Design research inspires initiative to eliminate textile waste

This proposal may make the textile production chain more sustainable by combining environmental solutions with social inclusion

By Jussara Mangini  |  Agência FAPESP – After studying the work of a non-governmental organization that engages homeless people in the production of hand-made rugs from textile waste, a group of researchers associated with the textiles and fashion degree course at the University of São Paulo’s School of Arts, Sciences & Humanities (EACH) in Brazil have identified ways to solve the environmental problem caused by the improper disposal of thousands of tons of fabric scraps and rags on the sidewalks and sanitary landfills of São Paulo City.

As a result, Professor Francisca Dantas Mendes, deputy coordinator of the course, has prepared a social and environmental proposal called Sustexmoda, currently being negotiated with several city departments, labor unions and other NGOs.

The research project was inspired by “A study into the scope for transforming traditional skills and knowledge into a competitive advantage in small scale textile industries through fashion design”, an initiative selected in a call for exchange proposals supported by FAPESP and the University of Southampton in the UK, and led in Brazil by Claudia Regina Garcia Vicentini, who has a PhD in mechanical engineering and is a professor at EACH-USP.

While John Hopkins and Anthony Galsworthy, directors of the University of Southampton’s Winchester School of Art, investigated how small firms that reconstructed traditional English fabric-making techniques survived Asian competition through sustainable production and above-average work conditions, the researchers at EACH/USP conducted a detailed evaluation of the rugs produced by artisans using fabric scraps discarded by garment makers in the São Paulo neighborhood of Bom Retiro.

The artisans are people in situations of extreme vulnerability who participate in Project Ubuntu, created by psychologist Márcia Aguiar to stimulate the productive and creative potential of street people who use the Canindé shelters of CROPH, an NGO with nine units in the city. CROPH helps over half the city’s 15,000 street people.

“Because it’s repetitive and risk-free, producing rag rugs keeps their minds focused and motivates them to continue until they finish,” Vicentini told Agência FAPESP. “As a result, this kind of occupational therapy bolsters their self-esteem and empowers them, as well as setting an example of the proper and useful disposal of textile waste.”

The research group at EACH-USP led by Vicentini also includes Silgia Costa, who has a PhD in textile engineering; Suzana Avelar, who has a PhD in semiotics and communication; and Francisca Dantas Mendes, who has a PhD in production engineering.

Using the action research methodology, the intervention by the group of researchers from Project Ubuntu included a detailed survey of the techniques available for producing, storing, washing and selling the rugs, managing the division of labor, and many other aspects.

The findings led the researchers to propose changes in all stages of the process during workshops with the producers. The practical results of the changes include improvements in the end product, workplace organization, division of labor and distribution of the income earned by the artisans.

The first step was to eliminate the collection of knitwear scraps, which were manually cut to make the buckram that serves as a base for the rugs. Previously, the social workers themselves had done the collecting, but the research group contacted a number of garment makers and arranged to have the rags cut to the ideal size and delivered directly to the NGO. In exchange, they printed the garment makers’ names on the rug labels as supporters.

The researchers also helped to design templates with standardized sizes, weights and finishes, thus enhancing the quality of the end product. Classes in the basics of art, design and creativity also stimulated the artisans to use new color combinations, thereby making the rugs more attractive to buyers. “All these changes helped them feel satisfied and proud of their work, for which they are paid 100% of the selling price,” Vicentini said.

Sustexmoda

All the opportunities identified plus the research group’s knowledge of the textile and fashion industries enabled them to structure Project Sustexmoda.

According to data from the Brazilian Textile & Apparel Industry Association (ABIT), 1.9 million garments were produced in São Paulo State in 2015. Scraps and other solid textile waste from pattern cutters account for approximately 10% of total production. According to the São Paulo State branch of the textile workers union (Sinditêxtil-SP), 12 tons of scraps are produced each day in Brás and Bom Retiro alone. Some 1,200 garment makers are located in these two neighborhoods of São Paulo City.

Neither the government nor the firms control how these rags and scraps are disposed of. Some are picked up by scavengers, and some are simply taken to garbage dumps—these scraps end up in landfills and have a significant environmental impact.

According to Mendes, who is leading the negotiations on implementation of the project in the city, existing solutions are viable if adapted, new functional products can be created to use the maximum amount of textile waste, materials with long life cycles can be developed and reused by different industries, and innovative solutions can be devised to break down or reuse the rag and other fibers resulting from textile waste.

Sustexmoda has three stages of three years each. The first stage will map goods made with textile waste and identify their producers to organize the shipping of scraps and rag to industries that use them as inputs.

In the second stage, garment makers will be asked to make changes to their production processes to reduce the amount of waste, and the third stage will involve the implementation of solutions to eliminate improper waste disposal completely.

All these measures to reduce waste and improve disposal will be reconciled with CROPH’s social work. The NGO is working with EACH-USP to agree on a formal partnership or similar initiative.

Mendes has met with the heads of the city’s employment and entrepreneurship, health, human rights and citizenship departments, among others. “It’s necessary to discuss many aspects if the project is to be implemented effectively in accordance with the logic of a creative, circular, sustainable, fair-trade and transparent economy,” she said.

“In academic terms, the project is now being analyzed by USP’s Research Pro-Rector. It’s in a rarely explored research field and aims to advance toward significant, concrete and consistent results in terms of environmental conservation, reducing waste and proposing the social inclusion of people who are basically left to their own devices. The project includes solutions for the recycling of textile waste and can potentially be used to develop a vast array of new products, innovative designs, and a network of associations, firms and professionals that have already been selected and are involved in the various stages of the program,” Mendes said.