Fashioning a Sustainable Future: Navigating Zero-Waste Practices in Textile Chain

This research highlights the significant issue of textile waste generation in Europe, with over 15 kilograms per person annually, making the clothing and textile industry highly resource-intensive and waste-generating. In Italy alone, 480,000 tons of textile waste were produced in 2019, originating mainly from the textile industry and urban waste sorting. While some efforts were made to recover materials from this waste, a considerable portion still ended up in disposal or intermediate activities. The research, part of a national project funded by the NextGeneration EU program, aims to analyse the textile sector’s strategic importance and advocate for more sustainable and circular approaches. It explores the implementation of zero-waste design principles in fashion through a literature review, emphasising the role of design decisions in the entire garment lifecycle and the potential for textile scrap to drive innovation and socio-economic benefits in the industry.