The Remnant House, a prominent supplier of fabric and haberdashery goods, have commented on the news that Orsola de Castro has challenged designers in Scotland to take an environmentally friendly approach to design.

She called on Scottish designers whilst making a speech when she attended the Glasgow green fashion event on 20 Nov, while also announcing that Zero Waste Scotland have launched a special fund designers to help designers in Scotland to create zero-waste clothing ranges.

Textile designers will receive up to £5000 from The Circular Economy Textiles and Apparel Grand Fund while also being given mentoring from one of many industry experts.

The Scottish Textile and Leather Association (STLA) and Zero Waste Scotland both hosted the symposium that was chaired by Janice Forsyth, with the topic of the talk focusing on zero waste fashion and how designers can be more sustainable.

Currently, clothing is thought to contribute to 5% of the carbon footprint as well as 8% of the water footprint, accounting for 1 million tonnes of wasted material.

Orsola de Castro, who’s worked for big brand names such as Topshop, said: “The industry needs to take a positive approach to a changing world and sustainability will inevitably penetrate all aspects of fashion, textile design and production. We need to look at waste as a resource, and inspire young designers to its immense creative potential and help the industry to understand its viability, scalability and role in the future.”

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to see Scotland leading the conversation on sustainability in textiles. We have a really diverse and engaged mix of textile producers and clothing designers here in Scotland, and the funding we have announced today will enable the industry to start testing out ways to make waste a thing of the past in textiles, and create a circular economy that sees fabric flow in a cycle of reuse and eliminate waste to landfill.”

The Remnant House, an online and Harrogate-based seller of fabrics, often share their thoughts on related industry news. They believe the move would be great for Scotland and they would like to see more also done in England to promote ethical fashion.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “The environmental impact of the textile industry is a big issue and one we’re concerned with as one of the UK’s best known online sellers of all things textile related. It’s great to see that there’s a lot of proactive individuals and organisations north of the border who share our same values and want to make the industry as environmentally friendly and ethical as possible. Thankfully, in the UK there are many great resources out there and you can find plenty of amazing fabrics at low prices that have been sourced ethically. Going forward, ethical clothing design will become much more prominent.”

The Remnant House is based in Yorkshire, England but delivers throughout the UK and Europe. Visit their site today at www.remnanthousefabric.co.uk for all things fabric and haberdashery related.