GROW YOUR OWN FABRIC WITH KOMBUCHA Julie Hall Sustainable Systems 4-21- 16 1
Mission Statement: I would like to address environmental and labor problems in fast fashion by grow fabric from Kombucha, a natural material. I will experiment it myself to show other and teach them that it is easy and doable. I will make clothes from the fabric to avoid harming workers in factories, filling the landfills with clothes, and contaminating rivers. When people are more educated about the issues with fast fashion, and knowledge about the alternatives, more people are likely to participate in helping by making their own fabric. 2
Executive Summary: There is a huge problem in the fashion industry, which is fast fashion. It is also extremely problematic how many people are unaware, or choose to ignore the issues for the sake of cheap clothes and having the clothes immediately. The main problems are the labor conditions for workers in the factories, the environmental effects the factories have on the environment, the amount of textile that goes into the landfill, and the effects of the die from the fabric. There are multiple ways to go about fixing the problem or lessening it, but the most effective thing to do is to avoid all aspects of fast fashion. This can be done by growing fabric out of the mother culture of Kombucha, SCOBY. The method was developed by designer Suzanne Lee and a research fellow. Microbes are added to tea, and the microbes eat the sugar, turning the cellulose into a dense mesh. The fabric turns out looking like a thin layer of flesh, but it can be sewn like any other fabric. Suzanne went on to make a collection of jackets. The jackets are beautifully sculpted, and have patterns or are either tan or dark blue like denim. In 1911, there was a fire at a shirtwaist factory in New York City, and 146 workers were killed because the ladders could not reach the 11th floor they were on. In 2012 a Bangladesh factory caught fire and killed 112 workers. From the dyes, dioxin, heavy metals, and formaldehyde are used and cause the workers to run the risk of illness. Residents in Mexico are reporting sick because the dye from denim turning their rivers dark blue More than 11 million tons of textile across the country goes into landfills, and most if it is from fast fashion because the clothes are not high enough quality to be reused Start with tea, add sugar, Kombucha culture, and cider vinegar, and let it sit in a container The fabric is comes out stronger than regular textile and takes dye better, so less is needed and naturally dye can be used more easily The only downfall to this method is the fabric is not yet waterproof. This downfall can be fixed if more people focus on it and work to solve the problem. Even though these products are not yet waterproof, they can be worn underneath jackets, when it is not raining, or in dry climates. Suzanne s method is extremely effective because instead of fixing the problem, or even just fixing one aspect of it, it avoids the problem all together. It avoids the problem all together by not using factories that terrible harm workers because it can be made in home or in a lab in her case. It does not harm the environment because it does not use dyes in the factory that leak in to the rivers, and it does not fill the landfill with fast fashion products that were cheaply made. People in Bangledesh do not have drinking water because of the factories, and workers in Japan run the risk of tumors. Grow your own fabric to avoid harming the environment and people in the factories. 3
Julie Hall Sustainable Systems Final Project Proposal 4-21- 16 Did you know your tea could turn into a stable, durable, and strong fabric? Let alone accessories or clothes? Bubble, bubble. With the help of the Kombucha mother culture, SCOBY, make fashion harmless, natural, colorful, and chic. Follow this method to make anything out of fabric, instead of making food for once. Most importantly, keep passing the method on. Hopefully future generations will learn the ways and reasons to avoid using needed textiles because of the impact on the environment. I would like to address the increasing fast fashion industry, and the environmental and labor problems within the increasing terrible segment of the economy, and an economical way of fixing the industry by avoiding it completely. The more people that are educated on the problem, and provided with a solution, the more likely people are going to act on the problem and follow the solution. Solutions like the one I will further go in to later, like making fabric out of Kombucha, need to be advertised more and tested more frequently, so people are not scared of doing them on their own. People are scared to do them on their own because they have never heard of them, and think the process is DIY, or unreliable, even though it is being developed by a chemist and highly skilled fashion designer, Suzanne Lee. She is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who is a Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins. 1 Suzanne Lee, along with others, are coming up with solutions to fast fashion, but unfortunately, the consumption and production of cheap clothes is only increasing. You see some products and it s just garbage. It s just crap, and you sort of fold it up and you think, yeah, you re going to wear it Saturday night to your party - and then it s literally going to fall apart, said Simon Collins, the dean of fashion at Parsons the New School for Design. 