Helsinki is a pioneer of sustainable fashion

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The fashion world is on the look-out for more and more sustainable and durable solutions, and different fibre innovations and ways of reusing textiles are playing an important role. Finland is among the trailblazers in Europe in terms of developing such innovations. 

The fashion industry has been heavily criticised for the tremendous environmental footprint of fast fashion, including material waste and impact on water reserves. Furthermore, enormous quantities of poor quality clothing items are piling up in landfills. 

Many significant questions need to be solved in fashion in order to reach more sustainable production practices. Finland is one of the pioneering countries in the world tackling these questions. Many kinds of new innovations are currently being developed in Helsinki and nearby areas. 

“We are facing a great turning point in fashion. Both major and small companies have found an interest in more responsible materials,” says Kirsi Niinimäki, Associate Professor of Fashion Research at Aalto University

Recycled fibres and novel bio fibres, many of which are also being developed in Finland, are due to enter large-scale industrial production within the next couple of years. Infinited Fiber and Ioncell –– two producers of fabric from waste material –– have started proof-of-concept production in smaller batches, and will reach an industrial scale within the next couple of years.

Niinimäki feels that the fashion field cannot, however, be turned around only by exchanging materials into recycled fabrics, even if this is an important part of the change. 

“Currently, fashion is based on over-production. It has been estimated that around 30 percent of clothes never get sold, and are instead destroyed. The fashion industry at large is not operating in a sustainable manner, so a correction is called for.” 

The lifecycle of clothes needs to be critically re-examined, and the virtues of quality, durability, versatility, and repairing need to be rediscovered. 

Furthermore, the fashion field craves new business models that are based, for instance, on recycling, renting, repairing, and manufacturing from used materials. 

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There are already more than enough clothes

These are exactly the questions that the young generation of fashion designers are already asking. Three designers in a shared studio in Helsinki’s Vallila district – Elina Onkinen, Elina Määttänen, and Juha Vehmaanperä – are each solving sustainability from their own angle. 

Elina Onkinen has been exploring Ioncell technology as part of Aalto University’s Finix research initiative. The technology can be used for making new textile fibre from cellulose-based recycled textiles, cellulose, or even old newspapers. 

“I researched various ways of recycling textiles, and designed a knit garment with raw material from cotton hand towel rolls. I wanted to take part in the research project to be amongst the first to test out new recycled materials, as it is still hard to get one’s hands on these new innovations”, Onkinen says.

In addition to developing new fibres, it is important to examine what kind of purposes they may fit. This is where the expertise of clothing and textile designers comes in. 

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Elina Määttänen alters old clothing items by adding hand-made details using material from used clothing. The embroidered details give the clothes a unique look and feel.

At the moment, Määttänen is digging into a pair of old Levi’s jeans. She is decorating their surface with three-dimensional relief-like pieces. 

“You don’t need to make new clothes in order to make fashion. We already have more than enough material. Fashion can also mean shaping and styling an old garment”, she says. 

Juha Vehmaanperä uses recycled fibres along with surplus materials and side streams left over from the industry as base material for their clothing designs. Their background is in knitting and crocheting.  

“A fashion designer can also function as an idea generator and make instructional manuals for people to alter their own clothes”, Vehmaanperä proposes. 

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Fashion with a clean conscience

The young designers navigate through the crossing points of fashion, science, and art in their projects, but all three also have work experience with major international fashion houses. For example Elina Määttänen furthered her career at the Parisian MM6 Maison Margiela, followed by Tiger of Sweden. What made her question the work of the big producers? 

“I wanted to make products that leave you with a clear conscience. The big companies had an interest in ecological material choices, and designers can influence what materials are used, but not the very structures of the industry,” Määttänen says. 

The three designers and Professor Niinimäki all feel that fashion needs a bigger shake-up. The most important thing would be to slow down, putting an end to the production of throw-away garments, and instead focus on quality. 

“Fashion needs new criteria that would surpass the focus on looks portrayed in social media, and instead emphasise materials and quality. We need to shed the idea that a piece of clothing is bought and thrown out a moment later”, Elina Onkinen sums up. 

“In addition, we need to see political decision-making that guides and forces the fashion industry in a more sustainable direction. Responsibility cannot be left only with consumers'', Elina Määttänen continues. 

Luckily Helsinki is marching in the front lines of a new fashion world – one where everyone can wear their clothes with a good conscience.

Juha Vehmaanperä, Elina Onkinen and Elina Määttänen behind a table laughing
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A tip from the designers

Instead of a constantly changing wardrobe, the young generation of designers recommend focusing on durable go-to garments made from good materials. 

“Have fun with what you have in your wardrobe. Try to think how you could combine your clothes in a new way. You don’t need a new outfit everyday”, Elina Määttänen says. 

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Teaser text
Finland is among the trailblazers in Europe in terms of developing more sustainable and durable solutions for the fashion world.