Designing a Meaningful Work

In the reading Sustainable Fashion and Textiles by Kate Fletcher, in our society today we are known for having “high volume production and consumption which means we buy and discard more than ever.” Biomimicry is a term that uses the basis of replicating nature into design concepts and various approaches in the textile and apparel fields. Who doesn’t love looking at a sunset, gazing at the stars at night, and even admiring a distinctive plant.  Individuals are inspired daily by nature and all of our surroundings. Creating patterns with inspiration as nature and allowing landscape’s beauty to be the vocal point to designers and their techniques would be something to consider.

Kate Fletcher mentions that one of the core concepts as consumers when we shop for products is related to seeking the functionality that is offered to us, rather than seeking the product itself. Since this shift in our focus is automatic with our shopping behaviors, this should be a huge factor to consider as a designer. Fletcher further discusses that in the case of apparel garments the use of laundering is the most environmentally damaging phase of the lifecycle process. With consumption being at the level it is, this indicates that laundering is happening more and more frequently. Focusing on meeting needs of the consumer can lead to less environmental impacts.

Incorporating local products and light are two innovations that are bio-inspired in the reading, Sustainable Fashion and Textile. Research shows that people like meaningful work. From a designer’s point of view instead of thinking, “what will sell” think what can be produced that will provide customers with a meaningful product that connects them to where they are from or where they live now. Producing items from a local standpoint incorporates creativity, and then allows a place in the market for products and services to be made that respond to problems in our everyday lives. Combining ideas is a key principle in gaining inspiration and discovering what can be made to respond to issues in a positive way. By joining ties, with well-known designers and local expertise, both individuals gain new perspectives on elements of design. Fletcher states, “Local wisdom rarely influences business agendas, yet it has the potential to generate solutions that solve the problems of millions of people.” This concept would create distinct, unique products.

When it comes to light – the more resources and energy used the more waste we release and the more wealth in our society grows. However, Kate Fletcher provides us with good news as to how this concerning subject manner is changing with a different viewpoint. The Genuine Progress Indicator is an approach that measures our well-being rather than how much money we can make with the increased production of goods. One way this is being implemented now is by Suzanne Lee, director of the BioCouture research project. Lee discusses in her video, Grow your own clothes, that she has developed an organic process of growing her own fabric. She produces color change without using dye; by using ion oxidation, and creates patterns by staining fruit and vegetable shapes onto the fabric. The reading, Textile Futures by Bradley Quinn mentions that texture can be an alternative to the use of pigments – allowing designers to create fabrics full of color without chemical processing. Creating colorful garments that do not fade over time is a sustainable thought for the future as well. Textiles Futures creates a great point that when exposed to a strong UV light, there is no danger of fading for pigment-free fabrics.

To make products more efficiently over time would include producing nature-imitated items, a Biomimicry example, that we can keep over time and SHARE with one another. Changing our viewpoint from selling products to selling the use of products has sustainability potential according to Fletcher. Having store locations that provide a service of sharing and exchanging items, instead of adding them to the waste fields by throwing them away is another concept that would benefit our market.