Reformation and Osomtex announce strategic partnership to upcycle Los Angeles factory fabrics scraps

May 23, 2019  | Osom Brand Media Center

Los Angeles — May 23, 2019 —Reformation and Osomtex announced last month a strategic partnership to upcycle fabric scraps at Reformation’s Los Angeles factory. The companies are further integrating circularity in the fashion industry by upcycling Reformation’s fabric scraps into new yarn and fabrics, instead of them going to landfills.

On current trends, the impact of the fashion industry is potentially catastrophic; with more than 26 billion pounds of textile waste being thrown in landfills each year in the US, the surge of fast fashion and garment usability rates in steep decline, are one of the main culprits. Reformation and Osomtex are working together to put a halt on the lack of circularity. Data shows that less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing, representing a loss of more than USD 100 billion worth of materials each year. What happens to the rest? It is actually being dumped into municipal landfills or being incinerated.

Carded Osomtex recycled fibers ready to be spun into upcycled yarns. (Photo Courtesy Osomtex)

According to Reformation's Q1 Sustainability Report, the partnership’s impact so far has seen 12,513 lbs of fabric scraps upcycled. An equivalent to saving 284,796 lbs of CO2 and 1.2 million gallons of water. As both companies look into the future they are excited to continue creating a greater sustainable impact from their partnership.

More information can be found by visiting Reformation’s Q1 Sustainability Report

https://www.thereformation.com/pages/sustainability-report-q1

About Osomtex

OSOMTEX is a mission-driven, closed-loop textile waste company founded by Patricia Ermecheo. Since 2011, her pioneering and innovative work on circularity has led to important advances in turning post-consumer textile waste into high-quality upcycled yarns. Reducing the need for virgin materials and diverting millions of pounds of textile waste from landfill through a patent-pending process that uses no water, no dyes and no chemicals. For more information, please visit https://www.osombrand.com/osomtex.

About Reformation

Created in 2009 by founder and CEO Yael Aflalo, Reformation is a revolutionary lifestyle brand that proves fast fashion and sustainability can coexist. A pioneer in sustainable fashion, Reformation infuses green measures into every aspect of the business, from their sustainable factory in Los Angeles, to creating low-impact fabrics, and utilizing repurposed vintage pieces, deadstock fabrics, and eco-friendly packaging. Reformation comes to life through TheReformation.com and their 14 retail locations across the U.S.

A 100% carbon, waste and water neutral company, Reformation educates consumers about the powerful effect we can all have on the environment, like how to be more sustainable with your clothing and highlighting individual impact through RefScale (a tool that tracks the environmental savings of every Reformation purchase a customer makes). Reformation also releases a quarterly Sustainability Report to track their environmental progress and hold them accountable to goals.

Note to editors: Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Osomtex’s Media team by writing a note at the contact form at  http://www.osombrand.com.

Green Dreamer Podcast interview live! Featuring Patricia Ermecheo, Hosted by Kaméa Chayne

Kaméa Chayne – host of Green Dreamer Podcast delves into conversation with OSOMTEX CEO & Founder Patricia Ermecheo.

How were you able to create a technology to be able to close the loop in our production and disposal of clothing? What does it take to come up with a disruptive idea for sustainability and bring it to life? Patricia Ermecheo, CEO and Founder of Osom Brand and OSOMTEX, shares her wisdom with us on this episode.

 HIGHLIGHTS:

[2:02] What first inspired Patricia’s passion for nature.

[4:30] What got Patricia into the world of sustainable fashion.

[6:35] Patricia: “I was told many, many times that it was going to be impossible by the most experienced textile engineers… but it is possible and we’ve done it.”

[9:20] Patricia: “It is absolutely world-changing because we don’t need to keep exploiting the earth with all these virgin resources like cotton. And we don’t need water or dyes to make this, so therefore the oceans and rivers aren’t going to get contaminated by it. Sometimes it’s so amazing that people can’t even understand!”

[9:50] Kaméa: “What’s OSOMTEX doing differently than other textile recycling programs?”

[12:27] Patricia: “If you make things easy and fast, people will start to use it more. So I wanted to make it fast and accessible.”

