The Mindful Fashion Circular Design Award wasn't on my radar until this year when I have been really diving into researching organisations aligned with my values and passions. I read about it with interest but wasn't really thinking about entering until I heard about the upcoming closure of Columbine (a hosiery producer, and the only one in New Zealand), and a design planted itself in my head fully formed using pre-consumer waste hosiery as a textile - and it wouldn't leave me alone until I entered!

Using synthetic textiles is a departure from my usual practise, as I generally dislike wearing them and I strongly believe we need to stop using synthetics where more ecologically friendly and sustainable options exist - which in many cases they do. So why did I decide to use a synthetic textile waste stream when I would much rather spend my time and energy using natural fibres? Mostly to make a few points...

We are drowning in plastic clothing, most of which we can't currently recycle, and because cheap synthetic garments look shabby or misshapen so quickly, we get rid of them after only a few wears and thrift stores can't sell most of them. Most of it therefore ends up in landfill where it will not be returned to nature, but will break down over a very long period into increasingly small plastic particles which will pollute the land and water and end up ingested by living organisms including humans.

I felt like this challenge would be a good way to get more involved in the circular design conversation and spark discussion about design considerations in our textiles and clothing, as well as keep some synthetic textiles out of landfill for longer.
I wanted to challenge myself to make something from synthetic waste that does not look like it was made from waste, using garments that are essentially single-use plastics. Further to that I hoped to make an elevated look that could potentially be worn as occasion wear.

Why hosiery? And some things I have learned

When I read about the upcoming closure of Columbine, it got me thinking about these garments, their history, and their place in modern fashion, as well as how they are made and what a waste they seem to me - both in the fact that they are a short-lived, effectively single-use item, and that there must also be a waste stream of garments made that never even make it to being worn (factory rejects).

When I contacted Columbine prior to them ceasing operations, they said they were unable to give me data on the amount of rejected garments the factory produced but they bale them in 10kg lots and typically sell these to cleaning companies and painters (presumably for use as rags and for straining paint). So while the textiles do get some kind of use, it seems they would be quickly contaminated and unsuitable for any further use and sent to landfill within a fairly short period. They were happy to sell me a bale but stated it would be a random mix of various styles, which I agreed to and purchased a bale for $50.

As someone who does not wear hosiery (at least since the opaque tights I sometimes wore to school), I hadn't given much thought to these garments before this project. I was aware that they are knitted on industrial machines and that most are nylon blended with elastane these days, and that before the advent of synthetics, there were fine silk stockings which were expensive and luxurious, unaffordable to most and which had to be held up with ribbons, belts or garters since they did not have the stretch and recovery of today's elastane blended knits. After nylon was introduced by DuPont in 1938, the industry was revolutionised and almost 200 million pairs were produced in the US by the time of the war. Read more about the history of hosiery here.

I found a couple of interesting YouTube videos including this one that show the modern industrial process of producing hosiery. I hadn't realised prior to this that the garments are made first in white and later dyed, printed or embellished. The number of garments these machines can produce in a day is astonishing!

Nylon production has significant environmental impacts, primarily because it is a resource-intensive, non-biodegradable material that relies on petrochemicals. The process requires substantial energy, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly a potent form of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide). Water is heavily used for cooling and dyeing, and the resulting wastewater can contain micropollutants. As a synthetic material, nylon does not biodegrade, persisting in the environment for centuries and contributing to plastic waste and microfibre pollution.

While nylon is recyclable, we just don't have systems in place yet to actually do it for many items, especially clothing. There are some companies like Aquafil who make Econyl (recycled nylon yarn) however they only accept nylon from take-back schemes of some products produced with their own Econyl yarn, and from feedstock such as carpets, fishing nets and plastic components (since these are not blended with other fibres). I emailed them to clarify if there is a route for recycling other nylon apparel through them and they confirmed they do not do this, and are still working on the problem of blended textiles such as the commonly used elastane, as it makes it very difficult to separate out the fibres. They said that they are probably years away from doing that at scale.

Another company I know of is Samsara Eco in Australia who are using AI-designed enzyme processes to recover synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester, including blends, and returning them to virgin-identical fibres. This is really exciting and gives me some hope that before long we could have access to mixed synthetic apparel recycling so I am following with interest!

