Can The Waste Of Others Today, Be Our Raw Material Tomorrow?

While the world's population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, the concepts that we call production and consumption will continue to persist to sustain our generation, as we all know. Of course, for the continuation of our generation; in every product produced, it is certain that we should adopt sustainability as a necessity, not as a preference.

Especially since the textile and fashion industry is one of the oldest and largest sectors in the world, it has the potential to cause the most damage to the enviroment. It seems to be based solely on consumption; some companies that produce new textile collections every season and the toxic waste they remove, synthetic dyes, fabrics filled with harmful chemicals, unfair working conditions are one of the biggest causes of this damage. If such issues as the production of raw materials of those produced in environmentally friendly conditions, the implementation of recycling processes of production waste are not given attention, major problems arise. Perhaps, in this way, one of the biggest responsibilities for waste falls on designers and manufacturers.

In order to make a sustainable production, it is necessary to take a sensitive approach. Instead of producing quickly and multily, we can act flexibly and creatively, based on what is local and present. We should produce organic waste, low-value or unwanted materials not only by considering them functional but also by respecting their origin. Thus, in addition to providing environmental benefits, we will feel a great change in our relationship with materials and will be able to increase its value again.

All this, perhaps, will lead the meaning of this concept, which we call consumption, to completely different dimensions. The fact that what is produced is not linear, but in a cyclical flow, will eliminate the ideas of ‘consuming’, ‘destroying’, ‘being garbage’, and communities will be formed that derive instead of consuming over time.

Those who are aware of all the stages of what they are receiving, from raw materials to the production process, will be looking closer to the idea of repair than waste removal. Perhaps they will have longer-lasting uses with second-hand, third-hand products instead of buying surplus products where they satisfy their desire.