My name is Ilse Nijland. I am circular designer and owner of Studio Mullland. I create new items from thrifted jeans, curtains, blankets, and bedsheets to save them from the landfills. Buying new fabrics for sewing orders made me wonder about all that newly produced material, knowing there is a growing textile mountain that causes pollution problems in the Atacama Desert in Chile or in Accra, Ghana. Learning how much water and chemicals are used to produce fabrics and how long it takes for fabrics to decompose was an eye-opener for me. How is it possible for something that costs so much to  produce to be thrown away so easily? It seems to me that it is time to make a change. And I am trying to do so by upcycling, reworking, reusing, repurposing, and recycling preloved clothes and fabrics that I collect at the thrift shop and turn these into beautiful new items.

 

Did you know that the fashion and textile industry is the world's 2nd most polluting industry? Water is wasted (8000 liters for 1 pair of jeans). And 9 billion of chemical substances are being used in the textile industry per year.

90% of our clothes contain nylon or polyester, which are made from fossil fuels (oil). Only 15% of fashion products are actually re- or upcycled. 85% of our clothes are disposed of in landfills, where it can take 40 years for them to decompose. Mind you, that is 200 years if the fabric contains polyester.

Harsh facts! It is time to make a change. Fast fashion - let's slow it down.