Textile fibre, Soil

Tecnosuolo

Phenomenon and context
Today, discarded or second-hand clothes are packaged and shipped, for example, to Africa and South America. These packages in Swahili are called Mitumba and are composed of 50% of garments in good condition that are resold in local markets. The remaining 50% of clothing items are in poor condition or made of low-quality fabrics. They are therefore waste, which is collected in illegal open-air landfills and often disposed of through fires that release chemicals into the soil and air, which cause serious respiratory diseases to the inhabitants. Mitumba become a problem for Extra-European countries that take on the appearance of places used and exploited by the West to dispose of their production waste.

Reuse system
Inspired by the concept of the Symbiocene, a new era in which humans find more sustainable ways to interact with other living beings, the Tecnosuolo project focuses on the issue of fast fashion. In particular, it proposes applications to address the impact of the textile industry and encourage the disposal of unsold clothes where they are produced.

Tecnosuolo is the soil of the future, created using residues generated by the production of the textile industry, to improve soil fertility. This project combines the fashion industry and agriculture to create dedicated soils to enhance specific crops. For beans, for example, soil will be developed with linen fibres that contain lignin, a substance that enhances plant growth. Using a hybrid approach, combining hydroponic and traditional techniques, the textile fibres of biological origin such as linen, wool and cotton, are used as a plant substrate and fertiliser for plant germination and as mulch with the aim of protecting plants from atmospheric phenomena and preserving soil moisture, improving its structure. This method promotes plant growth even under challenging conditions such as slopes or periods of drought, reducing water consumption and promoting crop independence.

Making process

Tecnosuolo is a project created by Davide Balda (multidisciplinary designer) together with the Fabrica research centre and supported by the Sustainability Department of Benetton Group, aimed at researching possible applications to counteract the impact of the textile industry on the environment. The project collects defective and unsold garments that belong to Green B, a line of United Colors of Benetton composed of products that have sustainable characteristics as they do not contain chemicals within the fabric. Through a grinding process, unused garments are reduced to textile fibres, preventing pollution generated by textile waste and creating new applications for recycled fabrics.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.