Recycling, Upcycling and Textile Futures

Last week, from 17~22/1/12, I had the pleasure of working with Everything Must Go!
The installation process went on from the 17^th until the 19^th of January. 

Photo: Tim Mitchell

INSTALLATION: Myself and David were in charge of painting the yarn holders one fine, chilly morning... 

INSTALLATION: Each piece of the following photo had to be aligned with what we called 'crucifixes' to make up the whole image...

The above grid photo and all photographs for the exhibition were taken by Tim Mitchell. You can find Tim’s vast portfolio here: Tim Mitchell Photography
Tim Mitchell worked on a time lapse photography project of ship breaking for Waste of the World’s research which was used in Everything Must Go. See Instagram: @mrtimmitchell

Above photo: Tim Mitchell

FACTS: Everything Must Go was a culmination of a five year social science research program called Waste of The World. Waste of The World was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. You can view the press release page on their website here: Waste of The World

"Dr Lucy Norris (UCL Anthropologist) has spent the last five years researching textile recycling as part of Waste of the World, an academic research project investigating global flows of waste including textiles, food, ship breaking and nuclear energy.

For the end-of-project event, Waste of the World collaborated with a group of artists and designers to present a public exhibition that tells the textile story. The exhibition was co-curated by Dr Lucy Norris and artist Clare Patey, and produced by arts organisation Holy Mountain."

THE EXHIBITION:  

 

As you entered the Bargehouse building you were greeted by a shockingly huge mound of recycled clothing... 

 

The entrance space was known as our charity shop. Second hand clothing hovered, hung high on the charity shop’s wall to serenade the guests as they walked in...

Guests were invited to bring an old item of clothing with them to recycle with us, and guests who wanted to buy a second hand item of clothing could donate an amount they thought the garment was worth. This interactive part of the exhibition’s process was a great way to meet our guests and to get their perspectives and opinions on second-hand clothing, their unwanted goods and ultimately their “waste”. The money that was raised at the exhibition went to Oxfam. We all love Oxfam.

Here's some examples of why we get rid of our clothing and how much we think it's worth... 

"no longer fit.. £2-£5"

 

"because I was asked to bring something.. - £20"

"it doesn't suit me, bad purchase, I brought it from a charity shop... £1.50"

As the guests wandered up the two flights of stairs they were greeted with years’ worth of informative, challenging texts.

The lovely ReMade in Leeds team were busy upstairs upcycling old garments ready to be worn again, guests were invited to join them. 
The Frip Ethique room was just next door to ReMade in Leeds, find out more about Frip Ethique and their great scheme here: Frip Ethique

UPCYCLING: A before and after photo of an unwanted item of clothing...

Above: Before

Above: After! After an upcycle session the t-shirt breathes new life

“Remade in Leeds is a Leeds based sustainable fashion boutique offering workshops, events and clothing collections under our in-house brand, Antiform." ~ taken from ReMade in Leeds

“Frip Ethique is an Oxfam-run initiative based in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, which sorts and sells clothing from the UK to local second-hand merchants." ~ taken from Oxfam's Fashion Blog

PHOTOS:

See Tim Mitchell’s great set of images of the exhibition here:
http://gallery.me.com/mrtimmitchell#100750

Above: These yarns were brought from India. The yarns are made from respun wool. By making yarn via this process the most polluting part of the manufacturing process is skipped; the dyeing, however these yarns aren't the best quality when finished.

During Meghna Gupta’s inspiring film, Unravel, (which was being aired all weekend) guests were allowed a fascinating insight into what recycled-clothes factory workers in Panipat - India, really thought of their working role in the textiles waste industry in comparison to ours in the West, with surreal realities.

SATURDAY, TALKING RUBBISH: The exhibition was full by 11:30am for Saturday’s talks, Talking Rubbish consisted of:

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON THE USED CLOTHING TRADE
Chair: Professor Nicky Gregson, Durham University

• ‘Between A and B: Reprocessing Western second-hand clothing for global markets.’ Julie Botticello (Research Associate, SOAS)
• ‘The World of Calamity Clothing in Mozambique.’ Andrew Brooks (Geography, King’s College London)
• ‘The making of Unravel.’ Meghna Gupta (Independent filmmaker)
• ‘Oxfam Frip Ethique – A social enterprise solution.’ Sarah Farquhar (Head of Retail Brand, Oxfam)

NEW MODELS: RECYCLING, UPCYCLING AND CLOSING THE LOOP
Chair: Lucy Siegle, Journalist & Broadcaster

• ‘Fashion and the Community; developing community resources for sustainable fashion and recycling.’ Lizzie Harrison (Founder/Antiform and ReMade in Leeds)
• ‘The potential of the fashion designer to reduce consumer’s textiles waste.’ Jade Whitson-Smith (University of Leeds)
• ‘A sneak look behind the curtains of a textile merchant.’ Ross Barry (LMB Business Development Manager)
• ‘Design for Recycling; closing the loop for textiles.’ Kate Goldsworthy (Textile Futures Research Centre, F Central St Martin's College of Art and Design)
• ‘Closed Loop or Wear Nothing.’ Cyndi Rhoades (CEO, Worn Again)

I particularly enjoyed the insight of ‘The World of Calamity Clothing in Mozambique.’ By Andrew Brooks. Find out a little more about Andrew and his work here: A. Brooks
All talks were FASCINATING and inspiring, quite overwhelming...

I particularly wanted to see Kate Goldsworthy’s talk, being so enamoured by the work that she does. Kate Goldsworthy’s research and design work is focused on material innovation and design for recycling, Kate is Course Director of MA Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins University; such fascinating work they do. Find out more about Kate Goldsworthy here: K. Goldsworthy

ALL IN ALL: Everything Must Go challenged our perceptions and knowledge of the textiles recycling industry, gave us insight into the lives of others that work with textiles and our unwanted goods, inspired us with those that are trying to make a difference, taught us to challenge our awareness and ultimately tackle the issue of what can be/should be/is being done to minimise waste. FANTASTIC WORK AND... everyone was so nice.

Thanks to all involved in Everything Must Go, it really was a pleasure.

Yuli
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