Individually Unique. Together Complete.

There is one thing that we all have in common, worldwide. We are all apart of the textile industry, whether it is apparel or interior. Some people take pride in being unique and individual and some people could careless what their clothes or house looked like. However, I do believe everyone is unique and creative in his or her own way. I think most people find pleasure in expressing themselves through what they wear or how they interior spaces appear. It gives people a sense of identity and comfort within themselves. I understand that some people do not think that these two factors are important and do not really understand the concept of the two, and that is why we are here to help consumers get it.

After this weeks reading from Fuad-Luke, I have learned the value of the concept of design activism. There is an important combination of staying unique as individuals and being environmentally aware of our collective design ideas. My design idea stems off of my last post about taking leather, plastic and cotton accessories such as purses and transforming them into pillows. Although I am an apparel student, I find myself spending more time decorating my house and wanting to buy or reupholster interior goods. And so I began to think about how to relate design activism to my interests.

My design concept is to have a company that focuses strictly on personalizing interior products in a sustainable way. The client could meet up with a designer from the company and work on different combinations of taking purses, shoes and other clothing and turning them into pillows or reupholstered furniture. This would allow the client to recycle and reuse materials they have lying around their house and still maintain their unique style. I feel that this company and concept would satisfy the needs to a broad market of older women who have collected purses and materials throughout the years and feel a need for a change while meeting their utilitarian and aesthetic needs.

Throughout this enjoyable course I have learned the basic of sustainability as well as the in-depth problems we face as consumers and designers. I have also learned that we are all innovators and are capable of finding solutions to the problems, we just have to step up to the challenge. I enjoyed the blog buddy system because it gave me multiple perspectives and insight on topics I would have never thought of. I would like to learn more about the upcycling process and become more educated with companies that meet these sustainable standards.

Purse-to-Pillow

            Today, my mom had asked me what I wanted to for graduation. I immediately began online shopping and making a wish list for her with all of the things I wanted. I then realized I had put a few purses on that list. I got to thinking of all the purses I had collected over the years whether it be leather, plastic, cotton, or hemp and thought I need to do something with the purses I do not use anymore before I consider getting another one or two. We as consumers, merchandisers, and designers think we need a new purse with every outfit for every occasion. We get bored with the same ones. I am guilty of wanting to carry a new one every week and then never using it again after I purchase a new one. Purses are constantly changing and we as consumers are constantly buying them because we want them. In result, when we are through with them we put them in our closets to collect dust. This problem has helped me come up with a solution to get these purses dusted off and back out into the industry to create a new product. 

 

            As discussed in the Cradle-to-Cradle article, my design idea falls under the technical metabolism concept because the purses will be broken down into pieces and will be reused to make pillows. This technical metabolism concept is designed to reused materials through multiple product cycles in a closed-loop system. The purse will be broken down into individual pieces and the pillow, itself, will be made with the fabric of the purse. The straps, buttons, zippers, etc. will all be used to make these decorative pillows to add character and uniqueness. In my design concept, I will be making a whole new interior product out of apparel goods. Today, many people, like me, do not like matching pillows for everything and actually like to create their own pillow arrangements. We like decorating our furniture and beds with pillows that are not identical and may or may not have the same color scheme. Since there are so many different purses it will give people a large variety to choose from. The pillows will be eco-friendly due to the fabrics used and reuse of the products. The fabrics will first become a purse and secondly become a pillow. After being reused to make pillows, the fabric will then be recycled to become the stuffing for the pillows. Instead of just letting our unused and unwanted purses sit in our closets and take up space we need to upcycle these products because they will not only benefit us but also our environment.

            In the Cradle-to-Cradle article, they encourage us to become more aware of the cradle-to-cradle processes instead of the cradle-to-grave concept. This design concept portrays the cradle-to-cradle process because these products are going through the cycles of industry in order to keep these high-quality products alive. By recreating these purses into pillows and back into the pillows for stuffing we are creating a positive approach in making the environment more sustainable. This concept also relates to McDonough’s and Braungart’s article because it is a “product of service,” which means it recreates new end uses for a product instead of throwing the materials away. We are always trying to think of new and creative ideas to become more sustainable and this cradle-to-cradle cycle will give the unwanted purses life, again.

