Operationalizing Slow Design within Circular Textile System for Environmentally Responsible Textile

Abstract

The fashion sector globally, facilitated by the imitations of fast fashion that encourage the use and disposal of products that consume alarming amounts of resources and produce unnecessary textiles that contribute to the increasing rates of textile waste. Even though sustainable materials, recycling, and cleaner production have gained popularity, they seem to ignore the underlying ideologies that facilitate overconsumption. This paper will examine how slow design ideology, which leans on longevity, care, emotional longevity, and sustainable consumption, can be incorporated into sustainable textile reuse systems.

Applying the qualitative design research approach, the current research incorporates the critical analysis of literature, case study, and development of the concept framework. The requirements of the philosophy of slow design are identified and aligned with circular textile strategies to assess the theory-practice gap between the philosophy and the process of implementation. On the basis of the analysis, an overall framework of design related to the philosophy of the slow-circular textile has been developed.

The contribution of this research is that it presents a design level model that is not based on technology or marketing but provides designers, educators, or researchers with a means of developing textiles that are not only environmental but also have cultural significance.