these “forever chemicals” never disappear, never go away, and are toxic to personal and planetary health. in 2022 alone, 72 million tonnes of synthetic materials were produced and put into clothing, according to textile exchange’s preferred fiber and materials market report. most people have no idea they are walking around in glorified plastic bags. it is not a matter of if we can change, but if we will and the answer appears to be under our feet. welcome to plastic rehab, we’ve been waiting for you. 

can fungi replace leather?

mycelium, the root structure of fungi and what mycologist paul stamets calls “the earth’s natural internet,” is just starting to be harnessed to create climate and environmental solutions to many problems. mycelium weave magnificent webs, interlinking nature, allowing different life forms to communicate. now they are branching out to the fashion industry to open our eyes, co-creating with people to show that another regenerative materials future is possible. 

currently leather is predominantly made from animal skins or synthetic materials, with a few other plant-based concoctions entering the arena. cow leather is a byproduct of the animal agriculture industry, so fashion is completely dependent on the production of beef for hides to make leather. vegan, bio, and faux leather are just some of the aliases plastic goes by these days to hook new victims.

artisans used to sustainably use hides to make leather through vegetable tanning. it was a tedious process as tanning could take weeks. so what had been a specialized craft, has now been overrun by chromium tanning which is much faster and cheaper. but it suffuses the world with chromium sulfate. this allows the fashion industry to make cookie cutter products as speed and cost reductions are prioritized, leaving people and the planet to pay the true cost. this fuels a system driven around cheap fast goods, ignoring the natural systems we operate within that replenish resources intuitively but cannot keep up with over extraction.

staging a grassroots revolution, mycelium is here to dethrone the plastic and animal leather kings. mycelium can do something plastics cannot, biodegrade seamlessly back into the ground as food, not poison.  

unraveling and upending the current system, the use of mycelium could also reduce consumption of land and water. designers can direct their creativity to choosing love, choosing life, and choosing wisely. treating the fungi kingdom as our new partners, we don’t have to limit designs to just a replacement trying to replicate the old regime. mycelium materials don’t have to conform to old shapes because they can take on so much more, it just needs to be imagined.

as companies like mycoworks are developing faux-leather handbags made out of mycelia, mushrooms are having their “she’s all that” makeover moment and being valued for what’s on the inside even while they make their way down the catwalk. the fashion industry is having a spiritual awakening from a shroom trip and is being offered a second chance by the fantastic fungi giving them a circular means of existence. 

adapting to any circumstance, from paris haute couture, hats as soft as butter, avant-garde stools, and even a lamp that begs the question, how many people does it take to change a light bulb housed in a cylinder of mycelium? the possibilities are endless. 

cultivating a symbiotic future

these mycelium-based creations are all fascinating, but since the climate and environmental crisis keeps me up at night, what gets me up in the morning are the innovations that could scale and replace synthetics. from packaging to leather, mycelium is malleable, moldable, and abundant. the diversity of possibility in what has been and could be made from fungi exemplifies the expansiveness of the human imagination. 

merlin sheldrake, ph.d., biologist and author of entangled life, encouraged people to “think about these relationships as symbiotic relationships not as fungal technologies.” fungi are resilient, enigmatic, and unflappable. human created technology is incredible, but we must not forget that the true power is the natural resource itself and that humans are not in complete control over it. 

sheldrake further reflects on the history of life on the planet and expresses that often unlikely partnerships form because, “they came together in times of crisis because together they could do something that neither could do apart.” together they just might be able to transform the fashion industry into a regenerative and circular system to create a more ethical world. once you choose possibility, life opens up to you.

it is most admirable when artists find a way to incorporate recycling into their art. not only does this prove the inherent beauty of what some consider “trash,” but it can further inspire other artists to create similar work.

within the last decade, buyers have become more aware of the consequences of the fashion industry. growing consciousness about the effect of clothes dye, worker exploitation and material waste have made consumers and designers rethink their fashion choices. daniel also became more conscious of this and wanted to contribute and be part of the solution.

“i wanted to put forth, through fashion, a warning message of the environmental issues we live with” he said.

through the creation of garments, daniel conflates different trends that are resurfacing, such as “slow fashion” and “no waste.” slow fashion entails understanding the process in which the clothes are being made. as daniel is the designer, seamster and creator of his work, he is responsible for all aspects and knows exactly where it all comes from. the no waste movement strives to repurpose materials that would otherwise be destined to become landfill. daniel’s work combines both.

daniel has used a number of materials, ranging from cassette tapes to computer keyboards and glass lenses.

“each material presents its own difficulties, even preparing the material and thinking about the item’s construction is a challenge,” he said.

the process behind recycling these materials is complex. it involves collecting, cleaning and a creative aspect in which the artist must envision the presentation of the material.

