The term “zero waste” can be vague—a buzz phrase that gets tossed around in various industries. That’s why we want to take you on a deep dive into PGF’s zero waste program and give you an inside look at what zero waste means at PGF. And if you’re not up for a deep dive right now just know: at PGF we don’t throw ANY material waste in the trash. Every PGF scrap takes on a new life. For those still interested: let’s do this!
First the WHY. Why does PGF make the extra effort to be zero waste? Believe us, it would be a lot easier and less costly to not care about sustainability. As thoughtful innovators, designers, and makers, it’s our responsibility to put work that we believe in into the world. We can’t do the work we care about without considering (and lessening) our environmental impact. This is also important because our industry is one of the planet’s top polluters. At PGF we are so committed to environmental sustainability that we spent three years working towards our B Corp Certification. We’re now so proud to be B Corp Certified, especially when garment manufacturers make up less than 1% of certified B Corps.
Now a bit of herstory. Since 2008, when PGF started in a tiny sewing studio, we’ve been resourceful with how we reuse fabric scraps. When you start a business on a shoestring budget, you kinda have to be scrappy! As PGF grew and evolved, so did the volume of our material waste. Luckily, artists and community organizations started popping up and asking for factory fabric waste. We cut some of our larger scraps into quilting squares for a sewing program at a women’s correctional facility, and local weavers gathered weaving strips from our scrap bins. To this day we still donate our larger scraps to artists, community groups, and educators. (And we’ve done some fun collaborations like this workshop with artist LeBrie Rich with our scraps.)
(Side note: a great way to cut down on material waste is to be very efficient with how mark and cut. At PGF we think of our markers like a giant puzzle, each piece fits together to cut down on any unused space.)
What about all the tiny scraps that no one can use? What do you do with a two inch strip of cotton? Or an itsy piece of plastic from a soft sculpture? In 2018 we started pulverizing these small scraps offsite into what we now call PGF Fluff! There are two types of PGF Fluff: organic cotton and mixed material fluff. We’re currently soft launching (har, har) a line of Zero Waste Soft Goods using scraps, dead stock, and our fluff as filler for cushions. This is where you come in: help us spread the word about our zero waste goods so that we can increase our capacity for upcycling! Our dream is to one day offer a monthly drop off where community members can bring their fabric waste for us to pulverize. We need demand for our zero waste goods in order to make this dream come true—so tell your friends & start shopping! We’ll be releasing more products on the reg.
Last fun fact: PGF gets hired to make cool stuff from trash. It’s always been the case that brands seek us out to take their material waste and make something new, but we’re thrilled to see this become a regular thing for companies big and small. A few favorite upcycled projects: EILEEN FISHER totes that we made from old EF clothing, and Kona Brewing surfboard bags fashioned from old malt bags for making beer. We love a circular design challenge!
Ok, really THIS is the last thing: here are a few brands and orgs that are also leading the way towards a more sustainable industry: Patagonia, EILEEN FISHER Renew, Carla Fernández, Alexa Stark, Adidas, Mara Hoffman, Alabama Chanin, Sustainable Fashion Forum, and Fashion Revolution.
Wait, we lied. We want to leave you with this truth from Anne Marie Bonneau, the zero waste chef: “We don’t need a handful people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” Enuf said.