[13:24] Kaméa: “Can this be recycled an indefinite number of times?”

[15:21] Patricia’s biggest challenge in building Osom Brand and what she’s found to be most effective in spreading the word about the brand.

[18:13] Kaméa: “What keeps you going and gives you the courage to keep putting yourself out there?”

[22:17] What it meant to Patricia when Osom Brand was featured as one of the most disruptive technologies in the fashion industry.

[23:35] Kaméa: “What’s your best advice for someone who has a disruptive idea that they’re just getting started with?”

[25:25] Patricia: “Start trying to change your regular habits and lifestyle in a way that will give you more of a peace of mind, so that you can achieve your dream with no stress.”

[26:39] Patricia: “People need to choose their sacrifices wisely in order to achieve their dreams.”

[26:46] Kaméa: “What do you think we need most today to accelerate towards a thriving planet?”

About This Show

If you're an eco creative, visionary, entrepreneur, or activist SO passionate about sustainability that you're eager to do what you can not only in your personal life, but also with your passion projects dedicated to helping our planet thrive, Green Dreamer Podcast with Kaméa Chayne was created for YOU! Actor-entrepreneur and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Adrian Grenier, Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home, Orsola de Castro of Fashion Revolution, Xiuhtezcatl of Earth Guardians, and Nikki Silvestri, named one of The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans, are just a few eco pioneers, though leaders, and conservation creatives you can look forward to hearing as honored guests. How can we leverage the power of social and digital media to strengthen the movement? How can we use creative communication, scalable eco ventures, and innovative thinking to push the needle forward? And what do we need to turn our awareness of deep-rooted issues into meaningful action, and accelerate towards sustainability in this time of need? This is just the tip of the iceberg of what we dive into, while ALWAYS concluding with baby actions we can take today and elements of hope we can use to fuel our motivation. If this sounds like your jam, hit SUBSCRIBE and together, let's learn what it takes to elevate sustainability, bring our eco ideas to life, and THRIVE - in every sense of the word. Thanks for bringing your light! With gratitude, your Host @KameaChayne.

• @kameachayne

• /kameachayne

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Study Hall LA Panels on Circularity

Slow Factory’s The Library Study Hall conference with MIT Media Lab and G-Star RAW held at the ACE Hotel August 26, 2018 in Los Angeles.

Patricia Ermecheo, OSOMTEX. Photo by Ger Ger. Courtesy of Denim Dudes

““As long as you keep buying what they are making at the stores, that is what they are going to keep making. If you start asking questions, reading labels, its all there. The more you do that, the more you send emails and talk about it on social media and talk about it with your friends, you’re going to make them anxious””

— Patricia Ermecheo, OSOMTEX

Photos by Ger Ger. Courtesy of Denim Dudes

Watch the Panel!

Read the Denim Dudes article!

Take a peak at Amy Leverton’s amazing article (Denim Dudes) about what went down at Study Hall LA

Photo by Ger Ger. Courtesy of Denim Dudes

VOGUE:Stella McCartney Joins the Statement Sock Trend With Her New Upcycled, Zero-Waste Pair

Stella McCartney Joins the Statement Sock Trend With Her New Upcycled, Zero-Waste Pair

Stella McCartney’s new socks accompanying an invitation to her Fall 2018 show.

Photo: Courtesy of Stella McCartney

Fans of Sex and the City will recall the scene in Season 5 where Carrie is stuck in a romantic dry spell and laments that “last night, I actually started writing about my sock drawer. Men as socks.” Yikes. Needless to say, that article didn’t go anywhere—but sock drawers might just be having their day. Statement socks (and tights, leggings, and thigh-highs) have been hot ever since Gucci put those $1,340 crystal-studded logo socks on its Resort 2018 runway, but Stella McCartney is giving the trend a little substance. At this morning’s show, each guest received a pair of McCartney’s brand-new sustainable socks—which might not sound revelatory until you learn they were made with 85 percent upcycled yarn (in collaboration with Osom Brand); they used zero chemicals, dyes, or pesticides; and they created zero waste. Who knew a pair of socks could be so mighty?