“using cd discs was maybe the most challenging material, because of its rigidity,” he said. “i had to cut them up and make small holes in them in which i tied some metal string and brought the little pieces together. also the keyboards, preparing the keyboards and calculating the amount of keys i needed to add, and then remove so that the dress would not be shapeless.”

the technicalities involved in this type of work are not perceived at first glance. once the artist has an idea, creating a concept and making it a tangible item can be an elaborate procedure.

in terms of inspiration, the ubiquity of litter and residue is something that often reaches artists and observers.

“i was walking at night and the shine of a vhs film tape on the floor caught my attention,” he said. “this inspired me, and i thought that maybe i could make something luxurious out of that shine.”

after all, the idea of luxury in fashion derives from a combination of materials, creation, and inspiration.

daniel’s outlook of creating something sumptuous from nothing is an approach that many self-made artists have. it takes true artistic talent to create beauty from what others deem as waste. daniel’s creations demonstrate how creativity can shape the way we view materials, enhancing their circularity and usability. through fashion, daniel detects the intrinsic beauty of “junk” and molds it into a garment that appeals to all audiences.

fabric incubator was founded in 2016 when designers angela johnson and sherri barry faced the lack of manufacturing resources outside of los angeles, and the unsustainable options for entrepreneurs wanting to get into the industry.

according to this un report, the fashion industry is responsible for 2-8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. the un says it takes 10,000 liters of water to grow the cotton needed for one pair of jeans, which is equivalent to a person’s water supply for 10 years. 

johnson says that the lack of resources forces aspiring fashion entrepreneurs to rely on manufacturing their clothes overseas in unsustainable factories. research by the harvard business review found that companies in countries with stricter environmental regulations offshore more often “particularly in countries with laxer environmental standards,” making them susceptible to excess inventory that gets burned or sent to landfills. the research found that tighter regulation results in a 43% increase in emissions abroad.

“by re-shoring manufacturing and making small batches, that is the number one way that we are sustainable,” johnson said.

 as of today, fabric has helped 800 apparel entrepreneurs start their business locally without over-production overseas. they’ve also provided $6.8 million in free and discounted programs and services. 

“that’s the main reason that we started this, is so that somebody with a good idea for a niche product could compete with the industry, with the bigger brands. and we are doing that by providing them with all the resources they need to get through all the complexities,” johnson said.

the company offers many resources to help entrepreneurs start their business and create their product. they have several scholarships that give recipients access to resources and education needed to enter the market. the city of tempe granted the non-profit access to the city’s performing arts center, and it is now a full time event space and runway with a photography studio, makeup room, audio visual equipment, and so much more for designers to bring their designs to the spotlight. 

one of fabric’s biggest accomplishments is that they manufactured 800,000 reusable hospital gowns to help minimize ppe waste during the start of the covid-19 pandemic. they claim this initiative helped keep 80 million disposable medical gowns away from landfills. president biden and vice president harris visited to recognize this effort to minimize waste in the healthcare industry. 

another initiative is their creation of arizona eco fashion week where they feature local sustainable brands. they also started their “refabricate” program where the scraps left over from designs are donated to local designers to be re-purposed rather than sent to landfills. they get turned into new garments, insulation, bedding for dogs, and even art installations. fabric has also partnered with the centers for habilitation to re-purpose arizona state university’s old banners into tote bags that are sold at asu campus stores.

asu’s president, michael crow awarded them the president’s award for sustainability for this effort. fabric was also awarded the az department of environmental quality’s voluntary environmental stewardship program award.

their growth and demand has been evident throughout the years. they have held tours for entrepreneurs wanting to get started every week since fabric was founded. barry even opened a second factory down the street to help keep up with the demand for automated manufacturing for designers that have grown out of fabric. 

johnson says that it’s important for everyone to think about how the clothes we wear every day are impacting our planet.

“the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry on the planet, so if you want to get to the core root of why things are so messed up, that has to be one of the things that we all care about. and all of us wear clothes, so this is all of our responsibility,” she said. 

––

disclaimer: as a member of the digital audience lab at arizona state university, i work directly with fabric incubator for their marketing needs. this is not for profit and simply a learning experience offered by the school.

sifting through the endless racks of new clothing, customers weave in and out of the maze of shelves at a local store. inexpensive sweaters, skirts and blouses are strewn everywhere, bunched up and tossed carelessly. employees scuttle about making crinkled clothes crisp with folds and restocking shelves.

for northwestern university juniors regina morfin and avantika raikar, this is the fast fashion challenge. morfin and raikar are the co-founders of lura, an online platform that provides small apparel brands with access to sustainable textiles such as recycled pet (one form of polyester fabric) and biodegradable nylon. the two met in 2018 through northwestern’s epic launch entrepreneurship program. after bonding over a mutual interest in sustainability and fashion, they began work on lura.

set to launch in early 2021, lura is a consulting service that connects small fashion brands with textile manufacturers. lura’s primary mission is to make sustainability more accessible. the fashion industry “functions in a really outdated way,” morfin said, and without the right connections, sourcing and producing sustainable clothing is difficult.

