The project Going Circular, Going Cellulose (GC)2 was a unique collaboration between technical researchers, textile companies and fashion and product designers, as well as the collaboration between the universities ArtEZ and Saxion. By working closely together new strategies for circular design of textile products were developed. The project illustrates the complexity of the interwovenness of technology, design and business related to practicing circular design principles. A pitfall of working with circular design principles is that it does not work in isolation and prioritizing only one of the principles is not – or only partially – beneficial.
The focus in the (GC)2 project was on how technical design can be combined with conceptual design to develop new functional textile products of textiles based on cellulose fibers like recycled cotton and hemp. In addition, the focus was also on the development of new fabrics with optimal functionality and controlling the look and feel of the textiles. This research not only looked at the touch values due to finishing, but also at the possibilities of influencing the hand by varying the weaves of the fabric.
The project has yielded a number of special conceptual designs, insight into the process of circular design and strategies and a contribution to the translation of subjective concepts into more objective data.
It has been shown that collaboration between different disciplines within a circular design process provides understanding for each other’s expertise and is a valuable contribution to the steps that still need to be taken towards a circular textile system.
This e-book gives a nice overview of the collaboration between all stakeholders and the outcome of this project.
Comments