Have you heard of the living coffin of Bob Hendrikx and Loop Biotech? How this relates to fashion design, we’ll get to later.
Not all garments are created equal. The choices a designer makes with regard to, among other things, the fabric, determine the life cycle of the product. Of course, it is never the intention that a piece of clothing ends up in the garbage dump. However, the reality is that too much textile waste ends up in those very places, waiting for decades (if not centuries) to be broken down. Places like the second-hand market in Accra, Ghana, and the recently discovered illegal dumps in Chile’s Atacama Desert are proof. The bottom line is that this way of designing is contrary to nature. After all, in nature there is no such thing as waste. This is a daunting reality for many designers, yet this should be an invitation to rethink the design process.
Fighting Climate Change
Landfills are sources of greenhouse gas emissions and creating more products without a clear vision of the end of their life cycle will not do much good for the environment. In addition, to quote the Changing Markets’ Foundation, our industry is addicted to fossil fuels, which the organization extrapolated in its report Synthetics Anonymous. If we as an industry want to reduce or at least not increase greenhouse gas emissions, we can only do so by disrupting the status quo. Design approaches such as upcycling are on the rise, but what follows is the question: why isn’t this the cure for rising greenhouse gases?
Rethinking the design process
The reason why I mentioned Hendrix’s living coffin in the beginning is that the process starts with the materials. This particular product is made with mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, which can grow into different shapes and densities. It is clear that the only way forward is that of change, and this is an example of this notion. While traditional design processes are based on the aesthetic vision of the designer, the future of design can start with the materials. This change of mindset opens up possibilities such as embracing a new approach called bio design. The author of the book of the same name, William Myers, explains the bio design approach as, “Going to nature and trying to incorporate biology into design processes and the final product.”
New ways of manufacturing
In the field of fashion design, there is a Dutch pioneer who makes biology the core of the design process. Have you ever heard of the term biofabrication? The Dutch company Neffa, led by designer and founder Aniela Hoitink, does just that. They make the material and manufacture a product in one place. Just imagine your next handbag being made in one place, from the material to the finish. That’s what Hoitink and her team have been working on: a one-stop factory where brands have their products developed with a minimal, if not carbon negative footprint. In addition, this manufacturing solution eliminates the need for complex supply chains, textile waste and high levels of CO2 emissions. Recently, Neffa has started to expand by setting up factories in other European countries.
Shift from conflict to cooperation
Rather than designing in a way that guarantees that the product will eventually end up in landfills and conflict with nature, it’s time to partner with nature. Designing in collaboration with nature requires an understanding of living beings such as bacteria and other micro-organisms. As I mentioned before, the design process has to be turned upside down. Rather than starting with the aesthetics of the design, designers should start with the materials and understand their capabilities and how shapes could emerge from there. This is literally a more organic than structured approach to their work, but one that I can only see as the future of landfill-free fashion.
How to get started with biodesign?
Biodesign comes in many different forms, but fundamentally it starts with an understanding of living things such as microorganisms. One book I highly recommend is ‘Biodesign’ by William Myers. For a TED Talk, I recommend you visit Neri Oxman (MIT Media Lab), Emma van der Leest (BlueCity biodesign lab), Suzanne Lee (Biofabricate), and Theanne Schiros (AlgiKnit). For fashion designers who want to get started with biodesign, the Biodesign guide from Stanford University is a good source to start with.