companies can peruse eco-conscious fabrics on lura’s website, selecting ones that match specific sustainability and style goals, such as water conservation during manufacture or active wear. they can also schedule one-on-one consultations with morfin and raikar to discuss potential designs, price range, textures, and colors. lura will then send textile samples and either connect companies with the appropriate manufacturers or places a textile order for them. lura’s manufacturers hail from all over the world the company charges a $30 monthly subscription fee for its services, with the first two months free.

for newer, smaller apparel brands, finding  and establishing connections with textile hegemons is even more challenging. morfin and raikar sympathize with these brands, citing the lack of industry connections as the “hardest thing.” to build their current connections, the lura founders spent hours researching, emailing and calling people, searching hashtags such as “eco-conscious” on social media and compiling information.  

“it’s about giving these small businesses accessibility to these textiles that they might not have heard of or might not have found otherwise,” morfin said. “and empowering them to be sustainable and be proud of it.”

synthetic materials used in fast fashion clothing, such as polyester and nylon, are not biodegradable and are filled with unsustainable forms of plastic. they compose 60% of clothing worldwide. polyester manufacture uses large amounts of water and emits 14.1 pounds of carbon dioxide per pound produced. making nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas far more more potent than carbon dioxide. although relatively small amounts are released, it traps 200 to 300 times more heat than carbon dioxide and depletes the ozone layer, reducing the protection offered from harmful uv sun rays.

because they are not biodegradable, these synthetic materials break down into microfibers that are released into the air, wastewater systems and oceans. according to a report by friends of the earth, washing one load of synthetic clothes releases millions of microplastics into the wastewater system. each year, one person produces 793 pounds of microfibers.

sasha adkins, an ecologist at loyola university chicago, points to fast fashion as one of the “biggest culprits” of microfiber pollution. due to their microscopic size, microfibers are easily ingested by both animals and humans. the average person, adkins said, consumes a credit card’s worth of plastic every week. 

“it’s just common sense that that’s not healthy, right?” they said. “you don’t want to eat pieces of your polyester sweater.”

microfibers, and plastics in general, attract organic pollutants and absorb toxic chemicals from detergents and fire retardant chemicals in waste systems. as they travel through water ways and in the air, they eventually become trapped in colder regions such as the arctic because they cannot remetabolize into the air.

“these chemicals are being released with climate change, as ice and snow are melting and the arctic gets warmer. and they’re traveling around the planet again,” adkins explained. “they’re sticking to (other) plastic. we’re eating the plastic. so we’re also eating all these contaminants in a concentrated form.”

according to haley boyd, a sustainable fashion expert, the fashion industry can greatly reduce microfiber production with greater regulation from the federal trade commission. although the federal trade commission has definitions of “sustainable” and “biodegradable,” they are not specific or consistent enough, granting brands too much flexibility on what is sustainable and what is not. for one brand, sustainability may mean incorporating textiles such as linen in its fast fashion business model. for another, it may mean using 100% organic cotton in all products. 

additionally, brands must obtain third party certifications to claim that a material is, for instance, biodegradable. however, the hundreds of organizations that have the same certification all have different standards for “biodegradable.”

morfin also expressed concerns about  third party certifications, which she and avantikar rely on extensively. “there’s so much we wish we could do about checking if everything is truly sustainable,” she said. “and covid made it worse too because we even wanted to travel to these places and see them for ourselves, but we kinda just have to rely on people’s word, people’s statistics. hopefully they’re not skewed in any way.”

one example is recycled plastic. companies such as the girlfriend collective produce clothing made from recycled water bottles. one pair of leggings uses 25 water bottles, preventing 18.61 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and saving 3.11 gallons of water.

although girlfriend collective uses 100% post-consumer water bottles, some companies do not meet this standard. the lack of regulation and information, boyd said, misleads designers and manufacturers into thinking their sustainability efforts are positively affecting the planet. because recycled plastic textiles have become increasingly popular, the supply of post-consumer recycled bottles is inadequate because not enough bottles get recycled. manufacturers then must make virgin plastic bottles that have no other purpose than to be sold to a company that wants to say they are making textiles out of recycled plastic, according to boyd. 

