Textile waste, Plastic waste

Crafted Liberation

From headscarves to stadium seats, Crafted Liberation celebrates Iranian women's resilience in the pursuit of gender equality. Headscarves donated by Iranian women globally are transformed into stadium seats, creating a space for conversation, inspiration, and action.

At the heart of this project is a profound tale of collective action aimed at igniting transformation. In response to the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, Iranian women worldwide united in protest. RK Collective launched a collective call to action, inviting Iranian women globally to donate their unwanted headscarves. The donated textiles were processed into a lightweight composite material, which was then used to create the seats. Launched to acclaim at Dutch Design Week 2023, Crafted Liberation became a platform for engaging discussions on societal norms, gender inequality, and the power of collective action, communicated through material culture.

In collaboration with local manufacturing partners, The LPM Project, a new composite material that combines recycled textiles and polymers, was developed. This material is used in, Crafted Liberation to demonstrate how waste can be turned into unique, meaningful products that drive environmental and social impact.

Making process

Combining circular material innovation with contemporary storytelling, the seats are constructed from a durable composite made from 100% waste textiles and soft plastic bags. The lightweight composite sheet is moulded into a bucket seat form, resembling the traditional fibreglass techniques historically used in seating products, while providing the same qualities of increased strength and lightness required for an outdoor bucket seat.

The material is ideal for applications requiring three-dimensional forms, enhanced strength, and lightweight properties. They collaborate closely with our clients to process the material tailored to their specific requirements, resulting in solutions that are both distinctive and imbued with a compelling narrative inherent in its fabric.

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.