Upcycling, The Way Forward
Hello Subscribers! Welcome back to another edition of Head’s Up. Today, we are bringing you an interview with Paul Birly, the co-founder of social enterprise, Kain Koncept.
Kain Koncept aims to empower B40 mothers to be self-reliant through upcycling old fabric into new, everyday items. Birly shares more on the impact caused by fast fashion and why we should start looking towards upcycling.
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“Malaysians’ level of awareness on the impact caused by fast fashion is considered low and even if they are aware of the environmental impact caused by overconsumption, the call to action or the adoption of the idea of sustainable fashion is still weak” says Kain Koncept co-founder, Paul Birly.
This, he attributes to the lack of communication and transparency within the apparel industry resulting in limited public understanding and general awareness of environmental damage caused by unsustainable clothing consumption.
As fast fashion becomes increasingly affordable and easily available, Birly believes that the shorter shelf life of garments may lead to consumption without deep consideration. This in return creates a negative cycle in regards to sustainability.
In 2017, a research reported that 27% of Malaysians have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once.
Millennials (those aged between 16 and 34) have the highest proportion of new clothing; 37% of millennials say they have purchased at least half of the clothes that they own in the past year alone, the report shows.
The same generation is also 6 times more likely to sell unwanted clothes online (18% have done so, whereas 3% of baby boomers have) and are also more likely to upcycle unwanted clothing (re-fashion unwanted clothing to make new garments).
“If we break down the cost of the cheap clothes available out there, this can be achieved because of the exploitation of underpaid workers, the use of synthetic and cheap fibers are major ocean pollutants.
“Furthermore, clothing does not degrade easily and they end up in the landfill which becomes another growing environmental concern,” he says.
Raising Awareness
Social enterprise, Kain Koncept is playing an important role in raising awareness on the matter at hand and they are doing so through their partnerships with B40 mothers.
The SE since its inception has partnered with 7 mothers, and have directly impacted more than 30 individuals in assisting them to cover their essential needs.
“The mothers are talented tailors who have many years of experience in sewing garments, especially baju kurung, so it’s not that hard for them to learn new designs as their basics are strong.
“Working with them has been a fulfilling journey and this has also allowed us to understand their aspiration in life and their passion for sewing, as our in-house designer continues to train them on different skills and designs,” Birly tells Head’s Up.
The SE is also hoping to have more Malaysians rethink their consumption behaviour through upcycling fabrics.
“Recycling is turning what we normally throw away into something we can use again in its current form or as something else but upcycling taking something and transforms it into something more valuable,” Birly shares.
As our current consumption patterns creates too much waste, upcycling is a fun way to reduce the amount of garbage we generate, he says.
“We want to inspire people to be creative in giving their discarded items a new life through upcycling, be it household items or daily wear. We don’t only want to introduce people to upcycled products but also share simple ways that people can practice themselves through education.”
Birly and his team have partnered with Kloth Cares in collecting old and unwanted fabrics that suit the products they want to upcycle. They have collected more than 250kg of fabrics that can potentially become new products with an addition of artisan touch to it.
While the initiatives are off to a good start, it is not without its struggles.
One of the struggles Kain Concept face in expanding the business is to design upcycled products with commercial value to it. Some of the fabrics the SE have collected may have limited quantity and some patterns may not suit the makings of certain products.
“So we need to challenge ourselves in our product development on maximising the use of the fabrics but produce something that looks decent and adds value to customers,” he says.
Ways To Help
“We do look for grants and funding to help us to expand our initiative, whether in training facilities or equipment. Besides, mentorship from entrepreneurs as well as collaborations with other SEs or businesses will be helpful to show us the right direction to expand our initiatives,” Birly says.
He also highlighted that the SE needs sewing machines to conduct the training in groups since the mothers are using industrial sewing machines at their houses, which could be time-consuming.
The SE still accepts portable sewing machines and good quality unwanted fabrics from donors and factories.
With new directions this year, Kain Koncept is looking to release upcycled fashion collections and is set to collaborate with organisations on sustainable packaging.
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