Zero Waste Daniel's brand story

About Zero Waste Daniel:

Set amidst the cultural amalgamation of Brooklyn, Daniel Silverstein's brand Zero Waste Daniel is an appropriate extension of the true sense of what the neighbourhood stands for. Brooklyn houses some of the newest construction sites alongside historic structures rich with character, narrating age old stories.

This fusion provides the ideal backdrop for Daniel's brand that is turning the trash of New York's fashion industry into contemporary wear for men and women. Zero Waste Daniel is a 100% zero waste clothing brand that upcycles pre-consumer waste into one of a kind, genderless basics.

Daniel coined the term "ReRoll" for a roll of fabric created out of irregular scrap textiles stitched together. He uses this new textile to create his apparel collections. He believes that no piece of fabric is too small to create something new and bigger. He also provides waste ReRoll fabrics to other companies and individuals who have a similar ethos as his brand.

 (Left- Limited edition collection by ZWD ; Right- Creation Tee by ZWD)

How the brand started: 

When Daniel was a child, he once created a wedding dress out of tissues and tapes. His mother saw this and to encourage her son's creativity, decided to take him to a fabric store where he could get scraps of fabric to create more garments. This gave Daniel the opportunity to start experimenting with fabrics and textiles very early on and enabled him to decide to pursue a career in fashion. 

After graduating from Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Daniel worked for the fashion industry specialising in making luxury garments such as wedding gowns and cocktail dresses. During his time at these fashion houses, he noticed the massive amount of waste that each company, big or small, high end or mass market, was generating.

His experimentation with waste led to the birth of his brand, Zero Waste Daniel in 2015, after one of the T-shirts he made using scrap fabric garnered the interest of friends and family.

Zero Waste Daniel make / shop:

The brand's studio in Brooklyn is a transparent storefront factory where each product is hand made. Daniel and his team visit a cutting room twice a month to pick up textile scraps that they use to create unique, one of a kind, affordable upcycled pieces.

Their studio space is a retail and interactive space designed to bring sustainability and technology together. This was enabled by their recent partnership with Google Pixel. They conduct daily live making, educational in-store events and a curated collection of upcycled products.  

 (Zero Waste Daniel make/shop in Brooklyn, New York)

The brand's mission:

The mission of Zero Waste Daniel is to reimagine design, tackle and change industry norms and create clothing without waste, sending nothing to landfill. All their products are unisex and Daniel is committed to ensuring that his employees receive fair wages and appropriate work conditions. All the production takes place at their studio and store in Brooklyn. 

Each piece of ZWD diverts roughly about one pound of textile waste from the landfill.

Daniel's zero waste lifestyle:

Daniel believes in living a zero waste lifestyle beyond the walls of his fashion business. For him, living zero waste means sending nothing to the landfill and avoiding single use consumer products as much as possible. Some of the things that he has successfully been able to implement in his day to day life are:

1. Carrying his own reusable tote bag, reusable utensil, a mason jar and a cloth napkin in a zipper pouch. He calls these his "Essentials Kit"

2. Carrying some baking soda as an alternative to toothpaste 

3. Making his own cleaning agents out of household staples like coconut oil, baking soda and vinegar 

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Visit their website here.

Visit their Instagram here.

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Photo Credits: Zero Waste Daniel