From One Shirt to Another

Society today likes to have lots of options.  We like to have lots of variety in our life that allows us to have multiple options. We like to have this is all aspects of our life whether it be food, clothing, or even just what we want to do with our lives. This is especially common in the United States.  The average closet in the U.S. is very large and packed full of lots of clothes. A lot of these clothes are very similar. Some of the clothes are even the same thing just in different colors. This is a huge problem because of the making of these products has been bad for the environment and now they are going to waste.

In Contemporary Expressions Design Activism, Fuad Luke discusses how important it is to meet the basic need of all people by designing new and better basic products.  This first my start with the designer.  We must educate or designers on how to design clothing that can be used for more than one type of function or event.  These products also need to be made out of materials that are healthy for the environment and that can be broken down and used for other things after they are recycled.

My design concept is to produce merchandise that can be worn in multiple different ways and that can be worn on multiple different occasions. Lots of items in my clothes are very similar and are definitely not completely necessary.  I think that if a designer got really creative they could create nice clothing that could be reversible. One side could have a cute print that would be great for a night on the town or a casual day.  The other side could be a solid, classic more expensive looking fabric.  This way one skirt, pant, or top could be used for more than one occasion. The designer could even get creative enough to make a skit or a top that was not only reversible but could also look very classy or worn a different way would be great for a weekend night. In my opinion, I think this concept could save people room in their closet, help the environment, and help them save on money.

I have really enjoyed this course and learned a lot from it. I had no idea before this class how much the fashion industry really effected the environment.  After taking this course I have a much bigger passion for making the industry more environmental friendly.  Because of this class I now take more caution and put in more thought when shopping and buying new clothes. One thing I would change about this class is the fact that it is online. I know it is nice for some people not to have to go to class. However, I feel like this class teaches us very important concepts and would have a greater impact on students if it was an actual class.

From One Use to Another

Recycling is a very common word to almost everyone, but does the general public really know what what happens to items they recycle? Most people take their clothing to a recycling bin and never think about what happens to it after that. For all they know it might not even actually get recycled.  If this is the case they are helping to continue the cradle to grave cycle.  However, I think more people will actually recycle if they know exactly what their recycled items are going toward. Are their clothes going to just be given to someone else or are they going to be made into something better.  The hope is that they are going to be made into something better, which is what we call cradle to cradle or upcycling. To me this is technical metabolism, knowing what exactly is taking place in the closed repeating loop of the recycling process.

In the Cradle to Cradle reading from this week it discusses how important it is to use natural fibers and chemicals that do not hurt the environment.  In my opinion, this is the first step.  If our designers and producers are still using products that hurt the environment it ultimately won't matter if they are recycled or not because at some point they will not decompose. This means we must first convince and teach manufacturers and designers what is good for the environment and what is harmful. In Textile Futures, Quinn explains cradle to cradle saying all discarded fabrics are seen as having potential to acquire fresh life as a new form.  This will help eliminate the concept of textile waste.

The new concept I came up with this week helps the apparel world and interior world come together.  I don't know about everyone else, but I have a huge pile of tshirts in my room that I know longer wear. Some of them have been washed so many times they are worn out, but I can't bring myself to just get rid of all of them.  The idea I have is taking these t-shirts and making them into shag rugs.  If you cut the t-shirts into small strips and weave them together they make the perfect shag carpet. Another good reason they would make good rugs is because like I said before most of them have been washed thousands of times and are very soft because of this.  Turning old t-shirts into rugs turns something that has no use besides sitting in a drawer to something of great use and something that is appealing to the eye of customers.