Notes on nylon

Columbine told me that most of their products are nylon/elastane blend but some styles also included cotton or wool blended with those fibres. I'm not aware of the reasons for their closure, I had assumed it must be due to declining demand for the product but a little online research suggests otherwise - Vogue Australia say hosiery is making a big come back this year. and the market is still growing according to this research site (however this seems to include socks so I'm not certain of the figures for stockings). If that's the case, I hope projects like this one get people thinking about how bad this product is environmentally speaking! At the very least, look for recycled nylon hosiery, or perhaps ones made with cellulosic fibres and or bio-based nylon replacements, a few of which are reviewed here.

Design decisions

The photo on the left shows my 10kg bale of rejected hosiery (this image does not do justice to the number of garments that make up that weight! Some had visible defects such as the dye inconsistency shown in the second image, but many must have been quite minor as I couldn't see them.

When I received the bale, I was surprised by the fact that most of the garments were thick opaques. Unfortunately the design in my head was based on an assumption that most would be lightweight sheers. I only had about 6 pairs of sheers so I had to come up with some changes to my plan.

I decided to make reference in my design to the fact that the dye process was done after the tights were constructed (which I hadn't realised before and I imagine most people wouldn't know), by stripping out some dye to show the original white. On experimenting, the black dye was not removable so I only used the skin tones. The few sheers I had were various skin tones so removing dye also allowed those to blend together.

Repurposing most of the wearable garments:

The dark tan tights at the far left of the top image, upon research, turned out to be dancing tights (slightly shiny and with no gusset), and they all seemed perfectly wearable so I gave them to a dancing school where they will be used. Similarly any defects in most of the black tights and stockings seemed almost imperceptible so I passed them to Dress for Success where they will have a good chance of being worn.

I used all the 6 sheer pairs I had and all the medium tan opaque tights (12) for my design. There are a handful of embroidered and tartan pairs remaining that I will find homes for!

Fabric recovery and pattern cutting

The first image on the right shows how I cut each pair of tights to recover fabric; I removed toe seams and opened each leg into a rectangle. The top part was knitted differently (thicker and with a banded pattern you can't see in the image) so I repurposed them cut in strips as garden ties, they are perfect for that job being soft, stretchy, strong and long lasting even in rain and sun. They also make great glasses cloths since they don't make lint.

My imagined design already involved making use of long narrow rectangles, but my original plan was for a many-layered skirt using sheers (attached to the bodice) a bit like a tutu but more cocktail dress. I had to alter that plan since I only had enough sheer pairs to make a bodice, so I decided to use the thicker deniers to make a figure-hugging mermaid style skirt by creating triangular godets (inserted panels to add fullness) from each rectangle cut diagonally and re-organised as shown in the second image on the right. This meant that there were no pattern pieces to cut as such, only a little waist shaping created by tapering the seams at the top of the skirt, which was trimmed when overlocking (which creates a small amount of waste). I would hesitate to call this zero waste pattern cutting but it did essentially mean that the entirety of each recovered panel was used.

Inspiration and making use of the textile's properties

My design had always been based on the assumption that there would be sheer stockings and I wanted to make use of these to create soft, tulle-like layers. I am very inspired by the work of Sylvie Facon and her whimsical, artistic and beautiful layered dresses, handwork, and the storytelling aspect of her designs. Also the almost tissue paper-like texture of the nylon textile and its habit of curling at the edges made me think of flower petals, so I wanted to try to add some elements of nature and an ethereal quality to the garment if possible, but I feel there is a bitter irony in decorating this synthetic fabric with a wildflower motif. That is part of the dialogue I wish this outfit to raise though, I want us to think about where our clothing comes from and where it could return to (or could not in the case of plastics such as these!)

I sketched and traced a variety of wildflowers, grasses and ferns directly onto the bodice panels and used free-motion machine embroidery to stitch the designs. I used a stabiliser underneath the fabric to allow it to be stitched on the machine, which was removed afterward and the design lines were washed away. The images on the left show the machine embroidering and a panel after the stabiliser and markings were removed.

The ferns are a small nod to New Zealand, and I also added a thistle representing Scotland where my family comes from.

The layered design of the bodice is intended to look like a soft corset made of petals. I stitched the layers onto a sheer base leaving small gaps that might mimic the visible boning lines of a structured corset, though it is actually soft, stretchy (not really visible in my photos as the dress form is white and my photography not great!)

