“Fabric Re-engineered as Products”

What possibilities do fibre-based recycled materials offer for product design?

This exhibition presents the results of collaborative research by Kyoto Institute of Technology's [KIT] KYOTO Design Lab [D-lab] and the university-born venture company Colourloop co., Ltd. [Colourloop] on the development of new applications for resin sheets made from waste fibres.

The textile industry has been identified as a major environmental problem due to its GHG emissions from production, use and disposal, and short life cycle of products. In Japan, the annual waste of clothing is around 1.4 million tonnes, much of it destined for landfill or incineration as recycling rates are low. A reason for this is the difficulty of material recycling; mixing materials when spinning, weaving and knitting.

In response to these problems, Colourloop has developed the "Colour Recycle System", a system that sorts discarded fibres based on colour, rather than material, and transforms them into new attractive materials.

The new system, which enables waste fibres to be remade into colourful olefin sheets, requires the development of a wider range of applications beyond that of traditional recycled material from waste fibres.

Here we present the design possibilities that have emerged from the collaborative research into new applications for the resin sheets. We would like to invite you to join us in imagining possibilities of this old yet new material made from discarded fabrics.



Organised by KYOTO Design Lab, Kyoto Institute of Technology

Collaborator｜ Colourloop co., Ltd.
Project Lead｜MIZUNO Daijiro
Technical Lead｜INOUE Tomohiro

Products and Exhibition Design｜
Sakurai Toki (monoya)
Yoshida Takuji(monoya)
Emma Huffman (Kyoto Institute of Technology)
Danika van Kaathoven (Kyoto Institute of Technology)

Support｜OKANO INC.



*Please read our measures before visiting.

*This exhibition follows the measures against Coronavirus and other diseases on the 3331 Arts Chiyoda. Please see here for the details.