We all like a bit of retail therapy, buying new things, wearing new things, both make you feel instantly a little bit happier, but as a whole nation are we buying to much and thawing to much away? do we need to buy a new dress every time we go out? how many times are we going to wear that one dress? All questions that are vital in this part of the sustainable design process. our 'want' for clothing defiantly takes over our 'need' for clothing but as a whole how can we change that? I myself love charity shops and old vintages shops! i may smell like stale old bread in a 30 year old cardigan but i love the originality and totally unique things you can find in a charity or vintage store! We all get attached to items of clothing that we can't get rid of, but shouldn't all our items of clothing be this personal to us maybe then we would not throw as many things away and carry on buying more and more.
Continuum construct have come up with a way of making your clothes a lot more personal, with there design your own dress. you choose your motif/print/picture whatever you wish to have on your item of clothing and they will print it on. making that dress completely personal to you, something nobody else in the world will have or own.
eugenia morpurgo's repair it yourself shoes can be easily taken apart and put back together to repairs can be very easily done. The canvas footwear is assembled with reversible and mechanical fixings rather than stitching and glue, therefore any repairs can be done at home, by yourself. saving on expense of buying new shoes, and throwing your old ones away.With the shoes coming with there own repair kit, in a way its a more personal way and relationship you may have with your shoes, therefore, keeping hold of them for longer and not resulting to throwing them away.
dezeen.com
Levi's 501 shrink to fit campaign takes the idea of everybody having that one pair of jeans that fit perfectly. well with shrink to fit, the 501 will be your perfect size if you follow the few simple steps below;
Step 1 Purchase your jeans in your true size, which for Shrink-to-Fit™ means 1" larger in waist and 3" longer in inseam.
Step 2 Wear them out of the store (after you buy them).
Step 3 Live in them as long as possible.
Step 4 Wash them as little as possible.
Step 5 When wash time finally arrives, soak for 20 minutes with a capful of Dr. Bronner’s Soap. Keep in mind, the hotter the water, the more they shrink. To preserve the color, turn your 501™ jeans inside out, replace the warm water with cold water and add a cup of vinegar.
Step 6 Let them drip dry until they are slightly damp.
Step 7 Put them back on – ideally on a warm day or when you can sit by a fire.
Step 8 As they dry, they’ll shape to your body.
Step 9 Enjoy!
levistrauss.com
By doing this, your jeans will be completely individual to you, fit you perfectly and last a lot longer. By campaigns like this, levi are trying to prolong the wear of jeans therefore less jeans being thrown away and less waste being produced. If something is personal to you, fits perfectly you are more likely to keep hold of this item and not just bin it when you do not want it anymore.
One of my personal favourite vintage shops is Rokit in London, i spend hours and hours in there deciding which particular piece id like, and something that i will wear and wear again. I also have the pound a wear motto, if I'm buying an item of clothing, i think it myself will i wear it as much as I'm paying for it, so say a jumper is £30 i say to myself will i wear it 30 times, if yes then its worth the money but if not i tend not to buy. This stops me wasting lots of money on something id buy and not wear!
This comes along with the idea of looking after the clothes and garments we do have, and finding ways to preserve these items so they last longer. There are ways in which we can exchanged clothing and ideas etc, for example handbag loaning companies, bag borrow or steal loan out designer handbags for various times, you can borrow for how long you like then take them back and choose another one if you wish. therefore rather than buying a new bag every time, you can loan one out and once you get 'bored' with it you can change it for another one and not just throw it away - www.bagborroworsteal.com
There are also many new groups popping up all over the place holding make your own workshops, Remakery in Broixton is a workshop space holding workshops for local residents to make new products out of old one, up cycling and recycling old materials into new usable things! A great way to get everybody involved in producing homemade, well made recycled products! Reducing waste and unwanted throwing away of well useable materials. Drink, shop, do in kings cross is also something very innovative and exciting, a cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as daily workshops being taught with various different crafts, a great way to relax enjoy and take up a new homemade bobbie!
googleimages.com
Another aspect of sustainable design linking in with the above is design activism, design incorporating with doing something good for the community/world! Designers can put out very powerful messages, its the way the work so why not incude this with making a difference, a good positive difference. Doing a lot with charities and helping raise awareness for certain causes along with a powerful design message.
Knit the city i think is a great cause and design activism, a london based group flooding the town with knitted pieces all over the city.By knitting these pieces they are enhancing forgotten spaces, dead, lifeless spaces that no one takes notice of, its incorporating the city we live in into the art and inspiring others to indulge in the space around them. Knit the city just want to put a smile on peoples faces, changing the world with happy souls and excitement. I love this cause, i think its a great way of including the city the enhancing what its already got. I think personally if i was walking down the street and i saw a random knitted cat sitting on a bench it would instantly make me smile and brighten my day, the exact point Knit the city are trying to get a cross.
Knitthecity.com
Pants to poverty is another powerful campaign attempting to stamp put world poverty, 5 years ago the pants to poverty campaign started, working closely with indian farmers producing cotton pants to sell across the world and putting money straight back into the farmers, supporting over 5000 farmers their work really has helped a huge amount. Working so closely with these farmers to produce pants to sell for a good cause it an absolute eye opener. Something as simple and designing a simple pant design, simply adding colour and getting so much positivity back. Helping both the 5000 farmers they are working with, also the locals and spreading the word about how easy it is to put a stop to poverty.
Panttopoverty.com