On her website, McCartney writes: “We’re passionate about working towards a more circular economy, and we want the entire fashion industry to feel the same—this collaboration [with Osom Brand] is helping to promote just that. We believe no materials should be wasted, instead being turned back into raw material, greatly reducing the need for virgin fibers that use up our planet’s resources.” Consider it a hint of what’s to come in future collections; now that she’s figured out the mechanics of sustainable socks, McCartney can work from the ground up and bring more upcycling, zero-water, and zero-waste innovations into her clothes, handbags, and shoes, too.

VOGUE: https://www.vogue.com/article/stella-mccartney-sustainable-statement-socks

Stella McCartney x OSOMTEX collaboration

Stella McCartney collaborated with OSOMTEX to bring to life an upcycled, special edition invitation sock for the 2018 Winter Défilé in Paris. 

Stella McCartney's Instagram post just hours before the show unveils the invite socks made by OSOM with a humorous twist: puppets!

Guess who’s sitting on our sock puppet front row?

Ethically and sustainably manufactured using zero water, chemicals, dyes or pesticides our Stella socks, as part of our Winter 2018 show invite, are made with 85% upcycled yarn in collaboration with @OsomBrand; something both the environment and your feet can feel excited about!

Pre-show Instagram stories:

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THE STELLA X OSOMTEX WINTER DÉFILÉ 2018

Made with 85% upcycled yarn from discarded clothing

The story behind the Stella x OSOMTEX Winter Défilé 2018 socks

The story behind the Stella invite socks is a story of true teamwork and trust. I often get asked, sooo, what's the size is your team? And then I always find my self silent ... I don't know.. Big!? I never know what to answer to this question but today I found the answer...My team is huge my team is the size of the world, in fact, you can be part of my team too. When I saw the puppet socks video (see above) popped on Instagram last night I felt joy, I laughed like a kid again, and I thought this story couldn't have had a better finale, it was a total surprise, a really cool surprise...I guess we were all feeling the same love throughout the projec and we definitely share the same passion about doing something remarkable for the environment. Love is a really powerful connection that can work wonders, and these socks are the proof of it. The world is truly changing, I feel grateful, it gives me hope. Hope that we can truly make a change if we work together and believe. Thank you @stellamccartney, we worked like ONE team, every super early-late call because of the time differences, every sample, every close friend involved that contributed to make it happen and of course! how to forget the last minute shipping craziness! Everyone made this possible... THANK YOU! I Can't wait for what's to come... gratitude is a priceless feeling 🙏🏼💚♻💫

Patricia Ermecheo, CEO & Founder OSOMTEX

WWD: Miroslava Duma and Stella McCartney co-host the launch of the Fashion Tech Lab movement at the Google Arts & Culture Lab in Paris

SEVEN TECHNOLOGICAL VIRTUES: The path forward in fashion has never seemed clearer than at the Google Arts & Culture lab, where groundbreaking technologies were presented at the Fashion Tech Lab’s Paris launch on Monday.

 Miroslava Duma, Pamela Anderson and Stella McCartney 

“There is a revolution happening in material science, bio- and nanotechnologies. It’s coming into our industry, which, despite producing new trends every season, hasn’t changed its technology for a century,” Fashion Tech Lab founder Miroslava Duma said.

The multinational incubator, agency and philanthropic organization aims to parlay innovation into solutions for the fashion industry in a bid to improve its environmental and social footprint, while fostering style and creativity. As Pascal Morand, executive president of the French couture federation, summarized, “intimately mixing these technological advances in fashion is fundamental.”

Serial entrepreneur Duma said an experimental lab was set to launch in 2018, to connect young talents in design with engineers and scientists to create future-proofed, problem-solving designs.

“The future is in this room and we have no other choice. This is how it’s going to be, and if it isn’t, we don’t have a future,” said Stella McCartney, as press, fellow designers and industry heavy-hitters joined the British designer and cohost Duma for a presentation of seven exhibitors offering solutions to questions such as combating plastic pollution in the sea, cruelty-free leather or garment recycling.

But it was no doomsday proclamation: “A lot of improvement can be injected now, it doesn’t have to be so innovative,” McCartney added, underscoring the idea that while the objectives of these changes were of a planet-wide scale, many of the changes themselves remained on the microscopic, or even atomic level.

