Design Ignites Change - Projects

School of Visual Arts

Heirloom harvests pre-consumer fabric waste and transforms it into treasured artifacts. This is done in collaboration with local women (in shelters, elder residences, etc), drawing upon a craft heritage and marrying it with a modern design aesthetic to create gorgeous, functional and timeless items. By nature of the fabric's source, everything is small batch, one-of-a-kind or limited edition and whenever possible, encourages a non-disposable culture. Heirloom proposes a resourceful revolution, where we use waste to prevent waste.

Deborah Alden
deborahalden@yahoo.com

Impact! Design for Social Change

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November 4, 2011

Heirloom proposes a resourceful revolution, where we use waste to prevent waste.

Harvesting pre-consumer fabric waste and transforming it into treasured artifacts.

Done in collaboration with local women, drawing upon a craft heritage and marrying it with a modern design aesthetic.

Items range from those that are usually made with virgin cloth to those that replace current disposable practices.

One example prototype is fabric gift wrap, creating a new tradition that can be passed on for generations.

15-20% of fabric entering factories to make clothing exits as waste headed for landfills because it's cheaper than recycling it. What that adds up to is in one week the average factory creates 60,000 pounds of pre-consumer fabric waste (source: Looptworks). Astonishing for something so useful and versatile!

Heirloom harvests this surplus fabric and puts it to good use by making items usually cut from virgin cloth—everything from aprons to duvet covers—as well as those that replace current disposable practices—from gift wrap to shopping bags, or even tissues.

Heirloom

School of Visual Arts

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