One of the greatest challenges to tackle in making fashion sustainable centers around textiles. Processing, creating and dyeing textiles is wreaking havoc on the environment. Enter Orange Fiber. The Italian company is supported by Mira Duma's Fashion Tech Lab, a fashion collective that counts Carmen and Livia Firth as advisors and brings together the industry's innovators to solve sustainability issues.
Orange Fiber is the world’s first and only brand to produce a patented material from citrus juice byproducts, repurposing them to create luxurious materials. Their fabrics are formed from a silk-like cellulose yarn that can blend with other materials. When used in its purest form, the resulting 100% citrus textile features a soft and silky hand-feel, lightweight, and can be opaque or shiny
Their patented fabric is produced from hundreds of thousands of tons of citrus juice byproduct, the so-called “pastazzo,” that otherwise would be wasted.
Faithful to their motto, Responsible Passion, Salvatore Ferragamo was the first fashion house to employ Orange Fiber fabrics.
In Italy every year, more than 700,000 tons of citrus waste are produced and, until the existence of Orange Fiber, no one has developed a viable alternative to disposing them. This waste even prompted the closing of some citrus juice companies, due to illegal disposal or correct yet prohibitively expensive disposal practices.
We applaud Orange Fiber's actions towards zero waste and their commitment to consumers who demand sustainable materials as well as fashion brands seeking green innovation. Stay tuned for more on Orange Fiber's collaborations.