Trash heaps are growing higher and higher, and textile waste is a major part of that, thanks to fast fashion. Tackling both problems at once, the Dutch Sustainable Fashion Week (DSFW), which runs from 6 to 15 October, kicks off the event with a fashion show called Talking Trash!, which showcases fashion made from household waste.

This year, it’s the fourth edition of the DSFW. The event aims to show people where clothing comes from and what the story behind the production process is. Over 400 stores in the Netherlands are participating. The theme this year is the circular economy.

The fashion industry is, after the oil-industry, the most polluting industry in the world. It uses heaps of chemicals, but also produces mountains of waste. A third of the clothing that is produced is never even worn, and a mere 0.1 per cent of collected textile is recycled.

The amount of plastic and other waste is also growing, so the DSFW decided to tackle both problems with their fashion show, calling attention to circularity and reducing waste. Various designers will show their work.

Monique Collignon, for instance, created a line of clothing called Waste2Wear that makes clothing out of recycled PET bottles. One item of clothing contains about 15 bottles. Of course, this is not a 100 per cent sustainable solution, as textile made from plastic still sheds plastic fibres as it is washed.

Designer Map Renes makes skirts out of Icelandic salmon leather. The tanning and colouring process uses a lot of warm water, which is gathered from a geothermic source. The electricity used comes from a hydroelectric power station.

In addition to the PET bottles and salmon skins, we can also expect designs made from tea bags and bags from chips, according to the announcement. Other sustainable fashion designers who participate in the fashion show are Judith van Vliet, Hellen van Rees, Danya Weevers, and Hans Ubbink, who earlier this year created a dress made from Nespresso cups.

The fashion show takes place today (5 October) at the circular pavilion Circl in Amsterdam and starts at 19.00h (UTC+01:00). For the entire programme of the DSFW, click here (in Dutch only).

Photos: Monique Collignon / Map Renes / Nespresso / DSFW