2 He means that these days, clothes are made so cheaply, you can only wear them once because they do not last more than a couple of washings. H&M, Zara, and Forever 21 fall under the fast fashion category. The companies are doing well because they make a lot of money, even though their prices are so low. In 2012, H&M s sales at the parent company rose by 11 percent. It s chairman, Stefan Persson, has a net worth of $26.3 billion and is the 17th richest person on the planet. The fact that he makes that much money selling $10 shirts, proves the mass volume of clothing that is being purchased and wasted because it does not last. It sells because it is attractive looking and on trend. In the 1970s, companies started to manufacture clothing themselves, because they could have complete control over how much they produced and the quality to control the price, instead of using a manufacturer. During this time, companies also started to design and transfer 1 "Meet The Woman Who Wants To Grow Clothing In A Lab." Popular Science. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.popsci.com/meet-woman-who-wants-growing-clothing-lab. 2 "In Trendy World Of Fast Fashion, Styles Aren't Made To Last." NPR. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/174013774/in-trendy-world-of-fast-fashion-stylesarent- made-to-last fast. 4
everything digitally, so everything became faster. Americans now buy five times the amount of clothing as they did in 1980. Fashion strayed from being a two- season shopping calendar. Costumers started shopping all- year round. In less than a month, a chain like Zara has clothes from design to shelve. In some cases, it is as quick as two weeks. Deadlines for manufactures are decreasing every year. One year a deadline is 90 days, the following is 60, going all the way down to 45. 3 Fast fashion is also called landfill fashion because all of the clothing has to go somewhere, which is the landfill. Even though many American s donate their clothes to consignment stores, fast fashion is so poorly made, no one wants to buy it, so it ends up in the landfill. Ten and a half million tons of clothing go into landfill from Americans every year. In New York City clothing and textiles make up more than six percent of all garbage, so 193, 000 tons are tossed every year. In terms of the national average, Americans donate or recycle only fifteen percent of their used clothing, and the remaining percent goes into landfills. The remaining amount is a jaw dropping 10.5 million. For the clothing that is recycled, only half it gets worn again, while the other half is turned into something like insulation, carpet padding, or industrial rags. For the clothes that do get to stores, there is only a 15 to 20 percent chance that it is sold and worn again. The amount of textile that does go into the landfills, more than 11 million tons across the country, leaves extreme and drastic long - term effects on the environment. It is difficult to say what effects exactly come from clothing, footwear, and linens, but it is known that breaking down the material releases methane, which is a harmful gas that leads to global warming. Also, dyes and chemicals from the fabric seep into the soil and cause contamination. The other issue is the amount of space that it takes up, which is 126 million cubic yards, or 34.02 tons. 4 With a problem already of too much trash in America, textiles are something that can and should be reused, even if they fall under the section of fast fashion wear, but because the fast fashion clothes are in such bad shape, it is best to avoid and stop the continuous production of fast fashion by not purchasing it. If people become more aware of the problems with the amount of clothes they are buying, they would no to avoid the fast fashion stores, and comprehend the benefits of spending more money on an item that was made well because it will last longer. The other extreme environmental issue comes from the actual production in the factories. Because these companies are using such inexpensive factories on their own accord and not paying attention to the effects, drastic and bad things are happening. Much of the dangers come from the dyes. In 1856, scientists discovered how to make synthetic dyes. Before that, fabrics were dyed naturally with minerals, plants, and animal, and they were only used on those who could afford them. It was cheaper, brighter, and easier to apply, so the method took off. As it is commonly said not to take that easy way out, that is true with dye also. Dioxin, heavy metals, 3 "In Trendy World Of Fast Fashion, Styles Aren't Made To Last." NPR. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/174013774/in-trendy-world-of-fast-fashion-stylesarent- made-to-last fast. 4 The Atlantic. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/ where-does-discarded-clothing-go/374613/. 5
and formaldehyde are used in the dyes and they are carcinogens and even possible hormone disrupters. Because of these chemicals, workers have to deal with risks to deadly illnesses because they are not taken care of. Workers in Japan run the risk of tumors, and workers in the United States have faced death due to tumors, cancer, and lung disease. 5 The environment is killed from the dye also, and fast fashion retailers use these, which is why it should be avoided completely. Throughout the industrial dye process, a solution of dye in water is used. The fabrics are dipped and washed in the solution, and instead of cleaning the solution and re- using it, the companies throw it into the river majorly polluting them. Some companies make them clean the solution before dumping it, but even if they do that there is a sludge from the dye chemicals and nothing to do with it, and the water that is released into the river still has traces of dye. China was supposed to have water regulation rules against the dye distributing, but investigators found almost 22,000 tons worth of dye. According to residents, fish died and the water turned in to sludge. In Mexico, rivers are turning dark blue because of factories dying denim and residents are even reporting sick. Also, dye from factories in Bangladesh has leaked into their drinking water and called people. All in all, these dying side