“recycled plastic is a band-aid; it’s not a solution.” boyd warned. “you are putting off the inevitability of plastic reaching a dead end a few years later than it would have otherwise. someone’s gonna buy those leggings for a hundred bucks, wear them for a couple years, and then they’re gonna go to a landfill. if the plastic bottle had just been landfilled, how’s that differ than reusing that product one more time?”

morfin, meanwhile, thinks that recycled plastic fabric such as polyester (pet) can be a step in the right direction. “at the end of the day, we don’t want to shame anyone.” she said. “if a brand feels like recycled pet is the way that they can make a difference, it does help.”

for kristy drutman, creator and founder of brown girl green, the most pressing issue in sustainable fashion is the threat of greenwashing. seeing the prospect of sustainable fashion, some companies deceptively market themselves as “eco-friendly;” in reality, they have tenuous connections to responsible sourcing or production. “many companies don’t have transparent practices around material sourcing or paying their workers/ producers a living wage,” drutman added. “yet, they’ll push for things like ‘recycled’ or ‘upcycled’ materials, and make money off of that marketing, rather than actually cleaning up their practices.”

the best way to reduce microfiber production, adkins, boyd and drutman agreed, is shopping at second-hand stores. sustainable fashion brands can often be expensive, demanding upwards of $100 for a single shirt.

although second-hand clothing still produces microfibers, they do not fuel the sourcing of new synthetic materials. clothing subscriptions or rental services is another sustainable alternative.

for adkins, fast fashion is rooted in a “narcissistic mentality that mainstream culture promotes.” because fast fashion clothing is cheap, flimsy and trendy, people often buy and dispose of it quickly. 

“if something’s ripped, you can repair it.” they said. “we don’t have that mentality anymore. i think that it’s a cultural issue about the status and prestige people get from keeping up with trends and looking a certain way, valuing that over justice.”

boyd also cautioned that fast fashion’s low cost is deceptive, as it does not quantify the environmental or ethical costs. over the last 60 years, the price of apparel has not risen at the same rate of other consumer goods, and boyd cited sweatshops as one of the greatest factors. 

“it’s because we aren’t paying people a fair wage in developing countries to make clothes, and we should be paying more per item, and we should be buying less.” she said. “and that’s really a hard thing for people to accept.”

adkins and boyd both urge consumers to consider the complete life cycle of a garment, hoping to shift attention away from solely microfiber shedding. tracing a garment’s life cycle — its initial production, consumption, and post-consumption status — is essential when assessing its true sustainability. moreover, working conditions, exploitation, fair trade and animal welfare intersect with sustainability, and are crucial in quantifying a garment’s environmental and social impacts.

“it’s not about what it does to you as a consumer. it’s about what it does during its life cycle.” adkins said. “you have to think about the people and the rest of the planet. the workers who make it and the people who have to deal with it when you throw it away. we need to rethink disposable culture.” 

secondhand shopping is helping the economy 

while the traditional retail sector is expected to shrink 15% over a two-year period, the secondhand shopping sector is set to drastically increase. by 2021, the online secondhand shopping sector is set to grow 69%, according to thredup’s 2020 resale report. 

despite its negative impact on the economy, covid-19 has set up the perfect situation for secondhand shopping. thredup’s report states 50% of people are cleaning out their closets and homes – more than they were pre-covid-19, and 80% of consumers shared that they’re more open to secondhand shopping during economic certainty. 

the combination of free time, home cleanouts and less set aside in peoples’ budgets makes secondhand shopping the perfect solution. sellers now have a thriving customer base to sell to, and buyers on a budget now have more options.

unintended consequences

as with any sustainable solution, there are consequences to online secondhand. 

due to covid-19, traditional secondhand sellers are struggling to survive. the combination of stay-at-home orders and surge of secondhand sellers has traditional secondhand shops like thrift stores battling to survive. even used clothing store giants like crossroads and buffalo exchange shared the unexpected problems they’re encountering since the beginning of the pandemic. 

plus, online shopping – secondhand or not – isn’t for everyone. for clothing, some prefer to feel materials and try on items without solely relying on photos and descriptions. secondhand shopping complicates this further since both vintage and previously worn clothing can have untraditional sizing. for other goods, pictures don’t always successfully translate size, color, or material. 

and of course, there is an inherent risk with secondhand buying. while many buyers have positive experiences, there is always a possibility that the seller can scam you, provide false details, or unfairly price products. 

a more sustainable option 

traditional retailers have come under under fire for unsustainable and unethical practices, like paying workers low wages, contributing to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and shedding microplastics into water and food supplies. 

but clothing retailers are not the only offender. the environmental protection agency’s product-specific data indicates that in 2017 alone, nearly 10,000 thousands of tons of furniture and furnishings ended up in landfills along with 2,500 thousands of tons of carpets and rugs. 

luckily, secondhand retailers are able to provide second homes for these items, which would otherwise end up in a landfill. forums like facebook marketplace – a platform any facebook user can utilize to buy and sell secondhand goods – have swept the nation as people refurnish home offices, college students decorate apartments and parents turn living rooms into classrooms. 

when i moved to d.c. in july, i spent weeks without a dresser. retailers like target, amazon, and wayfair were sold out of almost all affordable options. i didn’t want to pay the $50 shipping fee for ikea, but i also didn’t have a car to go in person. after not paying attention to facebook marketplace notifications throughout quarantine, i finally bit the bullet and started scrolling. 

