The TEN: A Tool for Narrative Prototypes

Contemporary textile production employs systems for design creation and consumption that were established early in the early 20th Century, while being transformed by new technologies at almost every stage. However, in recent years, there has been a huge growth in worldwide demand for fast fashion, which has had an ecological, economic and social impact upon production. What, how, where and why things are made is gradually becoming central in the minds of designers, manufacturers and citizens, as images of pollution, waste, worker exploitation and landfill are widely available.

If the dominance of consumerism and industrial profit is to be challenged, design innovation needs to be employed to overcome the ever-increasing imperatives.

Since ‘80% of the environmental impact of a product is determined at the design stage’,20 urgent practical action is needed to bring about systemic change, or to achieve even marginal gains. Practice-led research is confronting issues related to the whole lifecycle of textile products, including the non-traditional design areas of consumer use and disposal. The TED group of practice-based researchers has developed a set of TEN strategies for the design of more sustainable textiles, collectively known as he TEN: A Tool for Narrative Prototypes. These employ tactics that enable us to take on a dynamic design role, which includes facilitation, activism and social engagement.

The strategies act as a practical map for designers to act in collaboration with industry, to navigate obstacles to the sustainable production, consumption and regeneration of textiles. Strategies one to five propose radical design ideas for the reduction of materials, energy, water and chemicals in both the production and use phase of the product lifecycle. his requires a change in manufacturing processes, to enable cyclability without compromising the aesthetic value or functional sophistication of textile structures. Technological innovations, systems of distributed or additive manufacture, co-design and consumer engagement are explored for their sustainable credentials. Strategies six and seven take models from natural and historical systems in a bid to facilitate enterprise within social groups. Strategies eight to ten reduce consumption through a design approach to dematerialisation, through services and systems of sharing or leasing.