What I want to produce?
The product that I want to create in order to improve technical metabolism and to act as “food” as discussed in William McDonough and Michael Braungart’s article is “buildable” clothing. I received a coat this winter that came with a down lining, a water-resistant over coat and a hood, the lining can be added or removed from the outer coat and the hood is reversible and can be attached to either layer of the coats. As I was packing up the down lining for the summer months I began to think about ways that allow us to utilize our clothes, or a form of our clothing, in all seasons. By creating articles of clothing like my coat that come with removable layers we would limit the amount of garments we need to create or feel the need to purchase. Other ideas I thought of would be removable sleeves to turn the jacket into a vest. By making garments multi-functional and transitional we would be able to keep them in the closet for longer. The linings and covers could even be sold separately so that consumers are able to mix and match. Ultimately, this would allow consumers to replace a coat overtime, which helps customers out financially and the environment out because they are discarding garments less frequently.
How will it apply metabolism?
I thought of this idea with the intention to work for both the metabolisms. The outer shell of the coat would ideally be water-resistant which would involve chemicals and so it takes it out of the running to be put back in to the earth, however this layer could be upcycled to make new overcoats as time goes on. The lining would be made with organic materials so that it would be possible to return to complete it’s lifecycle by biodegrading.
Caroline, I like this idea, it brings me back to when you could zip your pants into shorts (haha the good ol' days). I do think that the jacket would be more acceptable to the population as long as it was still stylish and a universal piece and how it can stay in its rightful cycle, good idea!
ReplyDeleteSo true! I remember those pants, especially for boys. I never owned any because they weren't especially fashion forward, but with the right research I think that products could be created that are sleek and fashion forward and incorporate this layering idea. I think that jackets are an easy place to start because winter coats are still acceptable when they are slightly bulky.
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