The textile and fashion industries globally produce millions of tons of solid waste every year through the many processes used - from yarn production, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and finishing, to apparel construction, quality inspection, and unsold goods - generating waste at each step. Typically, this waste is sent to landfills, incinerated or, at best, recycled in to low-quality fibres used for industrial applications. Scraps, timed to publish concurrently with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's exhibition of the same name, presents three designers' alternative approaches to the shockingly high human and environmental costs of textile industry waste. Inspired by the long tradition of using handcraft to give new life to scraps and cast-offs, each of the three featured designers - Christina Kim, Reiko Sudo and Luisa Cevese - takes an entirely different approach to contending with textile waste, but all make recycling an integral part of their design practice. The delicate beauty of the fabrics featured in Scraps ensure a seductive visual experience throughout the pages framing the exploration of sustainable design practices: using materials and resources efficiently, providing meaningful labour, sustaining local craft traditions and exploring new technologies as integral to the recycling process.

Author Biography

Susan Brown joined Cooper Hewitt in 2001, where she is Associate Curator of Textiles. Matilda McQuaid is Deputy Director of Curatorial and Head of Textiles at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.