S06 Episode 278 | Why we must approach waste holistically & how Material Library Of India is reimagining & documenting neglected materials while advocating for systems change

Conscious Chatter

In episode 279, Kestrel welcomes Shubhi Sachan, a multidisciplinary designer and the the founder of Material Library of India, to the show. A research and design space, Material Library of India is the first material library in India, and is focused on remodeling the use of industrial & agricultural waste materials, by combining the knowledge and skills of traditional crafts with modern materials.

"We are not talking about waste holistically. And to be able to get the best output in my experience when you’re working with recycling or post-consumer for any industry (not just picking on textile industry), you have to think about system change, because the more marriages you make while making that particular product or a material, the more complex the recycling cycle is. And the more complicated the recycling cycle is, the more difficult it is to get anything out of that, at the end of life.” -Shubhi

When we talk about *textile industry waste* – what comes to mind? For me, it’s fabric piling up, off-cuts scattered about, rolls and rolls of fabric, and heaps of garments that were overproduced and unsold.

However – as our guest Shubhi reminds us – when we talk about *textile industry waste* we can’t just talk about textiles. The entire industry produces a lot more than just fabric in excess. From underwires to buttons to rivets to zippers … fashion uses materials like polymers, metal, rubber, adhesives, and of course - textiles.

Basically, we are NOT talking about waste holistically.

And when we are thinking about solutions, yet again – the approach thus far has predominantly been reactionary instead of preventative.

As Shubhi shares, in order to get the best output (meaning that at the end of life, there is the best potential for it to be recycled well or to go back to the earth through composting) … you have to think about systems change. Because if not, the recycling process at the end of a garment’s life just gets more and more complicated and less and less productive.

Quotes & links from the conversation:

• “Industries are producing textiles, and yes, the rejents, the off-cuts, and all those things. They, put together, make industrial textile waste. But, the moment you move into a post consumer textile waste section — post consumer textile waste section is comprised of zippers, buttons, labels, your underwires of bra, and everything that you’ve sandwiched together to make that fabric or a garment behave in a certain manner. It’s a marriage and an amalgamation of any material and every material from polymer industry to textile industry to metal to rubber to adhesives to everything.” -Shubhi (21:11)

• “But once you trap anything in resin, it’s not good to take care of its own self. Natural materials are capable of taking care of their own selves. But once you trap them into a manmade material or any poly resin or any synthetic matter, for that matter — maybe you’re able to justify, which often is the case, that you’re using less virgin material of that particular polymer, but you’re trapping that particular agricultural waste in a position where it can’t take care of itself and it’s actually becoming another piece of plastic.” -Shubhi (38:26)

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