Bioinspired Textiles; Observations from the Evaluation of a Novel Practice-Based Framework Linking Lessons on Sustainable/Circular Design from Biology to Textile Practice

Abstract

This paper presents initial findings from the evaluation of the BIT design framework and potential impacts on the usage of resources (substance and energy) during the design and manufacture of textile products. The Bio-inspired Textile (BIT) design framework was created to understand if and how lessons from the structures and properties of biological materials could help textile designers enhance the efficiency, longevity, and recovery of resources within their practice. The framework’s key objective was to enable the flow of information on the function/structure relationship of biological materials, generated by material scientists, into guidance for textile designers on implementing these new perspectives into their practice. To test the BIT design framework, we recruited fourteen professional textile Makers to participate in a collaborative design project and help us study the impact of the BIT framework on their individual practice. We collected reflections and critical feedback at key points during the collaboration via surveys, interviews and analysis of the physical artefacts produced by the Makers during the collaboration. The data was analysed using a mixed methods approach. Our findings suggest that the BIT framework, in its current format, primarily enhances design for resource efficiency and recovery by promoting practical, mono-material strategies that could help address the obstacles for reclaiming the substances captured within a product by either mechanical or chemical means. The framework also appears to facilitate the consolidation of two or more processing steps along the value chain, which presents potential in reducing the effort (energy) required to produce a particular product. Longevity is supported via multifunctional design strategies introduced by more complex biological systems such as muscular hydrostats.