Objective
This activity aims to find systematic, commercial solutions for pre-consumer waste. It is part of the ‘REMAKE’ circular strategy, with a focus on designing for Low Waste.
What to prepare
Time
A total of 2 days:
- Day 1: start with 2 hours of research for discussion, and the rest of the time for the hands-on activity
- Day 2: continue the activity and set aside 10–15 mins per individual/team for final presentation and feedback
Tools
- Defect item(s) of clothing: at minimum 1 item of clothing where students can show how it has become defective
- Fabric scale to record any cutting waste
Activity brief
Prior to the activity kick-off, we suggest that your students review the topic ‘RECONSTRUCTION’, and for a deeper understanding, the topic ‘ZERO-WASTE’.
This activity aims to find systematic, commercial solutions for pre-consumer waste. In line with the ‘REMAKE’ circular strategy, the focus is on designing for LOW WASTE. It was inspired by a Redress Design Award challenge with TAL Apparel, a world leader in manufacturing and innovation.
You are challenged to reduce pre-consumer defective stock waste by reconstructing them, using low waste design techniques, into a commercially viable product that your customer will not only understand, but love.
Working individually or in teams, you must implement:
- Design technique: Draw from zero-waste pattern techniques to reconstruct a low waste garment
- Production feasibility & commerciality: Consider the manufacturing concerns such as size grading and standard minute value (SMV)
- Storytelling & Marketability: Consider the brand DNA of the brand you selected, aligning with your final creation whilst focusing on the marketability and storytelling as an opportunity to engage with the end consumer.
First, start off by discussing with the students how pre-consumer waste can happen, and give a reminder of reconstruction and zero-waste techniques.
- Reconstruction is a design technique that prolongs garments’ life, turning them into new designs. It enables designers to recover textiles without spending as much resources (energy, water, chemicals) as fibre-to-fibre recycling would require.
- Zero-waste is a design technique that eliminates textile waste at the design stage. Approximately 15% of textiles intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor1: designers must maximise the use of the available raw materials. Zero waste’s number one rule is no wastage during pattern-making and production.
Students will then research and select a brand that aligns with their final creation.
Then students can start designing. Pairing Reconstruction and Zero-waste design techniques together makes for powerful and ingenious designs that are truly enshrined in circularity.
Finally, each individual/team will have up to 5 minutes to pitch to the class, or a curated group of teachers or other ‘judges’ you may want to arrange. Each team must decide who from their team will present and how to use the 5 minutes most efficiently. It is encouraged to have allocated time (5–10 mins) for ‘judges’ questions’ to ask any of the team to answer.
Outcome
The reconstructed garment(s) will:
- Be a minimum of 1 semi-formal garment created
- Utilise a minimum of 70% of the selected defect garment(s)
- Can be any sizing
- Can be any gender aligning with the selected brand
About the Contributor
TAL Apparel produces 50 million garments annually for customers around the globe. With headquarters in Hong Kong and facilities throughout Asia, the company has been crafting fashionable garments for over 75 years. Committed to sustainability, TAL Apparel focuses on innovation by creating high-quality garments designed for longevity. The company continually strives for operational efficiency through advanced technology and its Made to Measure services.
Footnote
1 Timo Rissanen (2005), ‘From 15% to 0: Investigating the creation of fashion without the creation of fabric’