Wool: re-crafted
“Redesigning the waste leaves of pineapples into a circular system using traditional textiles crafts to offer a vegan and more sustainable alternative to wool.”
The textile industry is the second largest polluting industry in the world [1]. Wool production contributes towards this global pollution through methane emissions, chemical pollutants, as well as faecal contamination. Furthermore, the insatiable demand for fast fashion has decreased both the value of clothing and the making process. Consequently, unethical and unsustainable farming practices are promoted, contributing significantly to the environmental crisis of today.
Studies show that in order to have any chance of slowing down climate change, society must shift from the use of animal derived products to more sustainable alternatives. Sheep are among the most polluting animals that we consume, therefore we must turn to both more sustainable materials and more sustainable systems. Designing within the biological cycle of the circular economy, the waste of one industry is reconsidered as the input for another and redesigned back into the system.
This project presents a vegan alternative to wool by utilising the discarded waste leaves of pineapples from markets and juice bars around London and processing the fibres into a wearable material. By perceiving waste as a design opportunity, an existing by-product is made into a sustainable and biodegradable vegan textile. Through collaboration, the project uses craft as a catalyst to relocate the value of the material and revive the connections within the making process. At the core lies a more sustainable option to wool that is designed within the circular economy.
The project aims to address fundamental issues around the sustainability of the fashion industry by turning to the materials around us and the crafts of local people. As a result, in questioning the environmental and ethical concerns of the use of animal products, the project challenges both the way we consume as well as the way we make.