability design of the product. Packaging waste and carbon footprint can eclipse the product sustainability if packaging systems are not contemplated during product design and sourcing.

In addition to working with eco friendly materials, we need to consider the production process start to finish. Opt for eco-friendly production methods such as digital product creation, low-impact dyes, water-efficient processes, and ethical manufacturing practices. Look for certifications like GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) to ensure that your production meets strict environmental and social criteria. Minimize Waste by Designing textile products to maximize material efficiency and minimize waste. Consider using zero-waste patterns that utilize the entire fabric without creating scrap or leftover pieces. Incorporating recycling programs or take-back initiatives can help reduce end-of-life waste…Embrace circular economy principles

in my experience you first need to talk to people working in the end of life segment, as well as the LCA of the material and manufacturing processes. Once you have the knowledge then you can make better design decisions.

Know your supply chain, get honest and clear on where your materials come from - seed to waste. Understand the origin story of all your materials, at what stages synthetics get woven into non-synthetics, labor practices of the companies you choose to work with, why you’re selecting what you are, life cycle of the product, and strategize a take back program. Don’t look away. Be transparent about what you’re working on improving. Know your people. Visit them, develop relationships, collaborate on improving processes, workers rights, waste, water, etc. We’re in this together and if the client does demand - we cannot expect companies to do it.