Uptrade - the Paris-based startup that's fighting fabric waste

by Startacus Admin
Uptrade - the sustainable startup that's created a link between textile businesses with dormant stocks and those who need them in the upcycling or reuse economy.
We have written several times previously about how much the fashion industry contributes to pollution and CO2 emissions, whether it’s startups tackling fast fashion, or sustainable fashion shows for young people, or keeping ‘seconds’ and returns out of landfills.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development considers the fashion industry to be the second largest polluting industry in the world, responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, gulping up more than 1.5 trillion litres of water per year, and contributing to 20% of global wastewater. But fashion and textiles also rake in a lot of money and employ a lot of people, making them important industries. It’s no wonder that so many startups have these industries in their sights, but we still need more.
Paris-based startup Uptrade is another targeting specifically the waste side of fashion, which is significant. A first for a European company, Uptrade ‘rescues’ and upcycles unused fabrics, making fabric sourcing more sustainable. By finding ‘sleeping’ stock in Europe, they not only reduce unnecessary production and save CO2 emissions and water usage, they also provide the suppliers with a way to offload that fabric otherwise going to waste, and provide fashion designers with an ethical fabric source.
Being able to state on labels that the fabric comes from Uptrade also shows customers that a fashion label took a sustainable approach in creating that piece of clothing, which will appeal to many.
With 12% of fabric produced every year going to waste, ending up in landfills or being incinerated, a startup that rescues this perfectly good fabric and puts it to use is of great value on multiple levels. The startup joins the list of vital waste-reducing startups within the fashion and textiles industries that we look forward to seeing more and more of in the future.
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Published on: 19th August 2022
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