Deep Dive - Research

As a designer, I am always looking for problems to solve. One problem that really inspires my projects is solving for waste. As consumers, we produce so much waste that just sits on landfills and destroys surrounding ecosystems. One type of waste that no one really thinks about is our textile waste.

With modern advances, clothing companies are able to produce more clothing at a faster rate. New fashion trends allow consumers to try new looks for cheap. This inevitably creates more textile waste in landfills. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of these textiles are cotton and don't biodegrade. During my research I found a very informative video about "The Life Cycle of a T-shirt." It explains the whole process from creating the t-shirt to the environmental impact. One thing that really stuck with me is that: 

“the fashion industry is the world’s second most polluting industry, after oil. Around 10% of the world’s global carbon emissions result from the apparel and textile industry. ”

This problem almost seems too big for an individual to tackle on their own, but there are small steps that everyone can take that can help. One solution I am looking into is reusing old t-shirts and giving them a new life. By reusing them one more time, consumers can prolong the life of textiles.