            The reading, Textile Futures, gives us a few examples of how a designers “resurfaced” products that were going to be thrown away. Instead of letting these garments go to waste, the designers have taken these products and transformed them by using their own design concepts and creativeness to make a new, fashionable creation. Becky Early, one of the designers, collects used fashion textiles and reprints them with her own designs to keep them wearable and up-to-date with fashion. She wanted to recycle garments that were only worn for one season or were easily outdated garments, just like the purses we accumulate over the years that we use for only one season or soon become old-fashion. Although her focus is on textile products, our concept designs are very similar due to the fact that we are both being innovative in new products that will have a positive effect on our environment instead of a negative one.

            The C2CAD article breaks down the sustainable apparel design and production model into four steps; Problem definition and research, sample making, solution development and collaboration, and production. This article shows us that if we use the right resources, are knowledgeable about the industry, and have a creative imagination, you can come up with solutions to make the environment more sustainable. Like my purse idea, there are endless products that I could make to keep the cycle going, but I will probably need to communicate with a few other designers or manufacturers to help me with come up with new ideas.

"What is one mans trash is another mans treasure."

            While reading the Cradle-to-Cradle article about the biological and technical metabolisms, the technical metabolism stuck out to me. According to the Waste Equals Food chapter, the biological metabolism is the cycle of nature whereas the technical metabolism is the cycles of industry.  When thinking about the apparel and interior industry, it is best portrayed as having a technical metabolism because so many of our products can be broken down into pieces and parts that can be reused to create a new products. The technical metabolism allows us to reuse high-quality products over and over instead of filling up our landfills causing harm to the environment. Cradle-to-Cradle and Rohner Textiles also refers the technical metabolism as the product of service and recreate a new end use of a product. The saying, “what is one mans trash is another mans treasure” really applies to this metabolism because today, many people believe that these technical products are throwaway products instead of repairing them or creating a new design product.

            In Western Oklahoma, where I come from, there is lots of farming and ranching.  With farming and ranching come livestock, agriculture, equipment, and tools to keep the operations going. What do the farmers and ranchers do with their old tools, equipment, or parts that do not work anymore, are old and worn out, or that they have no use for? Many of these durables, like Chapter 4 Waste Equals Food states would be thrown away because they believe there is no use for them anymore. I happen to think differently and have come up with a solution to extend the life of these goods.

            My idea for an interior/exterior design would be to collect all the broken, worn, torn, and unwanted tools and parts and make fence panels out of them to keep the livestock in the pastures. Instead of throwing the metal and steel pieces away, you could create artwork pieces while upcycling these materials that may be considered waste. The scraps of materials would be welded together in your own custom design to create the art piece. Some resources may include; hammers, wrenches, tire spokes, shovels, saws, wheels, or nails.  In this concept, you are “killing two birds with one stone.” You are reusing these high-quality resources to construct artwork as well as fencing the livestock in the territory. These fences will be more meaningful too due to the fact that they once used these materials to keep the farming and ranching operation going and now they are being reused in a different way.

            We all have the tendency to throw things away because it is easy. We need to all realize that we are creative and can reuse many products, parts, and pieces to upcycle a new product from an old one.

Leather Goods

            We sit and ponder about what ideas we could come up with in the apparel industry to make our environment more sustainable. We think about t-shirts, jeans, cotton, polyester, and dye, to name a few, and how they affect our environment and have unsustainable characteristics but what many people do not think about is belts. This week I have come up with an idea for a small-scale concept that recycles old leather belts.

            In Chapter 5 of Sustainability, recycled materials and inorganic fabrics are popular because they can be made into fashion fabrics and interior textiles. My idea is to create a place where people recycle their old leather belts to be made into interior décor. Once recycled, the leather belts can be recreated to make rugs, chairs, tables, baskets, art, and accessories for the home. This idea will be unique because the locals that donated/recycle the belts and can come back and buy the décor that their belt(s) were used in or custom design an interior product they want made out of their own belts.

            One strategy by Janine Benyus that influenced my idea was “Optimize Rather Than Maximize.” Instead of people throwing away their unwanted, worn, and torn leather belts and causing waste, they can recycle their belts to a local store who will reuse the belts to make new interior goods out of the old ones. Many people believe that once something is old it needs to be thrown away and can not be used for anything else. I think having a store like this will hopefully motivate more people to recycle their belts because these raw materials can be made into something new and kept out of landfills. Also, instead of going out to buy the newest products for their house, they can have a unique and personalized interior product made from their own goods.

