Protective Textiles
An Exploration into the Potential of Biological Textile Design for Protection Against Threats to Human Health from External Environment(s)
by Tiara Lian
The COVID-19 pandemic we are experiencing really inspired me. It has hurt us both physically and psychologically, and made me start thinking about the relationship we have with nature. I understand the pandemic as backlash from an over-exploitation of nature, which humans need to have a deeper awe of. At the same time, this pandemic made me pay attention to the important but often overlooked topic of health; people often do not think about this until they are sick. People often ignore threats from the external environment; because injuries caused by these threats cannot be presented to people intuitively, people are not very vigilant about them. This project is about using clothing, colors and materials to give form to something deeper than most of us would understand when looking at figures and facts.
I did research on functional textiles, emotionally durable design, and biological design, and tried to find a method to use textiles to protect nature while protecting humans. I ultimately chose algae as my raw material. It is an ideal material for the future of sustainable manufacturing. Algae is one of the most renewable and fastest growing organisms on earth and it can provide fishermen income during the off-season. Furthermore, algae can remediate coastal environments, because it also absorbs nutrients from agricultural and sewage waste. I made many additions to the algae base, including photochromic pigment, red cabbage juice, nano silver and activated carbon. These can all play a role in protecting human health. All of my experiments at home led to making bio yarn and bio plastic with amazing strength and flexibility, which I then used to knit and embroider.
In the future, my project could be used in the medical field to protect medical workers and people with poor immune resistance. However I also believe that after lowering production costs and shortening the distance between daily life and bio design, bio yarn and bioplastics may enter family life. Perhaps in the future, mothers will regain the habit of hand-knitting and hand-embroidery for their children, using biomaterials instead. My project shows that it is not difficult to make bio yarn and bioplastics with protective value from home, which may inspire some people's interest.
I hope my project will remind people that we are part of nature. Designers need to consider how to protect nature while protecting ourselves. It is significant for designers to think about how to change the way we use systems, how to use materials on a large scale, and how to utilize materials with low environmental footprint.
