HELSINKI FASHION WEEK LAUNCHES NEW SUSTAINABLE FASHION COLLECTION:

‘THE NEW NORMAL’

Press release 14.4.2017 

‘THE NEW NORMAL’ The Nordic Fashion Week Organisation is proud to announce its new project and the unique collaboration between the Helsinki Fashion Week and leading environmental and innovative cleantech organisations.

The Infinited Fiber Company providing closed loop solutions, and nature conservation organisation WWF Finland join forces in the development of a new sustainable fashion collection.

The project presentation will be presented at the Helsinki Fashion Week in July 2017 and the collection itself launched early 2018. Fashion and textiles require considerable amounts of natural resources and can create severe local environmental impacts. A new way of producing fibres will become a necessity as the global demand for clothing increases with the population growth and a rapidly increasing middle class. Cotton production requires substantial amounts of water, chemicals, energy and land – while global natural resources dwindle in the warming climate. Fossil fuels cannot be spun into polyester or other synthetic fabrics forever, either. Yet, much clothing is discarded before the end of its technical life span and ends up in landfill sites. “The fashion industry needs a substantive makeover. Every stage in a garment’s life has an environmental impact from sourcing of raw materials to the final disposal. This calls for us to go back to the drawing board and define a more sustainable modus operandi – for the producers and consumers alike.” Kaarina Kolle, Climate and Energy Officer at WWF Finland. To push the industry up to speed with what is required, this project vows to drastically improve the ecological footprint of garments by encouraging and promoting tangible solutions throughout the supply chain. The name of the fashion line, The New Normal, reflects the need to go beyond niche markets.The New Normal- project initiated by Helsinki Fashion Week will provide regular updates and reports on the progress of the project. “Our mission is to create a powerful and long-lasting dynamic – a new normal in fashion production and textile recycling – by proposing a foregrounding model of responsible creation in the industry. Unfortunately, we haven’t witnessed much of authentic reform percolating into the mainstream. ” Evelyn Mora, Founder, Helsinki Fashion Week Smarter wardrobes with circular economy and trustworthy supply chains One of the major stumbling block in greening the industry has been the issue of sustainable fibres. However, the manufactured cellulosic and recycled fibers have steadily increased in the last years and provide an alternative to virgin materials. The line will be produced using an innovative process that permits to turn textile waste and paper waste into new fibers, placing the collection in a closed loop production. “We have developed a process technology that can turn cotton rich textile waste into new fibers for the textile industry. And not just once, but infinitely. Infinited Fiber can be recycled again and again without decreasing the quality of the fiber.”Says Petri Alava, CEO , The Infinited Fiber Company.

More information Petri Alava, CEO,Infinited Fiber Company , +358501483, petri@infinitedfiber.com, www.infinitedfiber.com

Kaarina Kolle, Climate and Energy Officer, WWF Finland, +35850 591 3072 kaarina.kolle@wwf.fi

Evelyn Mora, Founder of Helsinki Fashion Week, Nordic Fashion Week Ry, +358449384452, contact@nordicfashionweekgroup.comwww.helsinkifashionweeklive.com

Back to the Future 2017 Edition 22.-26.7.2017 in Helsinki, Finland Nordic Fashion Week Organisation will provide regular updates on the progress of the project and will make accessible to all the valuable mutual learning material ensuing from our partners. We are united in a common charitable objective, 60% of the selling price of each article of the collection will be redistributed to WWF Finland’s nature conservation work, while the remaining 40% will cover the production costs.