Prolonging the use of these garments
Extending the use of garments already in existence by just 9 months is estimated to reduce their carbon, water and waste footprints by up to 20% according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
Hopefully most of the garments I sourced for this entry will be used by the groups I have passed them to, and I hope the garments I have made will also be use longer than they might have otherwise and also be used to create conversation about circularity.

Recycling potential
In an effort to speak to circularity concepts, it was important to me not to reduce the (already limited) potential for these garments to be recycled by adding hardware or other fibre types. The first was easy enough with a stretch outfit; fit with no fasteners is achievable with negative ease.
However, my intention from the outset to use only nylon thread ended up being a battle I frustratingly lost.

I did learn a few valuable lessons through this investigation, and these form part of the story of this entry, raising some interesting points relating to circularity:

• Even with good intentions, it can be really difficult to stick to single fibres when constructing garments, especially in a limited marketplace such as New Zealand, due to limited availability, minimum order quantities and shipping factors.

• 'Wooly nylon' being used in the industry as a generic term for textured thread for stretch seams is confusing and somewhat misleading! I came across many websites selling 100% polyester 'wooly nylon'!

• It doesn't seem to be widely discussed or considered that using thread of a different fibre to the garment fabric adds complication to blending fibres where recycling or biodegradation is concerned. I would not be so concerned about using a different fibre in the thread if both textile and thread were biodegradable (non-plastic). However when it comes to synthetics that cannot be un-made by nature, our habit of mixing fibres makes recycling extremely difficult or impossible at present. I'll bet your average "100% cotton" shirt is actually still made with polyester thread...

• I discovered a new-to-me product via this research; Coats EcoCycle, a water dissolvable thread designed to aid in recycling garments. It is claimed to withstand normal use and washing, but dissolves at 95 degrees C after 30 mins. This is designed to aid deconstruction of garments entering a recycling process. It was great to find out that a thread manufacturer is making efforts in developing products with circularity in mind, including several recycled synthetic fibre threads as well as closed loop processed lyocell (cellulose based) thread in addition to cottons. Note however, the dissolvable thread is still made of a type of plastic as I understand it (PVA; the stuff used to coat dishwasher pods), and whilst it could help us recycle existing synthetic garments, I still think it is more important in the hierarchy of sustainability actions that we drastically reduce our production of them in the first place so I would prefer to focus on plastic-free products.

Cue: The Thread Saga! (and more lessons learned)
Most threads now used for construction are polyester, or have a polyester core with another fibre coating - for reasons including strength and performance, cost and availability. However for stretch seams, a textured thread usually referred to as "wooly nylon" is often used in the loopers of the overlock and coverstitch machines. I had in my sewing stash some cones which I'd thought would be ideal (especially because they just happen to be skin tones and white, and also I bought most of them as deadstock from factory surplus in Hong Kong street markets). On closer inspection though, this was the first time I noticed that the Coats Gramax (the cone on the left side of this image) actually states 'textured polyester' in tiny print. My white cones (second in the image) had no labelling and I can't remember what brand they are, so I embarked on what ended up being a 2 week hunt for nylon threads suitable for overlocking and cover seaming my hosiery fabric. After much searching and email conversations with Coats New Zealand, I found that while there are such products available overseas, no-one appears to stock them in New Zealand, and Coats could only get me some by ordering a minimum quantity of industrial proportions, and also it would take 12 weeks!
My next attempts involved trying to use other nylon threads including item 3 in the image - nylon monofilament (think fine fishing line/invisible thread) and the only other I could find, the 4th in the image, which is a very strong but thick thread, normally used for sewing leather or topstitching denim. Neither would produce a functional seam in my overlock or coverstitch machines, so I had to admit defeat and use my polyester threads.

Intentions for this design & storytelling

Other challenges

Apart from the obvious challenge of handling this fabric which is easy to snag and curls at the edges, and requires appropriate stretch seams to accommodate the large amount of stretch in the textile, what I did not anticipate was that I would not be able to get the creases out! After watching the process of how the hosiery was made, in which they steam the garments on metal forms, I'd assumed with some steam ironing and gentle stretching I would be able to do the same. Unfortunately I was dead wrong and the finished garments are still very creased even after many attempts. I even tried a process of washing, rolling in towels and then stitching the skirt into a sort of stretched out spider web to pull it taut as it drip dried. I should have taken a photo of that process, anyone that came to the house would have thought I was very odd or building some kind of large art installation! I had to admit defeat in the end and submit a wrinkled outfit and just be satisfied with sharing this learning experience!

