Amit Kalra: 3 creative ways to fix fashion's waste problem
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cost-effective way to be stylish.
at my local thrift store,
to become my treasure.
for your average
vintage T-shirt to wear.
at the intersection of design
the most out of the things I was finding,
garments that I was finding,
my own clothes from scratch ever since,
is uniquely my own.
racks of clothes at these thrift stores,
that I don't buy?
at these secondhand stores.
on the wholesale side,
some of the products that we sell
of these thrift stores.
into my work life, as well.
a very scary supply chain
pretty troubling realities.
I was sorting though
of the total amount of garments
of the total textile and garment waste
or recycled in some way,
of textile and garment waste
does the problem justice.
of clothing and textile waste
in just the United States alone.
roughly 200 T-shirts per person
in my home town of Toronto,
three times the size of that stadium.
are the more polite North Americans,
was seeing that the fashion industry
polluter in the world
the oil and gas industry
to hear they were the number one polluter.
that that's an industry
sticking to the status quo.
doesn't really change
on driving profitability
that the fashion industry was number two.
the fashion industry stands for.
a lot of the things we do consume,
the clothes that we buy each year.
of clothing per year
of water to produce.
per household, per year.
that always has been
on the forefront of design,
to be comfortable, designed to be trendy
to be sustainable
aptitude for change
business practices.
all we have to do
to be recyclable at the end of their life.
to leave to the professionals.
thrift store aficionado
posit one perspective,
kind of like building with Lego.
but very easily manipulated.
is very rarely modular.
with its buttons, zippers and trim.
recycle a jacket like this,
to easily remove these items
by shredding it
gets made into new fabric
or new T-shirts, for example.
with all of these extra items,
are actually quite difficult to remove.
more time or more money
cost-effective to throw it away
if we design clothes in a modular way
at the end of their lives.
to have a hidden wireframe,
that holds all important items together.
can have all of these extra items,
attached to the fabric.
is remove its fish bone
easier than before.
is definitely one piece of the puzzle.
that the fashion industry has
and start to design clothes
at the end of their lives.
we have in our closet
that have gems in our drawers
which is great.
of a garment by even only nine months
that that garment has
are always going to change
something different than you were today
friendly you want to be.
that never go out of style.
your socks, underwear, even your pajamas.
right down to the bone,
throwing them in the garbage
that have holes in them
to compost these items
is start to shift more of our resources
using more natural fibers,
are two critical priorities.
that we have to rethink
of the harsh chemical dye that we use
production hubs in developing nations.
that these harsh chemicals
at keeping a garment a specific color
that keep that bright red dress
to use something different?
in our kitchen cabinets at home
spices and herbs to dye our clothes?
that would allow for us to stain material,
than the clothes that were dyed harshly
would allow for us
and environmentally friendlier.
personal appearance
to showcase their brand
on our Instagram feeds
more personalized, more unique,
and with each wear
and wearing ripped jeans for years.
of clothes that exist in our wardrobe
and the state of her kitchen,
before coming here today.
are going to have on their Instagram feed.
in their kitchen sink at home.
on a commercial scale,
harsh chemical dyes for our clothes
is fiercely competitive.
a product at scale
will become more unique over time
with customization for years.
a bespoke suiting platform,
a bespoke dress-making platform,
possible from your couch.
their online shoe customization platforms
businesses encounter.
an environmentally friendly product
seismic industry shift.
what's best for our environment
and there's no one-step solution.
with their death in mind.
is the perfect industry
to the sustainable future
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amit Kalra - Fashion enthusiastAmit Kalra wants to fix fashion's pollution problem.
Why you should listen
When Amit Kalra was 20, he decided he wanted to be more stylish than his budget would allow. He taught himself to design and make his own clothing, sifting through thrift stores for cheap materials. Kalra's side project of cutting and sewing recycled clothes for friends and small clothing brands led him to an idea that he hopes will turn the fashion industry on its head -- and save the planet while he’s at it.
Kalra holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. At PVH Canada, he manages the planning, operations and finances for their Dress Shirt division. Outside of work, he attends fashion school part-time.
Amit Kalra | Speaker | TED.com