Xe Linn: Zero waste fashion is about creating new designs without contributing to the landfills. It is a strategy to solve textile waste in the fashion industry.

Najmia Z: Refusing and reducing any form of waste from the way we produce and consume clothes. Being innovative in reusing and recycling waste from production. Clothes should not be thrown in the landfills or kept unused. 

Atiyya Zulkarnain: Incorporating zero waste practices from design to the materials used: first, the pattern cutting leaving minimal to zero wastage, second, timeless designs to avoid “out of trend” pieces and third, materials from upcycled, eco-friendly materials. 

XL: Najmia got in touch with me over Instagram after seeing the info graphics about Little. Little specialises in zero waste pattern cutting and Real.m needed help solving their issue with piling scraps from their previous collection. So we collaborated.

NZ: At Real.m, we had about 32.3kg of scrap fabric from our previous capsule collection, IVORY.  It’s expensive and quality material we did not want to throw, and so we repurposed them back into new designs.

XL: The fast fashion industry is huge in Malaysia. Fast fashion creates a lot of negative environmental impacts such as water pollution, the use of toxic chemicals and the increase of textile waste.

NZ: It is estimated that Malaysia produces almost 2,000 tonnes of textile waste a day!

AZ: Malaysia is fast on picking up trends. It is the same when things go out of trend. This leads to over consumption on mass produced goods. It is only recently that people are getting into replacing plastic straws with stainless steel ones and I believe that it is because of the buzz that has been going around. I think, in general, Malaysia is still behind and slow with recycling/upcycling. A lot of people still do not know what to do with their clothing and only a small majority goes to donations or recycling companies.

XL: With this collection, we are not expecting to revolutionise the fashion community. However, we aim to show that there is a cleaner way to create new designs.

NZ: The approach is one of the ways forward in reducing negative outputs to people and the environment. Put an end to modern slavery, pollution and waste. Consumption behaviour needs to change towards mindful purchases and not based purely on trends and price.

AZ: If practiced properly, I believe we would minimise a large amount of wastage and reduce pollution that is caused by fast fashion industries. Even if the fashion industry does not follow it completely, it is better by implementing some practices rather than none.

XL: We are transparent about how our zero waste designs are made and the way we manage textile waste. If nothing is going to the landfills, we must be on the right path in reducing the impact to our environment.

NZ: Unfortunately, there is no auditing system for now and we are a small business.  But we welcome communication and dialogue with our customers.

AZ: I think people find it more difficult than it actually is (to practice zero waste/conscious lifestyle) and a lot of people still lack the true awareness of the impact that it has on the environment. That if they do it, they would be the minority and that it probably would not even make a difference at all. I think to overcome it is to actually look into it and learn more about it. That is why we created UNPLUG, we are more than just a retail space but a space for people to learn about conscious living and the full cycle.

Visit www.realm.com to know more about zero waste fashion and the Ivory 2.0 collection.