Romy Kaiser

Kera-Plast

Materiality plays a crucial role in the daily life of our western society. The prognosis of a further rising population up to 11 billion people around 2100 (United Nations, 2019) increases the pressure on our current living and consumption systems.

As the population grows, the volume of man-made waste will also increase. The amount of hair of about 1000km length that a person grows over a whole life span gradually goes to waste over time. About approximately 700 mio. kg of hair (Visser, 2016) are simply thrown away worldwide every year. Hair is a biodegradable, renewable keratin-based fiber that does not consume any additional resources during its growth as a by-product of life.

In today‘s western society, our lives are guided by many preformed norms and established ethical standards, that stop our self-perception as being part of the world of nature. If we aim for living in circularity in the future, it is time to rethink our systems with a new mindset. Our elements are part of the renewable natural circle. The project Kera-Plast is introducing Human Hair as a material base. The developed method makes it possible to use current waste as a material resource through multidisciplinary textile-thinking.

https://kaiserromy.wixsite.com/keraplast