i was shocked at the abundance of options i had to choose from, but i was even more shocked by how quickly items sold. i messaged dozens of sellers only to find out items had sold seconds after they were posted. and while i was upset about not being able to immediately get a dresser, i was happy to hear that i was just one of hundreds also looking for secondhand furniture. 

eventually, i got my hands on my dream dresser. with luck on my side, i was able to snag the exact ikea dresser i had been looking for from a facebook marketplace seller. plus, it was at a reduced price and already built. the hunt for a dresser was definitely tiring, but the environment – and my wallet – are definitely thanking me. 

i’d like to add that most plus size sustainable fashion is quite literally earth tone linen sacks, and not in a chic way https://t.co/t8lmvooh03

— ?????? ??? (@lek_9677) september 13, 2020

it’s no secret that apparel waste, fast fashion, and climate change are linked. research from the ellen macarthur foundation showed that the average consumer bought 60% more clothes in 2014 than in 2000, but kept each garment for half as long. the world resources institute estimates that it takes about 2700 liters (approximately 713 gallons) of water — nearly 9 bathtubs’ worth — to produce just one cotton shirt. in case it wasn’t concerning enough, the fashion industry is already responsible for 8% to 10% of annual global carbon emissions, according to the un environment programme. 

clearly, the adopted solution needs to be one that everyone can participate in. for plus size women, online thrift and vintage stores are innovative options. this trend operates heavily through instagram, where accounts like @luvsickplus and @shop.fatties run “story sales” and post secondhand and vintage finds, asking followers to “swipe up” to purchase. one key advantage is that plus size women can take control of sales and market clothing they know others might actually like because they’ve selected the stock themselves. online thrifting isn’t plus specific, but plus size women are slowly starting to embrace it as an affordable option.

online thrift platforms like depop and thredup, have also begun to accommodate plus size thrifting. these sites use a more formal approach where users can purchase from “shops” or pick from stock like any other online store. there are also filtering tools for searching these sites, which makes it easier to shop the size inclusive brands we know and trust. the long term possibilities are promising, economically speaking. by 2021, the online secondhand shopping sector is set to grow by 69% according to thredup’s 2020 resale report.

still, the online thrift and vintage option is imperfect. it can be challenging to find the right size or pay an affordable price. the clothing isn’t always on trend. mainstream fashion hasn’t included plus size women for very long, so there hasn’t been much time for a large stock of secondhand plus clothing to develop. i fall at the beginning of the plus range and still find it difficult. 

however, i would be remiss if i didn’t acknowledge that this development has its strengths. online thrift and vintage shopping are solutions that when they work, seem to work pretty well. the trend could definitely make sustainable fashion more accessible to plus size women. 

alternatively, so would normalizing the production of sustainable clothing in extended sizes. the growth potential for online thrifting is exciting, but in the same breath we must ask: why are women encountering this issue in the first place? as long as sustainable brands won’t provide for all women, some are going to continue to default to fast fashion even if they’d rather not. most people want to do their part, ideally without a crisis over whether or not they can squeeze into tighter pants for the sake of the environment.

there’s definitely much to unpack within the sustainability movement of design, and it’s becoming increasingly important for designers to open dialogues surrounding what role they play in this movement. throughout my research, i’ve had the opportunity to engage in many such dialogues. in one, i was able to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for both sustainable design practices and the designer’s ethical responsibility. this conversation was with prisca vilsbol, a copenhagen-based fashion designer and researcher who champions sustainable design from two perspectives — the technical research side and the designer’s outlook. i first met vilsbol when she guest lectured during one of my classes. throughout her presentation she encouraged students to dive deeper and question the makeup of what they were designing and the source of where those materials came from. vilsbol’s big picture thinking of justifying every material inspired me to closer examine the intersection between packaging, sustainability, and ultimately the designer’s role. vilsbol’s consideration of both materiality and design provided me with greater insight into the types of questions i should be asking before approaching my own design projects. 

this project aims to provide designers with a basic understanding surrounding sustainability as well as serve as a field guide that designers can use to better integrate as well as advocate for sustainable solutions within their own projects. by unpacking these issues and raising awareness about the more systemic concerns related to sustainable package design, this conversation is just the beginning of a much needed, societal shift.

q&a with prisca vilsbol, sustainable fashion designer and researcher

vilsbol is a copenhagen-based design researcher and consultant who works primarily in fashion. with her former company, vilsbol de arce, she created strong, sculptural and handcrafted collections, worn by the likes of lady gaga, rihanna, and peaches. she has made it her mission to accelerate the implementation of sustainable and innovative processes in the field of product development. whether working with textiles, clothing, wearables or mycelium, her fusionist approach to the technical, theoretic and aesthetic challenges of the medium at hand lead to poetic and futuristic translations of complex processes.

website: https://priscavilsbol.com

q: when did you first start working in sustainable research? how did you become interested in working in this field?  

a: i got into fashion primarily because of the magic of what it could do; the beauty that was in it, but then i soon realized the “unbeauty” of the industry and it “freaked me out.” 

