Photo: Textile waste. (c) Canva.
Every year, an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste are generated globally, with only a very small fraction being recycled. Producing these textiles—many of which end up being discarded—requires a tremendous amount of energy and resources. The consequences include water pollution, land use, and high greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, tackling textile overproduction also helps reduce the environmentally and socially harmful conditions under which these textiles are made. EXIST-Women alumna and fashion designer Stephanie Pupke-Bertram launched the upcycling project recreategoods to counter the massive scale of overproduction and textile waste. With her AI Upcycling Design Assistant, she aims to ensure that textiles destined for disposal can be made reusable through upcycling. You can now read more about how this works—and what Stephanie learned during her time in the EXIST-Women support program—on our INSIGHTS blog: https://humboldt-innovation.de/insights/en/histories-en/histories-combating-fast-fashion-with-upcycling/