Cradle to Cradle

At my internship this past summer, one of the many important things I learned was taking out of style pieces of jewelry and turning them into new, exciting pieces. One of my daily tasks at the internship was to take damaged pieces and salvage the reusable parts such as beads, clasps, and pieces of shell. This inspired my design concept using the Cradle to Cradle technical metabolism.

The Textiles 4 Textiles video discusses how Patagonia offers apparel recycling at their stores. What we do not see is jewelry recycling. Many components of jewelry are perfectly reusable and are thrown away only because the user is tired of the “look” of the piece. If stores were to offer a recycling program, these pieces could be sent to a manufacturer to be turned into something new. 

The Cradle to Cradle concept means that products are created so that their life can be extended into the creation of another product of equal or greater value. There are two types: technical and biological. The technical metabolism inspired my concept because I believe we have a larger problem with technical waste. Too many perfectly viable materials are going to waste and polluting the environment. When I recall my internship, I remember toxic materials being thrown away by careless people. According to the Waste Equals Food chapter of Cradle to Cradle, technical metabolism is when a product is designed to go back into the technical cycle because it cannot be used by the biological environment. According to the Rhoener Textiles video, this is considered a product or service concept. The product is always creating a service. With the use of the recycling program, manufacturers can cut down on waste and turn perfectly viable materials into new pieces.

Waste or Resource?

                Society is in a hard place right now. At this moment we are struggling with the fact that our industrial endeavors have caused our planet great harm. After constant use, the Earth’s nonrenewable resources are being used up. This is why it is extremely important that we come up with solutions to our mistakes. A great way to do this is through industrial ecology. According to the Industrial Ecology article, industrial ecology is a process where business work together to use each other’s waste. The How Will we Conduct Business? article asks a great question: “What if our economy were to deliberately look and function like the natural world in which it is embedded?” This relates greatly to industrial ecology because industrial ecology involves mirroring how the environment reuses waste on a daily basis.

                The How Will We Conduct Business? article provides ten principles of industrial ecology that companies can use.  The first principle that I used to create my apparel concept is “use waste as a resource.” This means that waste products should be used a resource in the production of materials. Why create new materials when you can use something that already exists? The author of the article mentions that industrial ecologists envision a system where a minimum of raw materials are used and little waste is thrown out. My apparel concept is fashionable apparel made out of recycled waste such as plastic bottles. This principle inspired my concept because it talked about how much waste manufacturers dump out once products have been made. This waste just sits in the environment when in reality it can be used to create new products. By going to landfills and finding reusable products and materials, I can create new, exciting garments without having to create even more waste. All of the waste from the manufacturing of my apparel products will be used in the creation of the next collection.

                Another principle I used to create my concept is “gather and use energy efficiently.” This principle means that alternative and sustainable energy sources should be used. Also, there are various methods that can help conserve energy and keep costs down. These methods could include rooftop gardens which are known to help keep buildings warm. This means that a retailer, manufacturer or home owner does not have to rely on turning up the heat to stay warm. This principle will be used in the aspect that my manufacturing plants will use solar energy to power them. Also, the plants will have rooftop gardens to keep energy costs down.  

                Finally the last principle I used is “use materials sparingly.” I interpreted this principle to mean that you should use the minimum amount of materials that you need. This helps prevent waste. Materials should be made out of less, but should be durable. This inspired my concept because I do not want to create more waste than necessary. I will use only the materials that are necessary to the manufacturing of my garments. The garments will not be made out of excessive amounts of material.

                Nike recently has made headlines for using recycled plastic bottles in their soccer jerseys. The bottles are harvested from landfills, melted down and made into fabric. According to the Ecouterre article I found, each jersey consists of eight plastic bottles and reduced energy consumption by 30%. 

Source: http://www.ecouterre.com/nike-outfits-world-cup-teams-in-jerseys-made-from-recycled-bottles/