MediPacha

The Atacama desert in Chile has become a sacrifice zone for fashion waste. Atacama Fashion Week, the largest fashion landfill fashion show,?aims to raise awareness of the ecological collapse and social injustice generated by the global fashion industry. Several studies show that 60,000 tonnes of used clothing are shipped to Chile each year, with about 39,000 tonnes being illegally dumped in the Atacama desert. Fashion brands frequently release numerous collections annually, predominantly utilising petroleum-based synthetics. There's a trend towards ‘circularity’ by integrating so-called 'conscious' or ‘recycled’ materials, often resulting in excessive production. Fashion’s purchasing practices prioritise profit maximisation, cost reduction, and operational efficiency. Consequently, this model has led to globally dispersed, fragmented, and highly complex supply networks, which repeatedly witness appalling social and environmental crises. The blame doesn't lie with suppliers or workers; rather, it's the business, purchasing and operational strategies of fashion giants that perpetuate economic, social, and environmental problems. Employing 'sustainability' as a facade while, in reality, promoting excess reflects corporate hypocrisy, social offsetting, and greenwashing. Producing an abundance of cheap, rapid, and guilt-inducing fashion, even with recycled materials, will never constitute a conscious, or circular, solution. We have an obligation to speak out. #fashion #overproduction #waste #sustainability #climateemergency #landfill #Chile

What can we do to reduce the environmental impact of polyester? ?? Polyester is not biodegradable, leading to long-lasting environmental pollution (up to 20 to 200 years are necessary for polyester to decompose).* Furthermore, the fast-paced trends of the fashion industry contribute to the alarming rate of textile waste accumulation. These discarded clothing, when deposited in landfills, releases harmful chemicals, perpetuating pollution. To address the pressing question of how to reduce the environmental impact of virgin polyester, several viable solutions exist. One promising approach is recycling, either chemically or mechanically, which comes in forms such as textile-to-textile recycling and bottle-to-textile recycling. Our innovators have developed a variety of technologies to recycle polyester-rich textile waste. Some innovators, such as Ambercycle, CuRe Technology - Polyester Rejuvenation, and Syre focus on polyester recycling. The recycling of polyester stands as a viable solution to mitigate its environmental impact and reduce textile waste. Ongoing efforts are crucial to advancing recycling technologies, increasing recycling rates, and fostering a more circular fashion industry for a sustainable future. Do you want to know more about polyester and its environmental impact? Check out our article at https://lnkd.in/eMtRz7a3 #polyester #sustainability #sustainablefashion #innovation #consciousfashion #alternativefashion #sustainability Source: Materials that linger: An embodied geography of polyester clothes. Elyse R. Stanes, University of Wollongong. Christopher R. Gibson, University of Wollongong. https://lnkd.in/ePXpS74p

Happy Earth Day, Everyone! Let's celebrate our awesome planet with some fun Earth Day activities! Here are a few ideas for all ages: Upcycle Challenge: Take something old and turn it into something new! Turn a boring jar into a pencil holder or an old t-shirt into a reusable shopping bag! ?? Earth Day Dance Party: Crank up the tunes and show your love for the planet with some silly dance moves! ?? Virtual Earth Day Tour: Explore amazing places around the world from your living room! ? [Search online for "Virtual Earth Day Tours"] ?? No matter what you do, remember - every little bit counts! Let's keep our planet healthy and happy. #earthday #savetheplanet #MediPacha #sustainability

Better Cotton-certified producers linked to H&M and Zara’s supply chains are contributing to large-scale deforestation, land grabbing and violent harassment of local communities in a sensitive eco-region of Brazil, according to an investigation published Thursday by environmental NGO Earthsight. The organisation tracked hundreds-of-millions of dollars of products sold by H&M and Zara to manufacturers who source cotton directly from two agribusinesses linked to malpractice in the country’s vast tropical Cerrado savanna. The findings have raised fresh questions about the credibility of Better Cotton, a certification scheme widely used by major brands to assure their cotton is grown responsibly. Zara-owner Inditex slammed the Swiss-based organisation’s response to the investigation in a letter sent to its CEO earlier this week, complaining about a lack of transparency over how the initiative plans to address Earthsight’s allegations. Better Cotton did not comment on Inditex’s letter. The bigger issue, according to Earthsight, is what its findings reveal about broader shortcomings in big brands’ ability to monitor and prevent environmental and human rights abuses in their supply chains. Read the full story by?Sarah Kent ?? Thomas Bauer/Earthsight 2023

- Patagonia dedicated five years to remove PFAS from its Torrentshell rain jacket, marking a crucial step towards eliminating PFAS from all its products by 2025, in response to growing environmental concerns and regulatory pressure. - The apparel industry is undergoing significant changes as brands like Patagonia and KEEN invest in research and testing to find PFAS-free alternatives, despite facing challenges in maintaining product quality and performance, with experts like Scott Echols, Chief Impact Officer at the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Programme, emphasising the need for further innovation to replace PFAS in critical applications like firefighting gear. Read the full article on Fast Company: https://lnkd.in/eEWkDN-r