ALICIA ROWBOTHAM
WASTE NOT |WANT NOT :AN INVESTIGATION INTO CIRCULARITY WITHIN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY
WASTE NOT | WANT NOT is a project encouraging collaboration between manufacturers and designers to harness the potential of textile mill waste and utilise this resource for the benefit of both the industry and the designer.
In this investigation into existing circular systems within textile mills in the UK, it was made obvious that there is a lack of structure in the utilisation and re-imagining of the waste produced within these mills and that the waste is often discarded or re-purposed as a lower economic value product such as mattress stuffing or wash rags. From high-quality cotton, wool and silk to wooden bobbins and plastic yarn cones, from selvedges to offcuts--the possibilities for new creation is endless. This project illustrates this through the creation of a collection of luxury fashion accessories and body adornment produced entirely from textile mill waste. This is just one example of how textile mill waste can be reimagined from low-value waste to high-value products. The future of this project will include the continuation of work with textile mills to encourage collaboration and creative design with textile industry waste. I aim to push this scheme further with 'WASTE NOT' workshops. These workshops will gather creative minds from different disciplines to discuss the possibilities of textile mill waste and how it can be effectively utilised in an innovative way, opening up the conversation of utilisation and circularity within the textile industry.