INITIAL IDEA - CLOTHES TO WATER CONVERTER

I am wanting to create awareness of the inefficiency of cotton in the fashion industry (please read my blog on fast fashion). I believe this is an important place to start as people believe cotton is better compared to polyester, where in fact, they are both really bad for the environment. Study shows The fashion industry currently uses enough water to quench the thirst of 110 million people for an entire year. It's overall impact on water around the globe creates huge issues for locals around the factory. Industries such as fishing and farming feel the worst of it as the fashion manufacturer is taking huge parts of the water that they would use or what the river may need to sustain a healthy ecosystem.

The underlying problem of the fashion industry is fundamentally the suppression of the Hemp industry (please read my blog on Hemp) resulting in an oligopolistic industry where cotton and polyester is the primary material used in the market. This has resulted in a catastrophic failure in the market where it has become so inefficient to produce on such large scales due to the material used and now that the hemp industry is so niche and lacking real investment, buying hemp made clothing is far more expensive and the overall design quality regarding style is out dated compared to the retailers in our high streets who use mainly cotton or polyester that have developed design teams that can follow trends quickly or even set the trends.

"Engaging the younger generations to educate the parents and older

generations alike"

I want to spread awareness of the amount of water needed to produce just one item of clothing. I will do this by installing a playful factory style installation that will draw the eyes of passers by - Mainly children so they can interact, learn and also help educate the older generations such as their parents about the impact buying certain clothes has on our environment.

- Clothes dropped in and weighed.

- Weight of clothes are then converted to litres of water.

- Clothes are converted into water and then given back to suffering areas due to lack of water.

As you can see from the conceptual drawing I am really wanting it to have a playful factory feel, something that is engaging to younger people. I want the children to interact with it by clicking buttons and seeing things happen when they do so, so they will feel as though they are the operator of the machine, but the process is still very simple to anyone passing or wondering what it is at a glance of an eye. While the children are playing around with it the information on the shocking use of water per item needs to be clear as day to the older people so that they are then being educated and the installation is doing its job. Although it is unclear how we will use the clothing to then fund the creation of drinking water in a place that is effected by the fashion industry, it is important that it happens and the public can see this machine as a way of them giving back - It is us (the consumers) buying these items of clothing that is fuelling this environmental disaster after all.

When it comes to climate change and what we can or should be doing, it is fear mongering, the information is displayed aggressively and there is so much of it and so depressing that we feel almost helpless as to what we can do because of how large the issue is. I want to take note of this and yes, make it aware that the facts and figures of the fashion industry are very scare, but here (this installation) is a way to give back and to feel a little better about donating your old clothes to it as it shows the process of you having an instant impact.

My next steps will be to figure out if it will be able to move. Could it be an education programme that visits schools? Also I need to develop what other features it will have on it that may not do anything for the process but for entertainment purposes for children, or do I keep it simple? Furthermore I need to do more illustrations of the machine and how I want to advertise it to the public.

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/how-is-fast-fashion-polluting-our-water/77704/