with my fashion brand i analyzed “more about how every piece has an excess that had to be justified and every piece i created had to have a justified role.” i like this idea that everything has excess and designers should ultimately justify each piece’s role.

q: was it hard to make the change from designer to sustainable researcher?

a: yes, it was a hard change to make – when working in fashion “i had always been interested in production techniques and how things work.”

i’ve always been curious about these things, new materials and new technologies, such as 3d printing. “i have a sort of engineering mind, when it comes to these things.”

there’s definitely a big gap between research and the design land, and we need to work on bridging this gap. i was able to combine my two passions by expressing myself through design and fashion, as well as the more technical side of things. 

q: how have you seen the field of sustainable research change over the last 5 years? 

a: yes, big time, it has come into foreground. before it was impossible for sustainability research to get any traction. now everybody wants to know about it and knows that it is important. there is a big change in interest surrounding the field of sustainability. now there is more funding and research within the field as well as a larger focus on bio-materials and biomimicry.

brands like officina corpuscoli and ecovative (using mushrooms to make products) are interesting to follow. 

q: do you think the term “sustainable” has become a buzz word in the field of design? if so, how can designers push past this and start advocating for real change?

a: by being clear about what’s possible and what’s not possible. people say it’s a sustainable product but nothing is a sustainable product. how and what are we doing now and what we’d like to do, being clear about your direction and what is tangible is very important. 

it is important to give the other side of the story — we can do that — by giving both sides of the story about what’s being done and not done. also we need to get away from this is how things have been done and start making people say it’s more complex and there is not a simple answer. people can deal with more complexity than we give them credit for.

q: do you think designer’s have an ethical responsibility when it comes to package design? 

a: definitely i believe there is an ethical responsibility from all sides of the product. there is a sudden focus for sustainable materials — but that is only one tiny piece of the puzzle and  it should also include business models and communication. we need to rethink systematically about how we do things like looking at leasing models versus selling models. it’s not just one company — we need packaging solutions for a bunch of different products.

q: where do you see package design heading in the next year? and 5 years?

a: two directions: one looking into what actually needs packaging and the other to be clear about what can be thrown away especially with food. is it entirely compostable?

q: should designers be solely responsible for creating products that drive sustainable change or do consumers also have a responsibility to advocate for this change? 

a: everybody has this responsibility and this is one of the biggest excuses used in industry right now. big companies like nike and h&m use this excuse and say that consumers want sustainable products but they aren’t willing to pay the price. however, these companies need to realize that they are the ones that created this demand for low prices in the first place — “80% off can’t always be sold and should not be the norm.” blaming the consumer for wanting cheaper products should really be placed on these bigger companies for systematically changing the way consumers see the market. if these companies really want sustainable change they need to be on the forefront of making systematic changes and consumers will respond accordingly. big brands have a responsibility in guiding but designers also have the ability to communicate complicated things in an attractive simpler way — this is a huge part of the switch that needs to be done. designers also have the ability to spark huge systematic change and create something that is easy to use and hopefully has the right kind of incentives and reward systems. 

as designers we have the ability to move something and communicate to the masses by thinking through complex stuff and boiling it down to something that is more accessible to everyone. throughout this discussion about who is responsible, we often mix up responsibility and blame — responsibility is not blame. therefore, we should not blame designers, because there is often more than just one group involved. however, designers do have the ability to do something compared to others — how you see the world can have a large impact — therefore designers have this responsibility.

q: in regards to corporate responsibility, how can designers push companies to take sustainable business risks? is this already happening? if so are there any examples you can give?

a: it depends on which designers and businesses — some designers that are in a place of extreme power and others just have no power at all. for example designers from h&m and ask me all the time about what they can do. but in reality there is an army of people drawing with little power — which can be extremely limiting. however, it is important to note that any one person in a company can be an activist and ask questions surrounding their company’s mission. criticism can often lead to opening people’s eyes and raising awareness about an issue or topic. 

create a list of questions to ask your boss or the company you work for… who made my clothes? where are these materials coming from? and can we more ethically-source these fabrics? the more people that ask these types of questions the more that people are aware. then after the 150th person asks that same question it becomes a lot more pertinent. it is a little bit of ‘snowball’  effect here — every little bit/push in the right direction helps. it is also important for designers to inform themselves and be curious. 

in regards to package design — graphic designers can research on their own — ask questions like what is this packaging made of? can i put in compost afterwards? what resources went into making it?  so ultimately consumers can make the right choice when they are in the store purchasing these products. who knows what can happen when designers take initiative, inform themselves, and start proposing alternative solutions.

a  lot of people in companies feel that it’s not my job or place to ask these questions. i can’t change this it’s too big — but in reality the tiniest person that asks what something is made from — can lead to a much larger subject or discussion. it just takes one person asking a simple question to ignite a larger conversation.

