Gone are the glitter, the sequins and soon even those wonderful feathers that accompany haute couture so well. The world of fashion, as we understand it today, is going to change radically due to new European regulations. As of just a few days ago, plastic particles (of synthetic polymers) of less than five millimeters that are insoluble, organic and resistant to degradation will not be able to be used. Not even (or especially, depending on how you look at it) in fashion or cosmetics.
In other words, any product based on microplastics, whether sequins (and glitter, scrubs or cosmetic microbeads) are completely prohibited by European Union regulations that persist in their fight for the environment (microplastics take a century to degrade. and become food for aquatic animals) and also for human health.
Because in the end all that reaches our food chain. Needless to say, it is a toxic product. Highly toxic. And so easily transportable that it has been found in places as unexpected as Antarctica and also, of course, in the breast milk, lungs and blood of more and more people.
The new rule that directly attacks the brilli-brilli moment that is so fashionable precisely this year (starts with sequins and glitter and later will also affect the granular filling material used in synthetic sports surfaces, as well as cosmetics, toothpastes, detergents , softeners, fertilizers, toys, medicines or health products) is part of Brussels’ objectives to reduce microplastic pollution by 30% between now and 2030. Difficult considering that it is estimated that only in the European Union, each year More than 42,000 tons are released.
That is why its ban in the world of fashion, which has been seen coming for some time, is finally a reality. In the same way that alternatives have also been sought and found for a long time.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge manufactured glitter based on cellulose crystals in 2021. Different versions are being manufactured without the use of plastic and obtained from plants, mineral pigments or seaweed. The interesting thing is that they shine, a lot, and that it is a biodegradable glitter.
The eco alternative that fits perfectly even for Haute Couture is signed by the Catalan designer Bibis Castañer, CEO of Stel and creator of the textile paillette, an invention for which she has just obtained the patent from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office that she will not lose. the shine of sequin but it is completely biodegradable. This artist, who creates signature artisan pieces and ornaments for the main Spanish fashion houses (Del Pozo, Loewe, The 2nd Skind, Mirto or Castañer) but also with the most imposing brands of the private preserve that is Haute Couture such as Dior, LVB, Ralph
“The new material, the result of many hours of work and tests in our atelier, opens the door to new and multiple creative possibilities and innovates at the level of ecodesign,” explains Castañer, whose work can be seen at www.stel-ornements.com and stel -ornements.com. Oh. That not everything is going to be sequins. They can be buttons, trims, small jewelry, the most delicious costume jewelry. And even glitter, which is also a completely organic invention of his.
“I always had in mind to make very fine pieces, not heavy, less than glass and almost like paper. So we began to explore the possibilities of fabric and trying different fabrics, tulle, lace, silk that I already used in the pieces. of ornamentation we saw that treated with our bio resin offered the expected result,” he explains.
There were many tests, and we saw that “silk, lace, tulle… in short, the finest ones were the ones that really fit,” he explains. Until now, sequin manufacturers offered a catalog with fantasy sizes, shapes and qualities (iridized, pearly…), with their invention it is now the designer himself who proposes his custom sequin. That is to say. Everything is possible whether it is brightness, shape or color.
Different is the work of designer Elissa Brunato, who opts for a bio sequin made from natural cellulose extracted from trees. Shine. But not so much.
Their manufacture is prohibited (but not the sale of products already marketed), the pollution they cause due to washing clothes will be avoided and according to a study published in 2018 by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, every time a garment is washed up to 700,000 microscopic fibers reach the oceans, are swallowed by marine life and incorporated into the food chain.
In addition to the goodbye by law of microplastics (of the total released into the oceans, 35% come from synthetic textiles, which is why it is recommended to wash clothes at low temperatures), another long-awaited goodbye is approaching. The one with the feathers.
The debate began years ago. Just when the fashion world was turning its back on fur (London Fashion Week already excluded fur in 2018) and the use of exotic animals, such as the crocodile, the snake or the Many lizards understood that feathers could be next on the list. But the reaction turned just the opposite. Feathers took over not only the best moments of Haute Couture but also began to invade ready-to-wear looks.
That too is going to end no matter how difficult it seems to be for designers to avoid. The one who has been testing alternatives for some time, for now without completely giving up on them, the powerful feathers that elevate everything, is Milliner Stephen Jones. To decorate his wonderful hats, he increasingly uses artificial substitutes such as plastic or tulle.
Feathers, considered an animal byproduct in the same way that leather is in the meat industry, have been a chic fashion accessory for years, decades, centuries. Live plucking has been banned in the EU for at least a decade but for a long time it was legal to collect the plumage of birds in their natural molting cycles. Peta has not tired of denouncing abuse. Especially shocking was the video that was shown in 2017, recorded in China, which showed the aggressive way in which the birds were plucked and denounced the “connections with retailers certified by the Responsible Down Standard, which prohibits the live plucking of geese.”
But it is not only because of the animal cruelty that the process of obtaining intact plumage for use as decoration may entail, it is also for health reasons that the feather has been in the spotlight for decades. The Standing Committee on the Food Chain, in which experts from all twenty-five member states are represented, has repeatedly supported the ban of untreated feathers from countries as soon as outbreaks of avian flu occur.
The global market, dominated by China, is estimated at 180,000 tonnes and only 1% of the world’s poultry is still plucked alive in China and Eastern Europe.
Alexi Lubomirski, leading celebrity and royalty photographer and founder of Creatives4Change, has been pursuing for years that creative professionals commit to working without using exotic fur or feathers. Although fur is no longer our only option for keeping warm these days, he comes across the debate over the sustainability of faux fur due to its reliance on plastic-based fossil fuel materials. And as for feathers, he sees that everyone takes it “as a much smaller problem in terms of volume and scale. Feathers in fashion are often seen as a fantasy. Something more decorative. Feathers are something less everyday,” he reflects.
They are wrong to think that it is only something decorative and that feathers are easy to avoid. But it’s not that simple. Light, insulating and lofty: the properties of goose and duck down are unmatched when compared to petroleum-based synthetic materials. The down industry estimates that around 80% of duvets and down comforters offered by casual and fashion brands are filled with animal down. Despite their higher cost, almost all casual and fashion clothing stores carry products made from animal feathers. Low-cost stores offer them for about 70 euros, while in the premium and luxury sectors they can cost several thousand.
PETA Corporate Projects Director Yvonne Taylor often warns that her research “demonstrates that whenever birds are exploited in the fashion industry, abuse is guaranteed. Marabou feathers should not be on models, but about turkeys or chickens.” And the worst thing is that he assures that “PETA entities have filmed geese and ducks being plucked alive, despite the guarantees and responsible labels.” In 2023, all those who think like her do not see that there is any excuse to continue using parts of the body of any living being.”
