DECODE Zero Waste Manufacturing

The fashion industry is the second highest polluter to the planet. An average of 15% of fabric is wasted at the cutting stage alone, with an average of 60 billion meters square of fabric wasted annually. *

Today's global fashion industry can be rigid and set in its ways. I have experienced this first-hand when proposing Zero Waste Designs within large companies. Despite large buy-in, I found these initiatives were often stopped in their tracks. The reason? Manufacturers were unwilling or unable to make changes to their existing workflow. This lack of flexibility has made it hard for industry decision-makers to take more sustainable actions. The unknowns of cost, time, and effort required to alter existing operations makes it unreasonable to change direction quickly.

So, how do we make the industry more flexible, sustainable, and impactful? Simple. We create our own system. We build our own factory that focuses on these very real problems. Because nobody else will, nor will they be able to do it as well as we can. The vision for DECODE MFG is to not only be the first factory of its kind, but challenge what the future of apparel manufacturing means. A factory conceived by a designer with the know-how, experience, passion, and connections to make it happen.

https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion/danielle-elsener-wins-virgil-abloh-evian-sustainability-grant

https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/design-and-healing-creative-responses-epidemics:event-exhib-6551

https://futurefashionfactory.org/danielle-elsener-takes-zero-waste-design-to-cop26-and-beyond/

https://www.generationofwaste.com/design

https://www.scad.edu/blog/danielle-elsener-decode-details