Make Textiles Matter: Create Sustainable Fabrics from Textile Waste

The more innovative sustainable fabrics are when we create fabrics for fashion clothes, the more likely it is that the world can create a better market. Here, maake explores the UK’s views on making fabrics more sustainable. We also discover several innovative companies focusing on sustainability who are making fabrics from food and textile waste for economic reasons.

New Innovations, Sustainable Fabrics

We have previously provided feedback regarding circularity and manufacturing fashion fabrics in our blog series on being sustainable. Another way of making innovative sustainable materials for clothing involves producing fabrics from waste. This is when you take other people’s waste and make treasures. Let’s explore how fashion houses and textiles manufacturers are doing this.

The innovation, Textiles 2030 was rebranded this year to The UK Textiles Pact, “the UK’s leading voluntary initiative supporting businesses and organisations within the fashion and textiles industry to transition to more sustainable and circular practices by the end of the decade”.  This way, the Pact hopes to put an end to climate change. This has been, and will continue to be, a mammoth task. Currently, the Pact is researching, innovating and designing systems in collaboration with other businesses to lessen the damage caused by the fast fashion industry.

They published the UK Textiles Pact Roadmap 2026 to 2030, which aims to “reduce carbon emissions by 50% and water use by 30%” by the end of the decade. This will help transition to circularity. More good news: The Pact recently found that “100% of total material use is from preferred sources”. It has increased to 53%. Of that amount, 16% is from recycled materials; this is over two times the global average of 7.6%. 

Materials Make Waste

According to WRAP statistics, The United Kingdom’s clothing and fabrics sector currently supports around 1.3 million jobs – one in every 25 jobs in Britain! This industry is one of the largest sectors in the country, and its influence extends all over the earth.

WRAP also created a 10-point blueprint for UK textiles, which would entail retailers and new product brands pay for waste and disposal costs. It shows the importance of waste reduction that goes a little further than the voluntary initiatives.

The British Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) is the country’s largest network for recycled fabrics, bringing together global and British brands, designers, manufacturers and suppliers. “With a growing focus on sustainability and innovation,” UKFT tells us, they are “driving meaningful action in the transition to a circular economy.”

This organisation represents the British clothing industry, “from jeans, Savile Row suits and designer dresses through to medical masks, upholstered car seats and next-generation fabrics”.  

They created a manufacturing report on circularity that discusses the way forward for the industry, the importance of being sustainable and a shift towards circularity. One of their main focuses is embracing and integrating new technologies and innovations for sustainable fabrics and clothing to be made.

We’ve written reams about why sustainable materials are so important, which you can read right here.

New Science: Recycled Plants & Food to Materials

In 2026, what can be done to transform textile waste into fabric? The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that one-third of all global edible objects is wasted. So, using it is an excellent innovation for making sustainable fabrics.

1.     Oranges into Organic Textiles

Italian company Orange Fibre takes ‘pastazzo’, the citrus pulp and peels remaining from fruit after making juice out of it, and transforms this cellulose into a ‘silk-like fibre’, that can either be used on its own or blended with other fibers to create recycled fabrics. This material, called “TENCEL™ Limited Edition x Orange Fiber” is made in Sicily in a sustainable closed loop process. The company was founded in Catania in 2014. Global designer brands using these fabrics include Salvatore Ferragamo.

2.     Nettles Into Recycled Fabric

There are three different nettle plants made into future fabrics, including Ramie and Himalayan nettle. The fibre from these nettle plants goes through a recycling process to create alternatives for plastic in various global countries including Japan, Scandinavia, Germany, China, Russia and Poland. One of the reasons for this plant’s popularity is that it is much more sustainable to grow than organic cotton or hemp, which requires far more water and pesticides. Some of the fabrics made from nettle plants have been likened to fine silk with a breathable structure. 

3.     Kapok to Organic Cotton Fabric

Another silk-like textile is made from kapok fibers, which are breathable, water resistant, lightweight and hypoallergenic. It’s a long process, carried out in Cambodia using Bombax Ceiba fruits. The fruit trees grow up to 164 feet, no higher, and produce around 4,000 fruits each season. Very little water transforms fruit into a recycled kapok and organic cotton blend material. As this particular organic fibre takes time to be made into material, it’s used mainly for lightweight thermal clothes produced using organic cotton and other blends.

4.     Coffee Grounds to Sustainable Fabrics

Transforming coffee grounds into fabrics involves collecting grounds, drying and processing them into biodegradable fibres and material. These materials are known for their UV protection. The fabric dries fast, so it’s a particularly popular choice activewear and footwear brands.

5.     Mycelium from Mushrooms to Vegan Leather

French design house Hermès and Britain’s own Stella McCartney have joined forces with startups to use biodegradable leather alternatives. Mycelium from mushrooms is their fiber of choice,  and they create handbags, shoes (and even couches) from this innovative material.

6.     Banana Stems to Spinning Yarns

In India, Shroff Industries is renowned for creating exquisite textured fabrics using agricultural waste such as banana stems to weave innovative materials.

7.     Apples to Fashion Garments

American designer Tommy Hilfiger is one of the designers currently using fabric created by Italian company Frumat SRL, who make their alternative textile from apple fruit pulp.

For more textile innovations focusing on sustainability, view our latest blog.

What’s Currently Happening

The emergence of Digital Product Passports (DPPs), something the EU has recently introduced, will certainly “improve product authenticity, transparency, and sustainability”. A DPP is “a digital identity lin ked to a physical product that tracks key information across its lifestyle, including origin and materials; carbon footprint, recyclability, repair and maintenance instructions plus regulatory and compliance data”. All one has to do is scan the DPP to see the traceability and accountability of the produce throughout its journey.

Follow our Lead

At maake, our primary focus is to be sustainable and use sustainable materials. With our maake less Waste sustainability initiative, we do our utmost to eliminate this by creating recycled fabrics, and we try to be sustainable in every possible recycling way: 

· We Focus on Innovation & Being Sustainable: We consider our environmental impact when we print on material. We use as little water and energy as possible, and reduce waste. For our sustainability initiative, we use a 100% renewable energy source. A test has shown that the energy we use to print is less than it takes to use a home fan heater. Also, the inks we use for printing are all sustainable, toxin-free and safe for children.

· Zero Waste Policy: As we care about eliminating as much surplus as possible, we offer customers free upcycling units and give excess recycled organic and synthetic fabric to local charities, schools, and educational institutions.

· We Save Energy: We use energy-saving cut-off switches on all our printing and manufacturing machines, so they consume less energy when not in use.

· We ‘Buy Local’: We purchase everything we need locally for our business. Customers can also pick these up from our North London mill, reducing our footprint further and saving time in collecting items.

· We Have a Safe, Clean Working Environment: Our team enjoys safe, healthy working conditions. All earn the London Living Wage.

· We Shop Small: As a small/medium company in the textile industry, we understand how important it is to back small businesses. Check out our Guide to Printing on Sustainable Fabrics.

· We Control Waste Materials: We encourage clients and colleagues to give recycled organic or regular fabrics like organic cotton, wool and bamboo a second life instead of using synthetic materials and become more aware of sustainability. Our Textile Waste initiative has a policy that gives like-minded people in our industry interested in being sustainable an opportunity to act positively by donating recycled material to charities, schools and customers. If you’d like to become a volunteer, contact us through our website page for more data.

For more information on using all of maake’s products and services, please feel free to contact us.