Zero Waste Daniel in Brooklyn sells sustainable fashion without sacrificing style
BROOKLYN, New York (WABC) -- At Zero Waste Daniel, a sustainable clothing store in Brooklyn, it feels like Earth Day every day.
Daniel Silverstein started the brand nearly 10 years ago when sustainability was not nearly as mainstream as it is today.
"I saw from the classroom to the workroom to the factory, everyone had these piles of scraps, and I knew the value of this material," said Silverstein.
He soon recognized just how much was being wasted every day.
"Think about it like cookie dough," Silverstein said, explaining how he makes clothes sustainably. "If you roll out your sheet and then you cut out your cookies, there's always that dough in between. But when you're making cookies, you can roll that up and reuse it. In fashion, they just toss that stuff out."
If fact, he explained, some factories will even incinerate that scrap fabric.
He realized that there was a lack of brands "making clothes ethically that were also cool," which is particularly important in the fashion industry. Silverstein said that fashion is considered the second most polluting industry on earth.
So he decided to do something about it and used his own leftover scraps to make a shirt. Silverstein shared a picture of it on Instagram, and the buzz it got inspired him to start his business.
Silverstein describes his brand as "a multitude of things."
"Of course, there has to be fashion at the forefront of it, so great design, clothes that anyone can participate in," he said. "The other is inspiration. I want the next generation of designers to know that you can do things on your own terms."
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