︎ SS23 — Topography
︎ Vol. 1 Bio-Resin — Systems Map
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Lē Matthew ︎︎︎Interdisciplinary Artist & Designer
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Vol. 1 “Bio-Resin” Systems Map
Designer’s Notes...
︎ Q4 2022 ︎
With the help of the Lomi Composter machine gifted by Herschel’s Bank of Creativity (received July 2022), the designer was able to begin testing the degradation and decomposition of our biomaterials and the effects it has in composts. Happy to confirm that our materials completely composted with the help of the Lomi composting machine!
To learn more about the extent of the designer’s “Bio-Resin” swatch explorations, please visit the following textiles pages to learn more:
︎︎︎Bio-Resin
︎︎︎Bio-Resin + Red Pigments
︎︎︎Bio-Resin + Green Pigments
︎︎︎Bio-Resin + Yellow Pigments
︎ Q2 2021 ︎
More and more of the world is becoming aware of the impacts that the fashion industry has on climate change. For Vol. 1’s Bio-Resin material, the materials used speaks on the cfhallenges the leather/meat and food waste industry, starting with the U.S. The systems map above gives visualization to the designers intervention points and topics of interests.
In the leather industry, there are several processes that are detrimental to Mother Nature. Although leather is the byproduct of raising livestock (which is assosiciated with massive amounts of deforestation), the leather industry has an alarming amount of excess protein during the developmental process that causes marine eutrophication. Too many nutrients in the wrong place can cause a lot of ecological and structural problems such as algae blooming, increased growth of macroalgae, oxygen depletion in lower waters, and mortality of organisms that live on the bed and bodies of water1. Some (if not most) consumers of fashioin assume that synthetic leather would be a better alternative to leather, however it still causes microplastic filaments in bodies of water when it breaks down. Even though it is 33% less worse than normal leather, it is still manufactured by fossil fuels2.
The food industry has fallen into two categories: sellable and waste. Edible produce that aren’t accepted or perfect enough to be sold in the stores that you would shop at make up to 40% of total food waste in the U.S.3 ‘Ugly foods’ that do not end up in stores do not just sit around to be greenwashed, they are used to feed animals and to benefit soil health4. It is actually up to the farmers to build more greenhouses, thinking about their supply chain, and what they are going to do with their produce (i.e. building better systems and forming local co-ops).
If we as individuals really want to help with the food and leather industry in terms of waste and the environment, we must redirect our waste, so that they better nourish our planet, and ultimately... ourselves.
︎︎︎ References
1 Pilkington, Caitlin. “Eutrophication in Coastal Environments”, MarineSpecies. [Link]
2 Brown University. The New Fashion Initiative Presentation: The Textile Problem, Hadley Dalton, Pheonix, AZ, 2020. [Link]
3 Kateman, Brian. “The Time Is Ripe for Ugly Fruits and Vegetables.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 2 Mar. 2020. [Link]
4 Lieber, Chavie. “A Scientist on the Myth of Ugly Produce and Food Waste.” Vox, Vox, 26 Feb. 2019, [Link].
For further references and inquiries to the deisigner’s systems map, please contact the designer via email.