Future of Fashion: How Designer Romane Poret is Turning Food Waste Into The Coolest Clothing

Have you eaten your five a day? How about “Have you worn your five a day?”. That’s right, textiles are evolving to a whole new level.

The young designer— Romane Poret— who studies at the Higher Education School of Art and Design in Toulon, France (ESADTPM), has come up with a natural produce ‘potion’ that turns itself into durable, wearable clothes.

How the inspiration came from looking at fruits and vegetables astonishes me, but Romane has found a way to use produce waste —mainly the peel/skin—turn it into a formula that when dried by the sun, becomes this glossy and sturdy material fit for clothes. With this material she has not restricted her production to only clothes but has also created lamps, bags, earrings, paintings, ties, and even window art.

Making the entire production process environmentally friendly has rarely, if ever been seen before. And we need ideas like these now more than ever.

As we all know, our planet is rapidly dying, unfortunately most don’t realise that fast-fashion is one of the main causes. Whilst acquiring knowledge on this topic is a great start, given the pace of climate decline unfortunately, it isn’t enough and we must take action.

According to Earth.Org, fast fashion is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions—which is more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. It is also the second-biggest consumer of water, requiring about 700 gallons to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans.

Textile production accounts for about 20% of global clean water pollution, while washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year— the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles. I could go on and on…

Which is the exact reason why this new invention, this new change, is so inspiring. We might have just taken a peak into the future of the fashion industry.

This creation remains relatively new and doesn’t come without its challenges. Currently the biggest challenge faced is time, the amount of time it takes to finish a product. For instant, her vintage style beetroot jacket took over 60 hours. Her handbag took several days due to the drying process. But with more tests and trials, and more people willing to work alongside this invention, biodegradable fashion could be our future.

In today’s world, the bravest act is choosing to make a positive change. Because it isn’t easy, it requires time and effort. And unfortunately there aren’t many people willing to do the work necessary for change. As this isn’t an instant reward, but a reward over decades of consistency.

Romane saw the damage that fast fashion caused and decided to dedicate her energy and time into making a positive change.

Imagine if all of us improved something that we loved, to be kinder to our world. Think about the change we could make.

Designs from Romane Poret’s Studio Evaporer

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Written by Mhia Vignoulle