Gradable Zero-Waste Patternmaking: A Potential Solution to Preconsumer Fabric Waste

Casey R. Stannard, Melanie Carrico, Sheri Dragoo, Ellen McKinney, Ashley Rougeaux-Burnes and Colleen Moretz

The global fashion industry is one of the most detrimental to the environment and accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, according to a report by the European Parliament. Around 92 million tons of apparel end up in landfills each year — nearly 87% of the materials used to make apparel, according to the Global Fashion Agenda Pulse of the Fashion Industry report. Pollution from fashion comes at many stages of the apparel production process. It includes chemical runoff from dyeing textiles, carbon pollution from producing and transporting apparel and much more. Apparel design researchers are interested in effecting change by reducing the waste created by the fashion industry. One critical area that can be affected is the decrease and possible elimination of preproduction fabric waste.

When manufacturing apparel, each item has a pattern with multiple pieces laid on layers of fabric and cut out before sewing. In the cutting process, it is typical to have 10%-15% of the initial fabric thrown on the cutting room floor. While designers attempt to utilize most of the fabric, traditional patternmaking methods make it impossible to puzzle the pattern shapes together perfectly. Areas such as armholes and neckholes inherently create waste because of their shapes (Figure 1). Some companies utilize fabric waste from garments to make other products like insulation. Still, the remnants are thrown into the trash by and large. The disposal of fabric costs apparel firms money and creates a major environmental burden.

Some apparel designers have tried eliminating fabric waste by creating patterns with slightly modified shapes so that the pieces can be perfectly packed and no waste is produced (Figure 2). This technique is known as zero-waste design. The concept of zero-waste design is not new; many historical garments, such as Japanese kimonos or early shirts, were cut using simple shapes like rectangles so that all of the shapes could fit together on a fabric and utilize all the precious resources. However, as time passed, many designers turned away from these initial fabric-conserving practices.

While zero-waste design seems like an excellent approach to reducing preconsumer fabric waste, problems still result from this design choice. Because the pattern is designed to fit 100% of the fabric, there is no room to grow or shrink it to create a range of sizes (this process is called pattern grading). As only one size can be produced, zero-waste garments are often made to be oversized to accommodate the maximum number of potential consumers.

These challenges are where the design research team set to work four years ago. The team's goals were to create zero-waste patterns that appealed to consumers, were fitted to the body and had the ability to be made in a full range of sizes. The team turned to the Carrico Zero-Waste Banded Grading (CZWBG) technique to accomplish the range of sizes. Melanie Carrico, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, piloted this technique. In the CZWBG method, a zero-waste pattern is created with seam lines at key locations of the body. In each of these seam lines, a strip of fabric that varies in width is inserted. As the strips change in size, the pattern can grow or shrink; thus, a full range of sizes can be accomplished. The CZWBG method had been developed and tested with a few initial garments. Still, a wider range of apparel categories and garments using the technique was needed to help verify the approach. At this point, the design research team was formed. A group of six apparel design researchers with prior experience in other zero-waste techniques was assembled to work on testing and further developing the CZWBG technique. Each designer chose a different category of apparel to test, including menswear, children’s wear, plus size, athleisure, formal wear and outerwear.

Through multiple meetings and trial runs, over 20 peer-reviewed designs were accepted into juried exhibitions and a published article in the Sustainability, an international journal. The team verified and expanded the CZWBG technique. With the knowledge that zero-waste apparel can be graded into a full size range while still providing fitted and fashionable apparel across multiple categories, the research team started thinking about expanding the project's scope. Can the CZWBG method provide cost savings when manufactured? The team has recently secured funding for the next phase of this project and will investigate the CZWBG method using an apparel manufacturing factory to determine if this new, sustainable approach can be adopted by the larger apparel industry.

Casey R. Stannard is an associate professor in the LSU College of Agriculture Department of Textiles, Apparel Design, and Merchandising. Melanie Carrico is an associate professor in the Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Sheri Dragoo is a professor in the Department of Human Sciences & Design, Baylor University. Ellen McKinney is a professor in the Clothing, Textiles, and Apparel Design Department, University of Alabama. Ashley Rougeaux-Burnes is an associate professor in the Department of Design, Texas Tech University. Colleen Moretz is an associate professor in the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising, West Virginia University.

This article appears in the summer 2024 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

Design by Ashley Rougeaux-Burnes (2021)

A graphic shows the traditional pattern for making a dress.

Figure 1: A normal pattern for a basic dress with a collar and neck facing will waste fabric. The dress is cut on folded fabric. Image by Casey Stannard