Borrowed materials: designing textiles for a closed-loop polyester economy

In order to design for closed-loop (cradle to cradle) systems where waste materials can become inputs for new production, the textile industry needs new tools and processes with which to create fully or truly recyclable products.

However, rather than being cyclical and self-perpetuating, the current means of textile production are linear and one-way. Finishing processes often mix materials from different ‘metabolisms’ creating complex hybrids that are irreversible. With this ever-increasing demand for performance and functionality, it is the design of these products that prevents them from being effectively recycled and leaves us with a legacy of waste (Allwood et. al., 2006).

This practice based research project set out to explore innovative technologies that afford new opportunities for textile finishing, with a particular focus on the recyclability of synthetic thermoplastics. Polyester, the most common textile synthetic fibre, represents as much as 60% of global fibre production (Morley, 2009) and can be recycled repeatedly without loss of quality if kept ‘pure’.

The research concluded that there is potential for ‘design for recycling’, enabled through a new set of technological processes, specifically ‘laser-welding.’ This new technique facilitates the production of complex and functional products that maintain their monomaterial credentials, which are essential if they are to be fully recyclable.

This chapter was presented as a peer reviewed conference paper at the LENS Conference, Bangalore (29 September to 1 October 2010). The conference was the concluding event of the LeNS project (Learning Network on Sustainability), funded by the EU under the Asia-Link programme, that aimed at the development and diffusion of design for sustainability in design institutions. See http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/5088/

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