FACTS
Over 7 million tons of textile waste enters South African landfills annually. This accounts for approximately 6,5% of the country's total waste.
According to research agencies, only 13% of these textiles will be recycled.
Each item made by COLDWASH47© diverts roughly 0.5 kilograms of fabric from entering these landfills.
Over 1 000 kilograms have been redirected to date.
All goods are unique, designed, cut and constructed by hand / are created in Cape Town using waste materials, preloved goods, recovered garments, existing objects and sustainable fabrics and other available resources.
The aim is to provide you with a product that is comfortable, durable and you can feel good about wearing.
Created for life, not just a season, leaving a lighter footprint on the Earth and an heirloom to be shared in the years to come.
Giving the earth a chance to breathe.
We care for our planet and its people.
To maintain a minimum carbon foot-print we proudly employ a “slow production process" and use traditional techniques to produce our collections.
We use salvaged paper, cardboard and plastic to draft our patterns, create labels and swing tags.
Our branded patches are made from in-house textile waste. Each cut, painted and pressed by hand.
We don’t use electrical cutting machines. All fabric is sorted and cut by hand.
We use stored rainwater for rinsing, washing and dying.
We don’t use dryers only natural conditions and light.
TEXTILES & FABRICS:
The fabrics we use to create our collections are purpose-driven to help regenerate natural systems and encourage a circular economy.
We redirect waste textiles from dump sites and repurpose it for use in our collections, giving the earth a chance to breathe.
We use sustainable fabrics, sourced from trusted suppliers within the Western Cape, including organic hemp and locally grown cotton.
"Textile waste is often difficult to work with and requires a huge amount of sorting before repurposing can begin. The complications of upcycling and repurposing textile waste bring many challenges to the creative process. Not only is it the time and effort involved in sorting, but also in plotting and planning unique pattern layouts and construction methods for each piece.
We also can't anticipate what fabrics we will be getting or even when we will be getting, meaning that the fabric itself can sometimes dictate the entire direction of a collection, taking months, even years to plan and produce. A proud element of our "slow production process", a process that is controlled entirely by what we have available to us at that time. Being resourceful and figuring out how to make such a complex procedure as simple and efficient as possible can be challenging.
It’s a ‘handmade’ process. It takes long and isn't simple. From having to hand pick base materials one by one, to unpicking each seam or even deciding on which fabrics to use – it’s an art, it's a labour of love that we hope you will enjoy wearing!"
1 500 +
kilograms of textile waste redirected from landfills.
21 000 000 +
liters of water saved by using textile waste.
425 000 +
watts of electricity saved by not using dryers.
POSITIVE IMPACT
To share the positive impact our production process has on reducing the primary factors causing climate change by the fashion industry in general.
This allows us to track the positive effects made by you when you shop with us compared to other retailers.
THE MISSION: Create positive change within the fashion industry.
• To develop and improve on ways to process and sort waste textiles more efficiently.
• To better our production processes, reduce in-house waste and advance our zero-waste strategy.
• To harness textile waste as a resource and develop or obtain the technology to use it more effectively.
• To develop alternative methods of creating quality garments with low environmental impact and drive real change.
• To create and develop real sustainable practices that have a positive impact on the planet and its people.
• To create a business model that inspire others to follow.
WAR ON WASTE:
What others see as waste, we see as resource and opportunity.
oponeton is an environmental initiative started by COLDWASH47© to help redirect waste textiles from South African landfills and oceans one ton at a time.
Our mission started in 2020 as an idea. An idea to create positive change within the fashion industry. Since then, we have slowly been perfecting our craft, streamlining our mission and actively collaborating with likeminded members of the fashion and textile industry to assist us in establishing innovative solutions to tackle textile waste and in the process, we have been developing meaningful and lasting relationships that have already helped us diverted over 700kg of textile waste from entering our landfills.
But now we want to do it quicker.
Why do we want to speed up the process?
According to government statistics, over 7 million tons of textile waste enters South African landfills annually, which accounts for approximately 6,5% of the country's total waste and the situation is getting worse. Every year the population grows, government infrastructures fail and fast fashion gets faster.
We need to act faster in creating and developing real sustainable practices and processes that redirect textile waste from our landfills and oceans, having a positive impact on the planet and its people.
THE PROCESS:
We currently have a streamlined procedure in place for the collection and repurposing of waste textiles, dead-stock and post-consumer waste from various donors, studios and local factories around Cape Town and are continuously looking for ways to improve our production process, reduce in-house waste and advance our zero-waste strategy.
CONNECTING YOUR PRODUCT WITH THE PROCESS:
In order to create a meaningful and transparent initiative, with an emotional relationship to the fabric, its origin and our mission, all waste textiles are documented and attached to a unique QR code.
This creates a story, a story that gets woven into the creation of the garment. These hidden stories come to life when the QR code is scanned and the customer is taken on a journey where they are able to see origin of the fabrics used to create the garment, deepening the connection between the customer, the garment and our mission.
WATER CONSUMPTION AND SAVINGS:
We are proud to say that about 30% of the water we use during our production process, including dying and rinsing comes from stored rain water.
Our washing process only uses 7 litres of water, compared to the 7000 litres needed to make a cotton jacket through traditional fast-fashion production methods. The same amount one person needs to survive for ten years.
"Being sustainable is not just about having a certificate or using natural fibers and recycled packaging. It's about being considerate and conscious of your actions. It's about being resourceful and innovative. Making do with what you have, even if trends dictate otherwise. Waste not, want not. It's not something you can simply declare, you must practice what you preach, it is something you do. It is a way of life."