“Humanity will never be the same again,” Diane von Furstenberg noted with enthusiasm, expressing pride in the participating companies, innovators and fashion houses alike, and her joy in being present at a key moment.

Take the diamonds produced by San Francisco-based producer Diamond Foundry. Chief executive officer Martin Roscheisen explained that while they were morally pure, flawless they were not, as the process re-creates the conditions leading to the natural formation of diamonds, rather than attempt to duplicate their molecular structure.

Currently, G and H color grades in SI1 to VVS2 clarities are obtained, and their price makes them sustainable at a low price point. Certification by internationally recognized organizations such as the Gemological Institute of America is possible. A 5-carat stone on display here was valued at around $100,000, a lower price point than mined diamonds with similar characteristics.

“Money is the dirtiest thing in the world,” quipped Duma as she stopped in front of a display case filled with growing mint, but she meant it literally rather than in any abstract capacity. Garments but also bills, today composed of a linen-cotton mix, imbued with the company’s peppermint extract based product by Scandinavia-based Mint Materials, would be durably imbued with odor control and antibacterial properties, lengthening their life cycle.

VitroLabs’ sample of cultured leather, a material produced from animal cells, showcased the advanced tissue engineering that finds its roots in medical uses.

Recycling garments has long posed issues due to the presence of dye and other by-products of their creation. Miami-based company Osomtex offers solutions allowing the transformation of discarded garments and textile waste into new threads without the use of water, dye or chemicals.

California-based biotechnological manufacturers Bolt Threads, whose partnership with Stella McCartney has resulted in a gold shift dress exhibited at Museum of Modern Art’s “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” exhibition, offer next-gen performance fibers inspired by spider silk.

“It’s process innovation, as opposed to product innovation,” said Cyndi Rhoades, founder and ceo of Worn Again, a British company focusing on producing “virgin again” cottons and polyester fit to be reintroduced in the garment supply chain.

Livia Firth, Eco-Age a member of the FTL advisory board, said the evening truly felt like the beginning of an era she had “dared to hope for. The industry is ready to listen. 2017 is the year where everything changes.”

First among those present to discover these advances were industry cornerstones such as Kering chairman François-Henri Pinault, executives including Saint Laurent’s Francesca Bellettini and Berluti’s Antoine Arnault, but also designers such as Azzedine Alaïa, Diane von Furstenberg, Alber Elbaz, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Haider Ackermann.

Click here to read the full article by WWD.

VOGUE: A green evening celebrating new technologies to help sustainability in fashion

“This is a sustainable revolution, and it is coming anyway, with or without us!" These are the words that both Miroslava Duma and Stella McCartney used to introduce Fashion Tech Lab to the 400 guests who joined the fashionable launch in Paris last night. The most connected digital entrepreneur in fashion and the popular designer cohosted an elegant cocktail party in the Google Arts & Culture offices to celebrate FTL, Duma’s latest project. Announced almost a year ago, the venture-capital fund and accelerator will help connect projects and brands aiming to transform the fashion system with environmentally and socially responsible new technologies.

“Let’s make the planet green again,” said Duma, quoting French president Emmanuel Macron, while McCartney greeted Haider Ackermann and Christian Louboutin not too far away: “We wanted you all here to see how many possibilities exist and how sexy it can be! I’ve been living with this consciousness every single day of my life. Please do the same.” McCartney also recently announced a partnership with one of the companies present, Bolt Threads.

The sustainable revolution, or global evolution, has officially started, and the glamorous group of guests from the worlds of fashion, investment, technology, and education gathered last night definitely decided to take part in it. Designers Diane von Furstenberg, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and Demna Gvasalia, as well as notable industry figures such as François-Henri Pinault, Alexandre Arnault, Caroline Rush, Natalia Vodianova, Vogue’s Tonne Goodman, Livia Firth, and many others, were there to support the project and show curiosity and awareness.