q&a with keely wachs, zume inc., vp of communications & sustainability 

keely wachs oversees zume inc.’s global communications and sustainability agenda for food waste, climate change and ocean conservation. before joining zume, keely worked as director of company affairs for clif bar & company. zume inc. is building a technology infrastructure designed to make the food supply chain smarter and more connected to help brands move food closer to demand, improve efficiency and reduce waste.

website: https://zume.com

q: where do you see package design heading in the next year? and 5 years?

a: i see a lot of nature inspired packaging. at zume we are looking at agriculture waste as a source of packaging material, as well as advanced manufacturing technologies with the goal of driving cycle time and cutting costs. the more you produce in a minute is how to leverage your assets. also, the packaging industry is going to keep expanding. more and more we are consuming especially with the rise of brands like instacart, uber eats, and seamless. packaging helps retain the quality of food as well as the experience. take for example a pizza box — it needs to retain heat as well as keep moisture out. here is a huge opportunity for designers to design packages that can separate the crust from grease. the future of package design lies in these elements that can have a functional benefit.

q: should designers be solely responsible for creating products that drive sustainable change or do consumers also have a responsibility to advocate for this change? 

a: yes, both have a responsibility. some water companies are moving from bottles to cans. one company, loop, discusses using all reusable packaging. however, this is asking a lot of behavioral change from consumers. this idea of a milk carton being delivered everyday goes back to an old methodology of thinking. 

q: considering that packaging is an essential part to every brand, how can designers start raising awareness to promote sustainable packaging?

a: they can start by designing sustainable packaging that gets consumers talking about the product. branding products with color and design elements is harder — and many sustainable packages struggle and resort to using “greyish colors.” sustainable dyes are expensive for companies to use in manufacturing. there is an opportunity to think about a brand’s packaging and for companies to differentiate themselves. packaging is very much a specialty and there is a huge opportunity that ultimately could also have a large environmental impact. 

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special note

i want to give a big thanks and shoutout to prisca vilsbol and keely wachs for allowing me to interview them and for informing and framing my research for my senior capstone project.

sources

https://priscavilsbol.com 

https://zume.com 

https://informaconnect.com/green-by-design/speakers/keely-wachs/ 

images

http://ciid.dk/education/visiting-faculty/full-faculty-listing/prisca-vilsbol/

https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/retail/robots-and-pizza-didnt-mix-what-doomed-zume-to-pizza-boxes-103005 

washington, d.c., is one of the participating cities of the climathon, and george washington university hosted the d.c. hackathon. students and professionals  from as far as north carolina participated. participants came from a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, and walks of life — from aspiring textile engineers to first-year undergraduate students. the theme of this year’s climathon was “closing the loop on textile waste,” as textile waste and sustainable fashion are topics not discussed enough in the climate conversation. 

perhaps the coolest thing about hackathons is that most participants enter solo, not necessarily already having a plan. it is during those 24 hours that participants form teams, brainstorm potential project ideas, and finally plan and present their idea(s) to the judges. truly, a day packed with innovation, collaboration, and potential for some world-changing proposals to arise.

the final projects ranged from mobile apps to blankets made from textile waste to clothing sorting services — all of which were truly reasoned, innovative, and creative approaches to reduce textile waste and make sustainable clothing options more available and accessible to the d.c. community — and beyond. 

one project in particular that stood out for demonstrating considerable potential on gw’s campus was “remix your loop” — a reimagined thrift store for gw students that makes a wide variety of clothes accessible to all students on campus. the idea was designed by some of the hackathon’s youngest participants: freshmen iradukunda claudine and alise ndacayisaba, and sophomore brianna reynolds.

claudine finds that the root of the textile problem is that “we are always overconsuming in america, whether it’s food or supplies or clothes, and we get lost in this influx of nonsense.” thus, this overwhelming issue fueled their passion to create a tangible, innovative project like remix your loop.

when pitching their project, these young women emphasized the shocking statistic that gw donates 97,000 pounds of textiles per year, coming from clothing donation bins on campus. oftentimes, these textiles are donated to companies that send the clothing abroad to developing countries, which creates more harm than intended as these clothing imports ultimately hurt local clothing businesses. thus, they envisioned an idea that would not only put these (literal) tons of clothing to good use on campus, but also engage the gw community on the important conversations that we need to have about sustainable fashion, responsible consumption, and other related topics. when they took a glimpse of the kinds of clothes that were donated on campus, they found all sorts of quality pieces of clothing. essentially, they thought to themselves: why not put these quality clothes back in the hands of the students?

from this discovery, came the proposal of their thrifting hub, remix your loop. the ladies explained the various perks and unique characteristics of their “reimagined thrift store”: it would provide students with far more affordable options to a wide variety of clothes, which is especially needed in an area where the majority of local clothing stores are high-end and expensive. the store would also provide students with a creative outlet. remix plans to partner with fashion and art students to serve as makeshift “fashion designers” for the store, who would help customers interested in customizing or revamping clothing pieces they find to their own unique liking. 