effects are unacceptable and not worth it to continue the dangerous practice of something so unnecessary. The health of the workers is in danger working in such bad conditions in the factories. Stories begin from all the way back in 1911. At a shirtwaist factory, a fire broke out and killed 146 out of the 500 workers because the ladders could not reach the tenth floor. It only took a half an hour. It is not only the risks of fires that is bad for the workers, the day to day life is draining. Children got paid only six dollars per week and were sometimes required to bring their own materials. After that big event, the United States employed labor laws, but other countries remain without them. In 2012, a Bangladesh factory caught fire and killed 112 workers. The fires should not have happened in the first place, but the fact that after more than 100 years it is still happening, is unexplainable. The factory produced clothes for Wal - Mart, another cheap place to buy clothes, and lacked proper safety precautions. Also, in Bangladesh, a factory collapsed and killed 1,134. Disney clothes were produced their, but they stopped their production in Bangladesh, but Wal- Mart did not, even though they have the money too do it elsewhere. 6 Unfortunately, sweatshops for American products are all over Bangledesh, and Bangladesh is experiencing the side effects. This can be avoided. People in Bangladesh can have clean drinking water if you do not support fast fashion. There are multiple different outlets to turn to in order to decrease waste in the landfills, not cause deaths from synthetic dyes, or dirty water and factories burning down from bad manufacturing conditions. Some simple solutions in the UK and Canada have been making textile recycle centers more relevant. They have put them in schools so parents can drop 5 "Why Textile Waste Should Be Banned From Landfills." Triple Pundit People Planet Profit. 2012. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/01/textile-waste-be-bannedlandfills/# landfill effects. 6 "Triangle Shirtwaist Fire." AFL-CIO. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.aflcio.org/about/our- History/Key-Events-in-Labor-History/Triangle-Shirtwaist-Fire. 6
off old clothes while they drop their kids off at school. In Germany and the Netherlands, a program called Packmee will ship citizens clothes to a textile recycle center for free. Some cities in the United States provide their residents with curbside textile recycling, which would be a good thing for New York City because it would be much easier for New Yorkers than lugging a big plastic bag on the subway, but nothing like this has been talked about. New Yorker Kathryn Garcia is working expanding her re-fashionyc program, where recycling bins for clothes are placed in large apartment buildings. The other alternative is organic cotton, but it is more expensive, and can cause the same carbon footprint coming from how it needs to be shipped. 7 These solutions are great and much better than nothing and shopping at fast fashion retailers, but an even better step using material and textile to create clothes and accessories in the first place because there would be no waste or adding to the landfills. It would also not add to the production of clothes in unsafe factories, helping the environment and citizens all over the world at the same time. A person who is hitting all aspects of this right on point is Suzanne Lee, and others who have used her method of brewing Kombucha to make fabric. The method is not perfected yet, but that should be more of an incentive to try it out and raise awareness because who would have thought that fabric could appear and grow from a drink? The only problem is the fabric is not yet waterproof, but it is beautiful. First, she joined a biotech startup company, as the creative director to make ready - to - wear clothes out of nature. When she met a research fellow while she was at art school at Central Saint Martins, she told him about a book she was writing about how science and technology have the power to influence fashion, and he told her about living materials. He told her about how bacteria could grow into a very common fiber, cellulose. From there, they worked together to grow material by starting with tea and adding sugar and microbes, exactly what is used in the drink Kombucha. The microbes eat the sugar and and turn the cellulose into a dense nano scale mesh. Even though it is all natural and made from nature, it is once of the strongest fabrics out there, and took dyes better. Because it takes dyes better, it is easier to dye naturally because the color comes out better and more vibrant. She went on to make a collection of coats, which look nothing like anything that has been made before. Slightly translucent and flesh colored, they look like they are sculpted rather than sewn, but move with her as she walks around. This is potentially revolutionary, she says, then laughs. Oh lord, there s a fashion designer trying to save the world. It is funny that because it is so ironic. Most fashion designers are doing nothing but harm the world all of the ways states above. My final project solution is to grow my own fabric of Kombucha, and make a fabric garden, so I can present it to the Sustainable Systems classes and teach people how to do it themselves. I will also present them with designs of what I will make out of the fabric. Growing the fabric will happen by brewing tea in a tub, adding enzymes, and letting is sit in a heating pad or outside if it is hot enough. I brew the liquid and steep the tea for 15 minutes, remove the bags, and add sugar. I stir it until it dissolves, make sure the liquid is below 86 degrees, pout it into the 7 "In Trendy World Of Fast Fashion, Styles Aren't Made To Last." NPR. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/174013774/in-trendy-world-of-fast-fashion-stylesarent- made-to-last fast. 7
