the project was created in cooperation with the faculty of chemistry and geoscience of vilnius university, and the tests were carried out at the organic chemistry laboratory

 

this project is aimed at new bio-plastic materials development using textile waste as a raw material. during the chemical processes, textile waste is transformed into new organic compounds the clothing and textile industry, right after the oil, is the second-largest polluter in the world. according to the european commission, the european union annually generates around 16 million tonnes of textile waste which is both pre-consumer and post-consumer waste. up to 95% of the landfilled textile waste is potentially recyclable, however, only 25% of it is reused or recycled

 

textile industry waste is polluting the air - while disintegrating, it emits methane - harmful greenhouse effect causing gas. chemicals used to dye fabrics pollute soil and water. in lithuania, textiles are not recycled, so the waste enters the landfill or is turned into a fuel (currently only burned in waste incineration plant located in klaipeda)

 

experimental recycling of textile waste is oriented into a process in which laboratory experiments were carried out. during the development of the project, modern processing possibilities of textile were reviewed and both technological and artistic ideas are being developed for future solutions. the real touch of new techniques in the laboratory has become a very valuable experience, which later allowed to continue this project at my studio. using a variety of techniques, a unique technological textile waste recycling method was developed. the current result is four different material transformations: solid bioplastic material, cellulose acetate film, cellulose yarn, and organic composite rubber

 

this project seeks to discover alternative design methods that will resist the logic of universality, functionality and overall beauty dictated by large-scale industry. as a result, I created non-finite objects for the viewer’s interpretation and further transformation processes. during my laboratory experiments, a new bioplastic material has been developed, which has the potential to be applied as a homogeneous bioplastic material in the film, yarn, and solid bioplastics and as the main binding ingredient in the development of composite materials

 

after intuitive queries, different forms of transformation and knowledge about possible characteristics of the material were conveyed by well-known design objects and mass production objects made of new different characteristic materials