11. Implications and applications

The Idea

Textile and Electronic are really polluted industries. More and more Textile/Fashion design are taking action to change the way we produce and consume, to be more sustainable.

Only in geneva we had 3 or 4 sustainable fashion show a year, and each time customers learn more about the bad side of the textile industry and some ways to change to be more sustainable. At least people are aware and now start to change the way they consume.

Electronic waste is also a huge problem but there is no event on which you will have visibility to be able to raise the awardness about e-waste.

The SDG Solution Space (where I managed a FabLab) is at the heart of international geneva, UN organisations, UN missions (for each country) , headquater of big company, influencer, designer school... Last year one of my students who already run a company called AllureSauvage who produce luxury bags using PINATEX, create a Fashion Hackathon in March and also set a fashion Show about sustainability.

It also move in the whole switzerland with Fashion Revolution, plenty of events .

All those events about fashion and sustainability, at the same time , it does not exist any event about e-waste even a small one.

So my idea was to create a garment made of polygone cut in electronic board from ewaste (the green plate with lot of compoments) and assemble them together in a nice dress.

Then I will be able bring it to any sustainable fashion show with a poster explaining and giving all the numbers about e-Waste just to raise the awardness about this huge problem

The Numbers about e-waste

One of the Goal:

Already many international organizations are working just to increase the monitoring of e-waste.

I just want to invite you to have a look on this pdf where I took most of the previous pictures.

The following 2 min video from ITU is summarize this topic:

So big organisations are aware about the problem, but do not really communicate to public to raise the awarness about it.

As another Polluting industry, Fashion start to take action to raise this awardness about being more sustainable when you produce or consume. And public because they like fashion show start to know about the situation that why I would like to bring e-waste into sustainable fashion show by creating a garment made of e-waste

the Project

Inspiration from fashion designer : PACO RABANNE

Using Parametric design I would like to create a dress made of separed polygons linked together by cable waste (or optical fiber if I have time to light it up). My inspiration about the parametric design come from Kinematics Cloth App from nervous system

Kinematics Cloth app from Nervous System on Vimeo.

Basically using Rhino/Grasshopher I will apply voronoid tesselation on body mesh to create the shape of the dress with the contraint that each small surface are flat. flatten the design and use hole of each part ("the negatif" of the design) to create all the small shapes. then cut all those shapes into circuit board of e-waste, then joined the together to recreate the garment.

Stakeholders

  • International Telecom Union (UN)

ITU is the UN organisation who deal with standart and developpment of telecommunication but they also have a department which collect Data and try to raise awarness about E-waste. They organize each year a big conference called WSIS World Summit on the Information Society, this year it will take place in Geneva 6-9 April 2020. I will propose to show the dress with a large poster explaining the e-waste facts and problem to help them to raise the awarness about it.

  • La Head

The HEAD relies on a rich cultural and artistic tradition to promote the young creation nationally and internationally. Recognized for the quality of its Bachelor and Master training in Visual Arts, Cinema, Space Design, Visual Communication and Fashion Design, jewelry and accessories, it has established itself as one of the best schools of art and design in Europe. They use to organise a sustainable Fashion Show and I will ask if it possible to show the dress. We (UNIGE) already work together sometime on some events, last year one of my student made a small sustainable, where she presented different dress but also the accessory she created using PINATEX. They also loan me the mannequin "Digital Bodies"

  • Fashion Revolution Switzerland

I will ask Jeanne von Segesser from Fashion Revolution Switzerland what she think about my idea, some advices but also if the dress could shown during some of the events they organise.

  • UN-DRESS

UN-DRESS is a one-day fashion event including workshops, SPEAKERS, POP-UP

STORES and a FASHION SHOW. It is a platform for creative and sustainable designers to present their clothes and accessories to more than 500 participants. While our focus stays on sustainable designers from Switzerland and the DACH region, we also showcast international fashion designers. Every year, UN-DRESS enriches the local fair trade landscape consistently with sustainable and relevant new brands. Since its premiere in 2011, the event quickly became a local success and today it presents the latest fashion trends and newcomers to a broad audience of fashion lovers, buyers and the media.

In October 2019, UN-DRESS has been recognized as best-praxis example of sustainability, ethics and social purpose by the Financial Times. Next event 15-04-2020

Next steps

  • contact different local actors about sustainable fashion and ask them if my project has a mean for them and if they accept to show the dress (and an explanation poster about ewaste) during their next sustainable fashion show.

  • ask them what are the common dimension (size) they used when they create a garment.

  • learn and practice a lot with Rhino / GrassHopper to be able to create the dress shapes

  • test the assembly after cutting all the parts in cardboard and test different kind of join I could use.
  • test it in wood to see how shapes will interact (weight,big shape, small shape)
  • if success, start to cut all the parts into ewaste board.

Resources

-Cardboard test will cost nothing -Wood test will cost about 20€ with nice wood or 10€ with plywood

-electronic e-waste will cost nothing:

Nearby the fablab there is the big deposetory for waste in campus. It' s basically my main source of material.

but in order to do not hurt the mannequin each part will be coated in resin

I will use SmoothOn Clear Cast 200 or any clear resin.