container, add the cider vinegar and Kombucha culture, and cover it with a cloth. From there, I keep it at room temperature and watch it grow. Over a couple of weeks, the culture will sink to the bottom and fermentation will start when bubble arise to the surface. At first it is very heavy, but it dries on a wooden board, and then is ready to be used. At this point, it can be sewn together like any other fabric. 8 My target audience is students studying fashion because they can keep this method in mind and consider the strong importance in their choice of materials. It is important to educate fashioon students on this probem, because they are the ones who have the power to advertise method to the general public, and if it is used by fashion students rather than regular advertising, it will have a better reputation. I also target scientists because their research is needed. The project needs both equally. Suzanne Lee could not have come this far without the scientist she paired up with. The only downfall with this fabric is the fact that it is not waterproof, and scientists have the power to change that. This is the best and most sustainable option compared to the others, like a recycling program, because it avoids the problem all together. It does nothing bad like all of the other fabric. It uses less water, very little energy, and no chemicals or unnatural dyes. Also, it is handmade, so it does not cause the effects of the factories, like horribly treated workers and toxic water damaging drinking water. Unfortunately, it is not fully sustainable because it is not waterproof, so it would not last forever. Appendix: 8 "Meet The Woman Who Wants To Grow Clothing In A Lab." Popular Science. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.popsci.com/meet-woman-who-wants-growing-clothing-lab. 8
A designer named Suzanne Lee makes jackets and does research at Central Saint Martins. The only problem is they are not water proof. Suzanne s Jackets: SCOBY, Tea Brewing, Recipe Bibliography 9
"In Trendy World Of Fast Fashion, Styles Aren't Made To Last." NPR. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/174013774/in-trendy-world-of-fast-fashion-styles-arentmade-to-last fast. The Atlantic. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/ where-does-discarded-clothing-go/374613/. "Why Textile Waste Should Be Banned From Landfills." Triple Pundit People Planet Profit. 2012. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/01/textile-waste-be-bannedlandfills/# landfill effects. "Synthetic Dyes: A Look at Environmental & Human Risks." Green Cotton. 2008. Accessed April 17, 2016. https://greencotton.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/synthetic-dyes-a-look-at-thegood-the-bad-and-the-ugly/. "Triangle Shirtwaist Fire." AFL-CIO. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.aflcio.org/about/our- History/Key-Events-in-Labor-History/Triangle-Shirtwaist-Fire. "Meet The Woman Who Wants To Grow Clothing In A Lab." Popular Science. Accessed April 17, 2016. http://www.popsci.com/meet-woman-who-wants-growing-clothing-lab. 10
How to Grow YourOwn Fabric With Kombucha Julie Hall
Produce a Strong, Leathery, Cloth Ingedients: 200 milliliters of organic cider vinegar 200 grams of granulated sugar 1 live Kombucha culture 2 bags Supplies: Plastic container for liquid Cloth to cover liquid Stove and sauce pan for boiling Measuring cups Board for drying
- Brew 2 litres of water and steep tea for 15 minutes - Remove tea bags and add sugar, stirring until it dissolves Let the mixture sit in room temperature for about 3-4 weeks. - Make sure the liquid is cooler than 86 degrees farhenheit, and then pour it into the container - Add the apple cider vinegar and Kombucha culture - Pour it into the container and cover it with cloth
First, the culture will sink to the bottom. Then, it will start to bubble around the culture and all over, which means fermentation has begin. The culture will rise to the surface and form a layer. After it is about two centimeters thick, take it out and wash it carefully with cold, soapy water. Spread the material out on a flat wooden sheet to dry. When it is dry, sew it together like any other material and use it! The only thing is, keep it out of the rain. The fabric is not waterproof. The following are designs by the creator, Suzanne Lee:
Self Assessment: I will definitely continue to work on this project, and I would recommend it to others. Now that I know how long it takes and what to expect, it will be easier to do next time. One thing that I would have changed is the size of the container that I used, or the amount of substance that I put in the container. It was too big, so when the liquid was spread about the container, there was not enough room for the culture to sink to the bottom and rise back up, so I put it on a slight angle and pushed the culture to the side so there was more liquid. That worked because it did bubble and the hard structure started to form, but it would maybe be a more even layer if it was a smaller container. The other thing is the time constraint. It took one week to start to bubble, and one more week to form the substance. I would give it one more week to fully grow thick enough. It was also difficult to do in a dorm room because it really smells like Kombucha, but luckily it was warm enough to keep the window open and keep the room at room temperature, and my roommate did not mind. Ideally, it could stay somewhere outside that is a moderate temperature. This one project that I did opens my eyes, and hopefully other about the importance of looking into alternate ways of developing fabric to avoid filling the landfills with textile. It makes the world more resilient because it shows how the goods that it gives us, Kombucha culture, can be turned into a textile without harming the environment.