A company that has developed a set of “practice-based sustainable design strategies that assist designers in creating textiles that have a reduced impact on the environment” http://www.tedresearch.net
TED’s TEN (ten criteria points for designers and makers to follow):
- Design to Minimise Waste
- Design for Recyling/Upcycling
- Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts
- Design to Reduced Energy and Water Use
- Design that Explores Clean/Better Technologies
- Design that Looks at Models from Nature and History
- Design for Ethical Production
- Design to Replace the Need to Consume
- Design to Dematerialise and Develop Systems and Services
- Design Activism
Many textile manufacturers and users also look for ways to lessen the environmental impact of their production and shine less negative light on the industry. Most significant environmental problems arising from textile production are the use of dyestuffs to add colour and the necessity for water in textile production.
A Swedish company “WeAre SpinDye” has tried to take a stand and come up with a way of dyeing fabric whilst making less of a negative impact on the environment. The way they do it is that the fibre is already dyed during the spinning process, which allows the dyeing of yarns or fabrics to become obsolete, saving resources and costs.
Adidas and H&M are investing in technology to use less water and therefore reducing the pollutants released.
OCA Art Blog 