Zero Waste Daniel is a brand who take the material scraps thrown away by clothes manufacturers – and stitches them together into new garments, for sale.

Yes – I know – it’s called patchwork.  It’s been done by cost conscious mums down the centuries trying to eke out the life of a garment with patches, or make a new outfit from the salvaged parts of older garments which had worn through in places.  Hippies in the 1970s brought in a wave of patchwork clothes, and now a new generation even happier with clashing patterns, is discovering the delight of making the most of resources, trying not to throw away any raw material.

What I like about this story

• I love that Daniel had made a heart-based decision to give up on the pressured unreal evening garment industry – but that at that point, he found a new purpose.
• The new purpose wasn’t a million miles away from his existing skills and vocation, it was simply a new way of doing it.  More productive and less waste.
• … but he wouldn’t have found the new without being willing to let go of the old way
• The workers in the story are given a living wage.
• The garments are made to order exactly to your measurements (via online or in the store)
• the clients get to meet those sewing their outfit
• there are “mosaics” available – portraits of famous people made out of cloth fabrics
• it is carried out with style – it takes a keen design eye to piece together contrasting fabrics

See a little bit more, right here:

Similar stories:

Kaffe Fassett on knitting with wide range of yarns, previous post at http://bit.ly/2x41bDq

Fabric as truth teller – Quilting patchwork – in previous post at http://bit.ly/2uOWrAN

I’m feeling inspired – how can I start sewing a Quilt?

Glad you asked, Lesson 1 coming up next….