            Benyus’s principle “Shop Locally,” sticks out the most in this concept. She states that they are encouraging shoppers to shop and buy locally to sustain local economies. Shopping locally in small towns has significantly decreased because people do not want the same apparel or interior products as someone else. To prevent that, they travel to other cities to buy their products or online shop. With my idea, I want to create one-of-a-kind products that people will want to purchase because no one else will have the same one. In Chapter 6, Local and Light, tells us that local products are rare and are getting rarer. I want to create something that is rare. Recycling leather belts to be recreated into interior goods is pretty rare and therefore this rare idea will hopefully attract locals and enhance more local shopping and local, sustainable ideas.

Wasteful Thinking

            Over the past few weeks, we have learned that not many people know how much they “waste” on a daily basis and how “wasteful” things affects our environment. If there were options and solutions out there to solve these problems, maybe people would be more willing to be conscious about the products they could potentially be wasting. The Industrial Ecology article states, “every industrial activity is linked to thousands of other transactions and activities and to their environmental impacts.” This statement is telling us that when we buy products in the apparel or interiors industry and throw them away after we are done with them to reside in the landfills we are causing negative impacts on our environment with the waste we could have recycled and reused.

            We, as Americans, have a tendency of being “lazy,” therefore; the easiest way of getting rid of things is simply throwing it away. We also have become very technologically savvy, and like that we can do many things at home on the Internet instead of getting up to go do them. I have come up with a concept that I think will eliminate the waste of unwanted, worn, or torn natural or synthetic fibers. I think an outsourcing company that takes your waste materials and turns them into beach towels while offering you free shipping and packaging and a 10% discount on all your purchases would be a success for our society.

             In the chapter, How Will We Conduct Business?, one of the strategies used by Janine Benyus is to use waste as a resource. Instead of throwing your old t-shirts away you can ship them to the company and they will turn them into beach towels to be reused and resold. You would also benefit from this concept because you would be saving your money, getting rid of your unwanted garments, and receiving a discount on the goods.

            Another strategy that inspired this recycling company, that Benyus discusses, is using materials sparingly. This strategy implies that there can be multiple uses for one product. This made me think of how I could recreate a popular item into something that could be used in more than one way. T-shirts will form the most basic fabrication of a multi-use towel.

            When combining these two techniques, our mental modes can shift into a more positive outlook on reusing worn out products and not filling our environment with waste.

Creating A Brighter Future

When thinking about how we can make our world more sustainable over the past few weeks and over the years, we have created a mental mode for ourselves. We all have to come up with a solution to solve these problems in order to achieve the sustainable environment we have all been seeking to develop. I realize that it is hard for people to adjust to routines they are not use to, but in order for us to make a difference and have an impact on the world, we have to learn to adjust to what is best for the environment and ourselves. I believe that limiting consumption, giving more than you take, and being open minded to new opportunities are just a few traits we can take to envision a more sustainable future.  

Limiting Consumption

There are two kinds of consumption, over consumption and under consumption. Neither one is better than the other. According to the article Limiting Consumption: Toward a Sustainable Culture, the political measure that combat consumption plays a huge role due to the advertising industry, shopping culture, government policies, and the weak household and community economies. These four things cause us to be over consumptuous because of the popularity and the want of the newest and latest products.  This article also states, “Whatever share of our acquisitiveness is part of our nature, the compulsion for more has never been so actively promoted, nor so easily acted upon, as it is today.” Being an apparel-merchandising consumer I feel all of us fall short in grasping that being over consumptuous is not sustainable. We hurt our environment more than we help it.  Limiting what we consume and giving back more is another valuable characteristic of being more sustainable.

Giving Back More Than You Take

In the article, Limiting Consumption Toward a Sustainable Culture, the ecological equivalent of the Golden Rule is, we should learn to give back to environment more than we take away from it. By living with this ethical principle, we can take another step towards a sustainable future. This will enable the future generations to carry on what we have started. Specifically, we can limit our consumption but also donate excess garments and interior goods to places such as the Goodwill and allow them to prosper from our poor unconscious purchases. I feel this is an important mental mode to follow in order to grow more environmentally aware and to make a difference.

Open-Mindedness

According to Thinking Ahead: The Value of Future Consciousness, Tom Lombardo states, “opening the mind to future possibilities and raises one’s perceived self efficacy in realizing positive possibilities,” is a very important characteristic in being a cautious consumer.  If we fully grasp this mental mode, we can allow ourselves to be open and wiling to accept the more sustainable solution even if it is different from what we have been doing in the past. With simple steps of being conscious of our mental mode, we can set the framework of new ideas and solutions on a sustainable ground.

