Material Meditations
The apparel industry struggles with sustainability and ethics at almost every step in the process.
From the production of raw materials, whether they be petroleum-based synthetics (non-biodegradable and shed microplastics) or natural fibers (require tons of water and pesticides), to the massive disposal of garments in landfills, the industry is responsible for staggering amounts of environmental destruction (water pollution, land degradation, carbon emission) and social injustice (child labor, sweatshops, hazardous work conditions).
The proposals in this collection seek to begin to address these failures in the system by challenging everything from the origins of our fibers to the archetypal forms of our garments to the process of manufacturing and the end life cycle. Based on the timescale and material origins of the proposals they have been loosely categorized into three categories, "Past", "Present", and "Future".
"Past" repurposes existing textiles.
"Present" utilizes available sustainable fabrics and design solutions that increase wear.
"Future" uses mycelium, the vegetative structure of a mushroom, to upcycle waste from the apparel industry.
While the garments are separated into three categories, they are meant to be styled with one another, demonstrating how these solutions can and should interact and coexist.
Special attention was also given to the design of the garments and how they can be made to fit beautifully on a multitude of bodies. A sustainable solution created without keeping people in mind, what they would want to feel and wear, will never be able to have a meaningful impact.
No single innovation will resolve all of the industry’s problems. These proposals are meant to be a beginning point for the kinds of solutions that could be implemented to move towards a better future—where the clothes we wear uplift the earth and people who made them.
Material Meditations Collection
PAST
Past repurposes existing garments to create new pieces. The goal of Past is to give new life to old pieces, keeping them out of the landfill and second-hand shop a little longer, and preserving the resources that have already been invested in them. In order to make this approach scalable the proposal focuses on finding a garment that is common, reasonably consistent in features, and able to be easily altered. The answer was found in Jeans. Using just 1 or 2 simple cuts, a simple pair of jeans can be transformed into a multitude of entirely new forms. Free instructions were created for these looks to promote access (see below).
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PRESENT
Present garments are meant to be more immediate solutions to fashion's waste that require minimal systemic change. The proposals in this section largely revolve around garments that can transform into other garments and be styled in a multitude of different ways, challenging conventional notions of the forms our garments need to take and extending the lifespan of the garments. Ties made from the same fabric were used to make the garment adjustable to different sizes and configurations. In addition using all the same material for the fastenings, instead of buttons or zippers, makes garment easier to recycle at its eventual end of life. These garments are made from Hemp, a fiber that grows prolifically and needs much less water than more common fiber crops like cotton.
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PRESENT CLO 3D
Present garments were designed with CLO3d, a 3D modeling software for apparel. Utilizing 3D modeling reduces waste production during the design process.
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FUTURE MYCOWEAVE
Future proposals require a fundamental rethinking of the current apparel system and focus primarily on the materials employed. The apparel industry produces a huge amount of textile waste. As mentioned earlier, these end products are difficult to recycle because of the lack of infrastructure and there is currently no technology for recycling blended fibers. Mycelium is a potential solution to this problem, as it has the ability to break down almost any carbon-based material. Old garments and waste fabric scraps produced in the garment industry are upcycled into a new fabric by having the mycelium consume and bind the scraps together. The end product, dubbed Mycoweave, is a soft, leather-like fabric that can be grown in different shapes and sizes. The process is circular because old Mycoweave can be upcycled by feeding it to a new batch of mycelium.
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