team member ira claudine finds potential in all clothing donations to be reused in some capacity, and this is where remix your loop would serve as the creative middleman. 

claudine said: “people always see an item as having use for one thing. but in actuality, you can easily turn an existing t-shirt into a tank top, instead of wasting your money and buying a new clothing item you may just wear once or twice.” 

the designers at remix your loop would help customers with such a process. they even considered having classes open to the student body where students would be able to sew and redesign clothing items — fostering a creative outlet and community that the school currently lacks.

there are plenty of other much-needed functions that this thrift store would serve. for example, for a school with a huge internship and professional culture, students often find themselves needing several professional outfits for their wardrobe, but may not be able to afford them. remix your loop would serve any students’ clothing or accessory needs for any occasion, simply using the existing supply of clothing donations from the gw community. 

luckily, a concept that already sounds too good to be true may just turn into a reality. the remix your loop team won 2nd place in the competition. they will receive a $2,000 grant to kickstart their project, as well as guidance from mentors to support them through the execution process.

interested in participating in this exciting event in the future? climathon is an annual event and can be found in cities around the world. if you’re local, gw has always been the host for the d.c. climathon, and this school certainly does not fall short of innovative minds. who knows? you may just be the mastermind behind the next big solution to climate change.

fast fashion / slow art, showcased at the corcoran school of art & design, was co-curated by bibiana obler, associate professor of art history at the corcoran, and phyllis rosenzweig, curator emerita at the hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden. the film-centric exhibition features pieces from an international pool of artists such as german filmmaker hito steyerl and chinese director wang bing.

“one might think, given the title, that’s a very didactic exhibition saying, ‘fast fashion is bad! lets fight it,’” obler says. “but, that’s not actually the message we want to convey. we want to start a conversation, especially because these issues are so complicated.”

the wasteful nature of the clothing industry has come to the forefront of fashion conversation in recent years. brands that built empires on cheap, trendy clothing, such as the international retail giant zara, are even promising to change their ways.

just this summer, zara’s parent company inditex announced their plan to make their brands more sustainable by converting to 90% organic, recycled, or sustainable raw materials by 2025. however, these steps are not getting to the heart of the problem: the immense amount of clothing that is made from these or other materials. the amount of clothing produced each year doubled from 2000 to 2014 and the amount of clothing purchased by an average consumer rose 60%.

while it is easy to think of sustainable fashion as a consumer issue, fast fashion / slow art forces audiences to face the opposite side of the coin and consider how the garments that line our closets were made in the first place.

the exhibition depicts the issues as largely cultural. martin de thurah’s film “stories,” for instance, plays with the concept of disposability as it shows a model taking off t-shirt after t-shirt and tossing each on the ground as she walks down a city street.

according to obler, the lack of value we place in our clothing is central to the problem.

“i have a certain relationship to shopping and it turns out it’s very different than people of your generation,” obler says. “while i, personally, do shop fast fashion because it’s cheap, i then expect to keep (the clothing) forever. the whole notion that you can buy a t-shirt and only wear it once is totally alien to me. that doesn’t make sense. in talking to my students, who are increasingly conscientious consumers and are increasingly thinking about these issues while they shop, they have a certain expectation of the amount of shopping that they will do in a year that is just completely different than mine.”

zara and many other brands that line our shopping malls and retail streets maintain their low prices by outsourcing to poor countries where sweatshop workers earn as little as 1 u.s. cent an hour. exploitative labor allows clothing items to be sold at the same price as a cup of coffee. as a result, consumers toss their clothing more freely. the average american throws out 81 pounds of clothing each year.

fast fashion / slow art brings the hidden costs of fashion to the forefront with pieces such as “15 hours,” an uncut film by wang bing that shows the grueling 15-hour day of one garment worker in huzhou, china.

other works beg the onlooker to consider the relationship between laborer and machine in modern manufacturing. american textile artist cat mazza created one of the few non-video pieces in the show. in her work, “electroknit dymaxion,” mazza replicates the most popular traditional weaving styles from each continent using software called knitpro, which digitally translates images into textile patterns. the patterns were then knit in cotton by machine.

the result is a massive patchwork that speaks to something beyond the technological age: the timeless similarities and connectedness of humans across continents.

“the goal is that these are not simply things that you can kind of go in and look out and think, ‘oh, what shame that fast fashion is such a problem,’ and then leave again,” obler says. “the idea is that you stay awhile and that you don’t just have an aesthetic experience and that you also really are compelled to think a little further, even if you’ve thought a lot about these issues.”

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fast fashion / slow art is showing at the luther w. brady art gallery at the corcoran school of art & design through dec. 15. the exhibition is open tuesday through sunday, 1-5 p.m. it will reopen at the bowdoin college museum of art in maine in spring 2020.