WASHINGTON POST reports— “Sustainable fabrics help the fashion industry rid itself of a global waste problem”

ORIGINALLY REPORTED BY BRITT PETERSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Read Full Article

“Every year Aarav Chavda goes scuba diving in the same Florida reefs. A former McKinsey analyst and mechanical engineer, Chavda has watched the corals blanch white over time, and he has noticed species dwindle— except the lionfish.

Local and federal officials near Atlantic and Caribbean waters have tried a number of methods to eradicate the lionfish, a gorgeously striped and spiny invasive species that has no predators in the region and eats many other fish. Chavda had a new idea: Make it fashion. Along with two other avid divers, Chavda founded a startup called Inversa and invented a process that transforms lionfish skin into a supple, attractive leather. Next, they added two other invasive species— Burmese pythons from the Florida Everglades and carp from the Mississippi River. They’ve achieved some real success: a number of brands, including Piper and Skye and Rex Shoes, have used their leathers for wallets, footballs, flip- flops, and a cool-looking python dagger and sheath.

The toxic impact of the fashion industry – meaning not high fashion brands, but the companies that make the materials that form our clothes, as well as the companies constructing the clothes – is well- known. Up to 4 percent of global climate emissions, according to a McKinsey report, and an unknown but substantial percent of global water pollution also derive from it. This is a baffling, often overwhelming problem. Humans require clothing to survive – plus, we love our clothes and derive deep meaning from how we present ourselves to the world.

“It’s two sides of the coin,” says Monica Buchan-Ng, a sustainability expert at the London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion. “[Clothes] can be this incredible creative force of self- expression and identity. But also we know that the way the fashion system works at present, it’s just destruction after destruction.”

However, the sheer reach of the industry also makes it a tremendous potential tool for innovation and change, and a number of new fabrics are a crucial part of that change. So far, Chavda says, Inversa has removed 50,000 lionfish, burmese pythons, and carp. In a few years, he hopes to be removing tens of millions. “I’m bullish,” Chavda says, “because I think the consumer cares.”

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