London Science Museum Shows Us How to Turn Trash into Fashion

John Vasko

John Vasko is responsible for AIChE's online community and content. John works with constituents to create compelling content that serves members and visitors to AIChE.org, AIChE.org/ChEnected, Engage.aiche.org and numerous other sites. He specializes in creating content strategies, digital product development, and social media campaigns. He has more than 20 years' experience working and consulting with companies to develop and improve their digital media brands.

August 12, 2010

The London Science Museum is running a fascinating exhibition called Trash Fashion: Designing Out Waste. With inexpensive labor to produce clothing, apparel prices have dropped and according to the London Museum's Science News, we're spending a third more on clothing than we did a decade ago. When you add in that fashion trends come and go with the drop of a hat, an incredible amount of waste is created. Here are a few bits of info according to the London Science Museum News site:

More than a million tons of textiles end up in landfills each year
The average household contributes 26 items of wearable clothing to landfills each year
Fashion designers scrap 15% of fabric during the design process
Dying of fabrics account for 17-20% of worldwide water pollution

So what's being done about this? What can be done. The Trash Fashion: Designing Out Waste exhibit details the myriad ways fashion designers are embracing science and technology to help reduce waste. Dr. Richard Blackburn, Coloration Expert

Technologists use nanotechnology to develop a material called Morphotex. One textile company employes ultra-thin and alternating layers of polyester and nylon to create a multitude of colors. This eliminates the use of dyes.
Making coloring part of the creation process of synthetic fabrics helps to reduce waste, explains Richard Blackburn, an expert in coloration technology from the University of Leeds and a company called DyeCat.
Creation of eco-friendly enzymes during material processing and in wool to make it softer, more environmentally friendly, and shrink less.
Using corn to develop polymers that help create a designer dress.
Use of 3-D body scans to create clothing tailored to your exact measurements can reduce waste and look better on you. The Guardian put together a video explaining this technology:

Video: 3D body scanners and how to grow edible clothes

source: Guardian.co.uk Andy Duckworth

Trash Fashion Exhibition Flickr Gallery:

The London Museum created a Flickr Gallery that shows photos of refashioned clothes from the public.

Thoughts? Comments? How much clothing do you go through every year?

Source--Trash Fashion Image: http://antenna.sciencemuseum.org.uk/trashfashion/" Source--Richard Blackburn Image: http://leeds.ac.uk

Comments

As we wait for biodegradable clothing and safe dyes to be widely used in the clothing industry, there are a few things we can do to try to cut down the amount of clothing thrown away. First, we can donate used clothing to the Salvation Army or other charitable organizations. Second we can find new uses for our old clothing. Instead of getting rid of a bunch of my old t-shirts, I used them to make a quilt - its fun, warm and very personal. When I was younger I used old t-shirts to make purses, headbands and dolls. Now I cut up old shirts into dusting and cleaning rags. Its cheaper than the fabric store and easy to get creative!

Great Ideas Elizabeth. I'm a huge believer in donating to Salvation Army or other charity shops. Housing Works in NY is a great one: http://www.housingworks.org/. I like your idea about making things too. It's so sad how people are so quick to throw away these days. Everything is disposable. I shudder when I think about the amount of digital waste (from cell phones and electronics). Thanks for the good tips!