While everyone was catching up on Paris Fashion Week, Duma introduced the companies’ representatives. “There are so many—the ones here tonight are just a few examples,” she clarified. Carla Sozzani and Azzedine Alaïa, for example, learned about the work of Osomtex, a company that transforms clothes waste into sustainable textiles. Close by, a San Francisco–based company that uses animal cells to create cruelty-free leather and fur caught the interest of shoe designer Pierre Hardy. Gaia Repossi went straight to look at Diamond Foundry, the Bay Area–based group that uses technology to replicate in laboratories the conditions in which nature forms diamonds.

“The fashion industry has to be aware and help us with its unique taste and language,” Duma continued. Delfina Delettrez Fendi, appointed as chief creative curator, observed robotic arms in the courtyard as they prepared fancy cocktails ordered via tablets. Delicious candies injected with distilled fruit and vegetable juice (from passion fruit to pepper) were served all around. Firth mentioned several times how cool and exciting she found the sustainable values. Not too far away, Ian Rogers, chief digital officer at LVMH, enjoyed the vibe of the soiree, underlining the importance of maintaining the storytelling and desirability of each product. “It is so great to put in everyone’s head the idea that these realities exist and can be desirable. Let’s keep our eyes open.”

Everyone was there for a reason: Whether for discovering, advising, or just enjoying, FTL created the right atmosphere of dialogue, positivity, and cooperation that is much needed today across the industry. “Why compete? It makes no sense anymore—we need to work all together,” Duma said. “Please don’t leave this room without thinking about this revolution.”

Click here to read the full Vogue Article

OSOMTEX showcased at Fashion Tech Lab Launch Event in the midst of Paris Fashion Week

October 2 2017, Google Labs, Paris  

Last night, one of the most epic launches in the fashion and tech world occurred in the midst Paris Fashion Week: Miroslava Duma's Fashion Tech Lab.

(left to right) OSOMTEX CEO & Founder Patricia Ermecheo, FTL Founder Miroslava Duma, CEO Kering Group François-Henri Pinault, Actress and Activist Salma Hayek and Fashion Designer Stella McCartney

Miroslava’s new umbrella platform Fashion Tech Lab, showcased OSOMTEX and 6 other disruptive technologies from all over the world motivated by the shared vision to bridge fashion, technology and the science of sustainability.

In the midst of Paris Fashion Week enter the beautiful courtyard of the Google offices in Paris to experience the hype and futuristic decor designed and put together by the unmistakable fashion show event designers and producers Bureau Betak. The Fashion Tech Lab launch event was finally on! The fluorescent cube with the FTL logo and mirrors in the middle of the courtyard and the robot bartenders really made a statement of what FTL is all about; the power of technology for good. After grabbing a drink with the robot bartenders it was time to enter the world of the innovation.The 65 square meter interactive screen at The Google Arts Culture Lab was used to showcase custom 3D rendered content within an impossible laboratory of the future, giving an unprecedented glimpse into the ecosystem of each of the technologies and their unique problem-solving qualities. 

OSOMTEX upcycled yarns showcased at the Fashion Tech Lab launch event

OSOMTEX showcased their upcycled fibers made from discarded post-consumer waste in an interconnected mesh of upcycled yarns beautifully and symmetrically placed within an acrylic cube with incisions on the sides so that the guests could freely interact with the fibers of the future.  OSOMTEX’s mission is clear: solve the Fashion Industry’s waste crisis by closing the loop and avoid textiles from going to landfills, embracing the idea of a transparent circular economy in which resources are finally taken into an account in an industry that has been blind for decades.  

Over 200 guests* from the worlds of fashion, investment, technology, and sustainability were there to discover, advise or just to simply enjoy the game changers in the industry. FTL created the right atmosphere of dialogue, positivity and cooperation that is much needed today across the industry and it seems that world is ready for a big change.

*The guest list included the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, François Pinault (Kering), Karl Lagerfeld and Bruno Pavlovsky (Chanel), Nicolas Ghesquiere (Louis Vuitton), Valentino Garavani (Valentino), Mario Testino, Alexandre Arnault (Rimowa), Azzedine Alaia, Adrian Joffe (Comme des Garçons), Maria Grazia Chiuri (Dior), Alber Elbaz, Haider Ackermann, Christian Louboutin, Pierre Hardy, actors Marion Cotillard, Salma Hayek.

The 3D Impossible Laboratory featuring OSOMTEX at the Fashion Tech Lab launch event