DESIGN TO MINIMISE WASTE

Textile Toolbox looks at how “systemic change within the fashion industry” can allow for a more “sustainable” “design process”. Projects are based in “Sweden”, “Denmark” and “England” and research ways in which we can reduce how design “damages” the “environment” and “designing out waste”.

On their website, waste is explained to be broken down into two main “categories”; “pre-consumer waste” and “post-consumer waste”. Both are highly important to consider in order for concepts of change to be created.

“Pre-consumer waste” is produced in the “production of fibres”, the “manufacture of garments” and most of all in the “garment production” system. It is said that only “85 per cent” of the final “fabric produced” to make an item of clothing is used. This means that there is a “15 per cent” wastage for each design. When you think about how fast fashion turns around this is an extremely large quantity. Some designers however like “David Telfer”, are already designing at a “zero waste” level. His “2010” “duffel coat” design “integrates pattern cutting” within the design so that “no fabric is wasted”. Such designs give a positive vision for future garment design. Further developments in Computer Aided Design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) and an increased knowledge in these areas for all companies will hopefully mean that designs are automatically created and produced to allow for little or no waste to be created. In the image of the design, it is clear to see that each piece has been carefully shaped so that it is a section of the jigsaw for the garment. Spending time at this designing stage looks as though it would save cost later on in the production line as there appears to be a reduced amount of seams and extra components needed.

“Post-consumer waste” occurs when a designed item becomes “undesirable” and “unnecessary” for the consumer. “Ever escalating garments” and scale of production both contribute towards the quantity of waste produced. The “life cycle of a garment” needs to be considered at the “design stage” to prevent the item becoming waste very quickly after production. The company “Junky Styling” have a design concept where this “post consumer waste is their primary material”. Components of previous garments become new lines and structures for new silhouettes, giving history and narratives to each product; where have the materials been sourced from and who owned the previous garment? The idea is very successful as each piece is bespoke and original. They bring new life to waste and therefore bring a very inspiring message to their design. Another approach to limiting the amount of waste at the post-consumer stage is achieved by Alabama Chanin. Here they ensure that all “textiles developments are kept in a fabric library” which are shown to and “offered” to all “customers”. This means that designs are recycled not simply churned out at a large scale. I think that this too is an effective idea. Fashion trends occur and re-occur over time and therefore something that was desirable ten years ago may again be looked-for now. Keeping archives of all designs allows for fabrics and technologies to be recycled and renewed meaning that any left over fabrics from a certain design can be reused.

A lot of ideas involving waste are produced at “Textile Futures” such as the work by Emily Smith and Natsai Chieza, where they consider the “sustainability” of design. This research work shows that new designers are recognising the problem of waste and evolving new possibilities to prevent or reduce it. Their work, described in a previous post, brings positivity to textiles design and should be questioned by large-scale manufactures as to how similar ideas could develop their own processes. It is so important for us all to really consider the waste we produce. Although we might not be able to make substantial changes to textiles production we can question how we approach our own unwanted clothing. Recycle, donate, reuse and reinvent. If clothing is made to last then make it!

Textile Toolbox (n.d). Textile Toolbox. Retrieved from http://www.textiletoolbox.com.