ART, NOT CRAFT

CRAFT, NOT ART

Architecture (Hons) Bsc, Bath University

Louis Bartlett is an image maker and graphic designer based in the UK. Currently studying for an Architecture BSc at the University of Bath, his visual interests focus on experimental techniques of image production that utilise a variety of media.

Human Presence: Working with Nature

We are crumbling uncontrollably to the point of no return.

The aim of the project was to encourage people to acknowledge the state of the world, raise awareness of the consequences of fashion and provoke questions about the impacts current methods and materials have on the planet.

In an ideal world, clothing seasons ought to be condensed down to the same number of seasons in a year, slowing the production and consumption of textiles to a rate that is environmentally and economically sustainable – shifting the industry’s attitude towards the climate crisis. The reliance on synthetic material and the production of man-made fibres would decrease, causing a shift of energy from producing to recycling.

At this slower speed and higher quality of production, it would be economically viable for all new matter to be sourced from natural fibres harvested by using organic farming techniques – replacing the conventional, mass production methods that are known to destroy the environment. The biodegradable advantages of swapping to natural fibres in combination with pre-order systems or batch producing garments would reduce the waste of unwanted clothes and resources.

Alternatively, feasibility could be achieved through creating higher demand for sustainable fabrics from a consumer point of view. Total transparency from field to shopfloor is essential, so consumers understand, connect and acknowledge the stages of making a garment – the how, the where, the who, the what – and full disclosure on treatments of the Earth and people. With this knowledge, perhaps customers would make more eco conscious decisions on where they buy clothing / what materials they wear, playing their part in the change.

Georgie Apps

Textiles: Innovation and Design BA (Hons) Loughborough University

We should utilise what we already have on this planet - matter that comes from a renewable source - and consider it’s end-oflife recyclability. Cellulose fibres and ones made from by-products (leather for example) decompose in the right conditions, due to their biological properties. Even after a heavy chemical induced life, natural fibres breakdown faster than synthetic - closing the lifecycle and minimising the amount of waste stacking up in landfill.