Zero-Waste Fashion Designer Offers Free Trials to Local Companies

Emma LaRocca, owner of emroce, the world's only zero-waste swimwear brand based in Pāpāmoa Beach, is offering free zero-waste fashion design trials to local companies thanks to funding from Tauranga City Council aimed at reducing landfill waste. The trials involve changing cutting plans using tessellating patterns inspired by Japanese Kimono design, which can reduce fabric waste by up to 93%. LaRocca has successfully filled the final trial space with Carleen Schollum, who works with sustainable fashion but hasn't yet applied zero-waste design techniques.

LaRocca uses innovative cutting patterns that fit together like puzzles to eliminate waste while maintaining creativity and keeping prices low. Local swimwear brand SAUCE swim demonstrated the technique's effectiveness, cutting fabric waste from 55% down to just 6.9% on one design and reducing cutting times by a quarter. The trials are free, flexible, and based on companies' existing designs, allowing them to immediately benefit from financial savings while reducing landfill waste.

Originally published in Te Puke News by Sun Media.