Flipside Hats Leads the Movement to End Apparel Waste
[Portland, Oregon] Flipside Hats, a Portland, Ore USA-based, hat company, is helping to change the face of apparel with a fresh approach to repurposing discarded textile waste. FlipsideHats takes abandoned materials headed for the landfill and pairs them with sustainably-sourced, eco-friendly fabrics, to create long-lasting and limited-edition products. By reusing big brands’ pre-consumer excess, Flipside Hats reduces the world’s fashion waste while inspiring a generation to reduce their impact on the planet.
Flipside Hats environmental initiatives don’t stop there. They have made a commitment to eliminate all single use plastics by 2020 including all packaging. The company has already implemented the use of moisture resistant tissue paper to protect their goods instead of the industry standard practice of individually bagged goods.
Back on the sourcing and production side of things the company has an innovative supply chain that utilizes post- consumer plastics and fibers for everything from brim inserts, knit materials and trim details. Chief Visionary Officer, Jacob Wollner says “creating a market for apparel waste is a necessary step to reducing our impact for future generations. If you believe we are going to make it another 100 years on this planet, the time to change your buying habits, your retail offerings and live your values is now.”
Flipside Hats values family, community involvement, and health and happiness. They proudly offer jobs that provide a living wage. They also support local non-profits and encourage everyone to follow their dreams. Spearheaded by Founder, Creative Director and Naturopath, Dr. Kori Giudici, Flipside Hats is the company that will lead the apparel community to a more robust and healthy future.
Consumer awareness of the importance of environmental stewardship has led to increased demand for products manufactured with minimal impact on the environment. This is especially relevant in the world of apparel.According to the U.S. EPA, 85% of all discarded textiles – over 12 million tons – are sent to U.S. landfills every year [1]. The benefits of using recycled materials to make apparel-related products include conservation of natural resources, reduced energy consumption, reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) and other emissions, and waste going to landfills.
Textile dyes also have a negative impact on the environment. The largest dye consumer is the textile industry, accounting for two-thirds of total dye production. [2] Wastewater from textile dyeing facilities is difficult and expensive to treat effectively, and dangerous compounds that enter industrial wastewater can have serious environmental impacts to both aquatic and human life. [3]
1 http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/textiles.htm
2 Anjaneyulu Y, Chary NS, Raj DSS (2005) Decolourization of industrial effluents available methods and emerging technologies. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 4:245–273.
3 Arora Sucharita, (2014) “Textile Dyes: It’s Impact on Environment and its Treatment”, Bioremediation and Biodegradation, Vol 5, Issue 3.