Care guidelines and end of use consideration for the outfit

Washing - the garments are made of blended nylon/elastane which can ordinarily withstand machine washing even at 60 degrees Celsius, however due to the embroidery and hand stitching, the top especially is best hand washed gently in warm water with gentle fabric detergent and then squeezed in a towel to remove most of the water without wringing. They can be pressed with a warm-hot iron and a pressing cloth to remove as much wrinkling as possible, though I found I could not completely remove wrinkles in the skirt especially. I would not dry clean or tumble dry these garments, both because they are likely to harm them and also environmentally less friendly.

Repairs - since this textile is prone to snags, to some extent these are part of the look, however unwanted small snags can sometimes be teased back in by gently stretching the surrounding fabric. Larger snags or tears may mean a section of the garment needs to be replaced. Since nylon hosiery is still fairly common and easily acquired, it should be possible, if desired, to find replacement textiles. Damage to the top may be possible to disguise using additional embroidery (see techniques section).

Product stewardship

I sewed labels into the garments with a QR code linking to this page (left) with the intention that the story behind them and the discussion points I wish to promote can be easily accessed and read by anyone who sees them (and has internet access). I also include details on this page for care and repair and end of life suggestions, should it happen that someone other than myself takes ownership of these garments.

I hope that lifecycle tracing such as blockchain technology, product passports, supply chain transparency, take-back and resale schemes and greater product stewardship responsibility etc could be important steps toward responsible design, production, ownership and end-of-use choices by all of us.

End of use - as mentioned earlier, while nylon is recyclable, our current systems do not support it, especially in geographically remote locations such as NZ, and with these being blended fibres, I'm not aware of any recycling options at present. I hope this outfit will be kept for a lot longer than the waste textiles would otherwise have been, and will be used to bring up the points I've discussed here.

My other intention for this outfit that didn't quite work out the way I'd hoped was to offer it as a rental outfit through a local company, The Borrowed Collective. I was really enthusiastic about this idea for several reasons; to further prolong the use of the garments, to raise the profile of clothing rental and its role in supporting a more circular fashion economy in which we produce and purchase less (occasion-wear being particularly suited to this since it often gets worn far less than day to day clothing when owned by an individual), and lastly, I hoped we might collaboratively be able to spark even wider circularity conversations with clients of the company, and even donate rental proceeds for this outfit to a charitable cause.

While they were supportive of the idea in principle, sadly we came to the conclusion that this particular outfit would not be suitable as a rental due to its delicate nature and being predominantly white. However, the good news is that we are now talking about trialing the concept of regenerating outfits from dresses that are no longer able to be rented due to damage or staining, to add back into the rental collection in the future.

Final thoughts

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about my entry. I have oscillated between feeling like I have created something attractive considering it is made of hosiery, that pushes the limits of what this particular textile can be used for, that extends its usefulness while telling a provocative story about our textile industry to conversely feeling like no-one would ever realistically wear the outfit and that I'm trying to make a silk purse from a sow's ear (as the proverb would have it) and that it doesn't do justice to what I could make if I'd used say a cotton or silk. But then it seems easy to me to make something beautiful out of those! Then, I can't help but feel embroiled in the inherent problems I see with this fabric when I use it to make something - the use of unsustainable resources, water and energy, the emissions already caused and the further pollution it will cause if it goes into the land or water (and even while in use via microfibre shedding); and that no amount of skill or crafts(wo)manship can undo these problems that have already been designed into the textile. I don't feel the same sense of pride as I might if I'd made this outfit from natural fibres and they would likely not have had the same limitations that prevented me from completing my intended use for the garments as rentals. So while I am glad to have prevented this textile from heading to landfill soon, and I do hope what I've made shares a story and creates discussion, ultimately this exercise has strengthened my conviction that I don't want to wear or make synthetic garments (for most purposes, of course there are some applications where there aren't currently viable alternatives) where any other option exists that does not use unsustainable resources, pollute the planet and emit greenhouse gases in their production to the same extent. And importantly, those we do make should be recycled, we already have more than enough synthetics in existence so it is our responsibility to work out how to recycle and re-use what we have made. I have enjoyed the challenge however, learned some valuable things, made some interesting connections and it has led to the possibility of future projects that interest and excite me so overall I am really glad I set myself this challenge.