When creating a mental mode for ourselves and our future we have to take into consideration these three characteristics; limiting consumption, giving back more than you take, and being open minded to change.  If we start putting these actions into motion, our future generations will benefit from our sustainable ideas and be able to carry out these aspects as well as create new innovation for their future.

Hemp, bamboo, and cotton have all been frowned upon for the way they are used. They have all be perceived one way, when really they are completely different. I do believe they play a large role in the apparel industry, however; I do not think that many people know what the fiber is they are really buying.

According to Hemp: Historic Fiber Remains Controversial, hemp is one of the most versatile and desirable fibers in the world, today. It is also a very popular fiber used in the apparel and interior industry now and has been since the 28^th century B.C. Since 1996, hemp fibers have been in high demand whether it be yarn or woven fabrics but the only way to get it to the United States is to import the fiber. Now, Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren have started using hemp in many of their products and are hoping to start this trend for other designers to follow. The popularity of this fiber will only continue to grow. Environmentalist and farmers are jumping on the band-wagon with the designers as well.  The network of “hempsters” is also encouraging them to support their fight in legalizing the fiber. Hemp has been compared to cotton but hemp grows without pesticides or chemicals and is also grown faster than cotton. Hemp also beat cotton with a greater tear and tensile strength.

Although this fiber has many positive characteristics to it, it also has a huge negative one. This sounds just like every other fiber we have discussed. The negative side of hemp is that it is believed to be a source for the marijuana plant.  Since it is illegal, farmers cannot grow the plant, even if they wish too. Importing the fiber is very expensive for the United States to buy, therefore; it is expensive for consumers to purchase a pair of shoes that has the controversial hemp fiber in them. I understand how harmful this fiber can be to human beings, but if farmers had some sort regulations on growing the plant the dangers could potentially be eliminated. Legalizing the hemp fiber could be better for our economy. We would not be giving our money to other countries; we would be giving to our own.

Hemp is not the only fiber that has positive and negative characteristics, bamboo does too. Are you Being Bamboozled tells us that bamboo textiles are known to be misleading. The truth about bamboo fibers is that it usually is not bamboo, it is rayon.  Bamboo is a natural fiber, whereas rayon is a manufactured fiber. Manufacturers are misleading their consumers and making them believe they are buying a natural fiber. Are you Being Bamboozled also informs us that there are no real traces of bamboo in a finished rayon product. Rayon fibers use toxic chemicals which causes’ hazardous air pollution. Federal Regulations says, “it must be labeled and advertised using the proper generic name for the fiber, rayon, or “rayon made from bamboo.” Rayon is a manufactured fiber, and according to Fabric Manufacturers, it is strong, durable, and extremely absorbent. Rayon is a popular fiber, but needs to be truthful about their products to their consumers and not misleading them. This is where the controversy begins. Consumers need to be more conscious of product labeling and less vulnerable to advertisement.

Cotton, like bamboo and hemp, also has its positives and negatives. Many believe that organic is the answer, but few know how hard it is to actually become a successful organic cotton grower. Controversy Broiling; GM Cotton Against Organic tells us how genetically modified cotton is being put on the market as organic cotton. After this debacle, they decided to come up with a Third Party Certification system, which has become the system for guaranteeing organic products for world trade. Now that they have no tolerance for fraudulent organic cotton, they have become stricter on who grows this fiber. This certification has made it hard for small organic producers to be certified because of the qualifications that have to be met because they do not want that to happen to them again. They have come up with a small farmers association called Chetna Organic Farmers Association, which is supported by the United States eco centres for utilization of manure. Chetna claims its philosophy rises about a certification, it is reflected more in practice than just in paper. The Chetna Organic Farmers Association has proven that it is reliable and dependable, worldwide. Organic cotton does not only have a large support group, it is also more sustainable than natural cotton. It may be hard to be an organic cotton grower, but it has been proven by the Chetna association that it is possible to do. Cotton has a very high demand, but I feel like 100% organic cotton, not genetically modified cotton, could be in high demand as well. We just have to know where the organic cotton is coming from and if it is from a dependable source, like Chetna Organic Farmers Association.

Hemp, bamboo, and cotton are all different from each other. Yet, each one of them gets misused. Hemp gets used for marijuana, bamboo gets used for misleading rayon labels, and organic cotton gets misused for genetically modified cotton. Consumers need to become more educated on what fibers they are buying and where they are grown. They all have their positives and negatives but we should focus on which ones are 100% organic and if the label reads correctly.