Mindful of the impact of textile and clothing production on the environment, Rebecca Earley and I developed a series of ‘Twice Upcycled’ garments. Upcycling refers to reuse of a garment where its quality remains the same or is increased by the process, attempting to counter the common problem of recycling practices reducing the quality of the original materials, as occurs when glass is recycled.

Here the original shirt has been bought and worn by a consumer, and then handed on to a second hand or charity shop, from where Earley has purchased it for her ‘Top 100’ project. ‘Top 100’ began in 2000 and is a long-term personal project that explores an original approach to recycling textiles, endeavoring to extend the lives of one hundred second-hand shirts by addressing ideas about emotionally durable design and utilizing new technologies. The aim is to create innovative exhibition and production pieces, for the high fashion/art audience. The systematic collection and creation of sets according to original narratives and eco design principles, makes this ongoing research project a constant vehicle to explore new concepts and is an ever-changing outlet for new ideas.

The first ‘upcycling’ occurred through simple reshaping and overprinting. Earley’s heat photogram print uses a real palm leaf, recycled paper and reactive dyes, to create an overprint that hides any staining or soiling from the garment’s first life. A second life is thus given quickly and stylishly to a polyester shirt that would otherwise take more than 200 years to decompose in landfill.

Following a period of wear by the same or next consumer, the shirt can be returned and its third life can be created. For the shirt’s third life as a quilted waistcoat, it has been recut and lined in recycled polyester fleece, and then laser welded using a technique developed as part of my doctoral project. The materials are fused together according to a preset pattern, which creates a permanent bond between the layers with surface decoration achieved as part of the same process. No adhesives or bonding agents are used in this process.

The use of one, monomaterial, throughout the journey means that it is easier to recycle at the eventual end of the garment’s life, although as polyester is relatively hard wearing and can be recycled and redesigned many times in many different ways, it is the designer’s intentions that the final ‘melt down’ of the shirt would be many years away.

More info at.....

http://www.tedresearch.net/research_projects/top100.htm

http://www.beckyearley.com/

Kate Goldsworthy

Projects > 2008 Twice Upcycled