The fashion industry is known for high resource use and emissions. Producing fashion in bulk creates lots of surplus material, and Kari Traa explored how to make use of the surplus obtained from the Rose collection.

The Wastelayer collection is made from the production waste of the iconic «Rose Merino Wool» fabric, which is then mixed with further sustainable fibers from wood pulp and recycled cotton. The quality of Tencel™ Lyocell used is via REFIBRA™ technology, made by Lenzing. It contains of wood pulp and cotton waste.

Because the rose wool collection comes in many colors, no extra coloring is added to the production. leaving the waste layer collection in a soft "natural" grey color.

The Wastelayer collection consists of 30% recycled fabrics from their own production and 70% Tencel™ Lyocell. The experience shows that that this mixture works best for the raw fabric. If a higher amount of recycled material is used, then the fabric will not be sturdy enough. By not adding new color to the collection, Kari Traa is also minimizing the use of chemicals.