Redycler: Daily Outfit Texture Fabrication Appliance Using Re-Programmable Dyes
This addresses textile waste and personal style for consumers, but it is incremental as it builds on existing HCI and sustainable design trends without presenting new technical breakthroughs.
The paper tackles the problem of textile waste and unsustainable fashion by proposing a speculative appliance that uses re-programmable photochromic dyes and UV light to revitalize old clothing into unique pieces, aiming to elongate clothing life-cycles and promote sustainable fashion.
We present a speculative design for a novel appliance for future fabrication in the home to revitalize textiles using re-programmable multi-color textures. Utilizing colored photochromic dyes activated by ultraviolet (UV) light, we can selectively deactivate hues using complementary colors in visible light to result in the final desired dye pattern. Our proposed appliance would automate this process within a box placed in the bedroom. We envision a future where people are able to transform old apparel into unique and fashionable pieces of clothing. We discuss how the user would interact with the appliance and how this device elongates the life-cycle of clothing through modification. We also outline the central issues to integrate such a concept into the home. Finally, we analyze how this device fits into personal modification trends in HCI to show how this device could change existing conceptions around sustainable fashion and personal style.