Young Ju Do

MA Textile Futures

Young Ju Do Title: Compostable Accessories Research question: How can biodegradability be considered as a key design feature? Project description: Most biodegradable products can only degrade in an industrial composting facility. The aim of this project is to create home-degradable and biologically nutritious jewellery and accessories. These are created from organic materials that, once used, can decompose into the natural environment, providing food for bacteria and microbiological life. Compostable Accessories include a carefully balanced composition of ‘brown’ and ‘green’ bio matter, designed to achieve optimum compostbility. Aiming to provide a simple and sustainable solution without compromising aesthetics this collection prompts people to take a fresh look at the value of short-term use. What is the context for the project? In the context of increasing global population and faster consumption patterns waste is a serious global issue. Biodegradable products currently on the market still need to be collected by an industrial facility to degrade. My project looks to encourage home compostable products, encouraging transient design as potentially a more sustainable solution. How did textiles inform your response? Using my skills as a material and textile designer I created my own bio-plastics from edible food material. I experimented widely until I came up with the optimum recipe that balancesrobustness and strength with excellent biodegradability. I used textile techniques such as crochet and knitting to act as joining and fastening mechanisms. What inspired the project? I was inspired my concept by “Waste need not exist at all” which is the notion of the book “Cradle to Cradle”. My design direction comes from modern geometric shapes as found in areas such as modern architecture. My aim is to give my accessories a contemporary aesthetic for my target market. What is your vision of Textile Futures? My vision of textile futures is that “textiles” and “nature” can definitely go together. The choices on material and eco-friendly producing process are very important. All natural resources can be materials such as food and micro-organisms like re-directing materials from nature. Also, the “cradle to cradle” cycle is very important for textile futures. This cycle will create a new kind of throwaway culture and a new value for short-term use, because the use of organic materials without chemicals will create transient textiles such as compostable, biodegradable or edible. But in the future, these kinds of goods will break down naturally in the domestic base, not in the industrial system. Key Words Sustainability, Eco-friendly, Cradle to Cradle, Biodegradable, Home-Compostable, Bio-plastic, Throwaway Culture. Email ~ ju.youngjudo@gmail.com Website ~ art-ju.com