CIRCULAR economies will help our drive to meet net-zero carbon targets by 2045, but a forthcoming conference will hear how sustainable fashion and the work of one of Scotland’s leading innovation centres can also play a leading role.
The Glasgow-based Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) conference next month will feature a session on Fashion and the Circular Economy, with a message that we should trust in our science and technology skills.
Lynn Wilson, a consultant and designer who specialises in circular economy business models and also advises at Edinburgh University, will chair that session.
She said the industry itself understood it had to change for the future. “The fashion industry is realising that the current consumption is unsustainable,” she stated.
“It is being helped by the work of start-ups in the industrial biotechnology sector, who are using plant-based sources to produce or process sustainable solutions for textiles, dyes and finishing chemicals for clothes and finding ways to recycle used garments and develop industrial closed loops for garment processes. This is the continuous cycle the fashion industry needs to try and achieve.”
Wilson cited the example of Spinnova, which produces a recyclable fibre made from wood pulp without using harmful chemicals or microplastics, and said it was critical that we educate fashion, textiles and design students in driving change.
Among those sharing their experience at the conference will be Dr Kate Goldsworthy from the University of Arts, London and co-director of the Centre for Circular Design, and Dr Richard Blackburn from Leeds University, who works on using science to create sustainable cosmetic products.
She will tell of her work advising students from the University of Edinburgh’s MSc in Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology, who recently picked up a silver award in the prestigious iGEM competition in Boston in November for a project on the “Bioremediation of Azo dyes and synthetic silk production”.
Wilson added: “It’s true we can’t produce enough natural raw materials to clothe the planet. But we can take note of the work of IBioIC and support the innovators and scientists who are working to create a moon shot for the fashion industry.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here