Overconsumption is so 2 years ago.

      It is no mystery that millions of people in our society over consume. Author, Alastair Fuad-Luke touches on the subject in his book, Contemporary expression: Design Activism. He alludes to the fact that the over consumers are some of the biggest offenders when it comes to environmental damage. Their needs must be fulfilled and they therefore they think that more is better. I am here to tell this targeted group that this is certainly not so. I have a new deign concept led by design activism to help solve this issue while still allowing consumers to feel fulfilled all the while helping our environment to become more sustainable. Through my design concept, we are becoming design activists- meaning; we are getting a large amount of people to come together to help raise awareness about over consumption. As design activists we are promoting a greater good.
    
      My idea for a design concept this week is to have company that will provide consumers with a “virtual closet”. It will be a web-based company that allows consumers to design their own clothes. The company will make the clothes from eco friendly materials while also practicing eco friendly manufacturing techniques and then send the garment to the consumer. This point will satisfy the theory Fuad-Luke touches on when he says that consumers respond well to companies that use ethical production. If this is truly the case, consumers will respond very well to this concept. And to make this process even more sustainable, in order for a customer to get a garment they must to give a previous garment back to the company that they got from this website. By utilizing this concept, we will be fixing over consumption because the customer has to give in order to receive. Once materials are sent back they will be reused in other garments in other consumer's orders.
    
      The website will be a bit like pintrest in the fact that the consumer will be able view other user’s designs to become inspired to create an outfit. On the site, the consumer can give their dimensions so that the computer system can show what the garment will look like on the consumer before he or she buys the outfit and even before the garments are made. This way, if the consumer is not happy with the style or fit and do not buy, there will be no waste left because it was never made in the first place. There will also be suggestions for which fabrics to use for different activities so that the consumer can pick the right eco friendly material that will wear well with the activity. Suggestions for what trends are popular will also be listed so that the customer can still feel like they are up to date and remaining trendy.  The consumer will give up nothing except for wasted closet space filled with unused, wasted materials, also a way we will fix overconsumption.

      Fuad-Luke suggests in his reading that using social sciences in design activism will gain attention from consumers. Their need to be fulfilled and integrated into a design will draw the consumer in. This concept I have come up with will satisfy the consumer’s needs using the social sciences theory. The consumer will feel fulfilled with their need to participate, create, to have freedom, and to even satisfy leisure. This idea will be targeted toward those who enjoy a creative lifestyle that is very much inspired by trends and friends. They also like to feel like they are making a difference in the world without having to put much effort in. A problem these days is laziness in consumers to recycle, reuse etc. Therefore this company will be doing the hard part; the consumer will just sit back and be in control (or so they think) which will be very enticing to them. This design concept will help solve over consumption and will live up to the cradle to cradle theory “waste=food” because materials will have several different lives for many different consumers.

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      I have learned a huge amount of information this semester on how we as humans are doing a lot to harm our environment. The most important thing that I learned about was that while we are living our everyday lives, we need to understand that all of our actions are harming the environment and it is totally in our control to stop and learn to fix our actions to prevent future damage. I am going to take this information to become more aware of what I am doing. Now, I will start to look for more eco friendly ways to live my life. For example, while shopping I can now realize when I am over consuming. I have learned that I can live with basic essentials and I do not need all of this “clutter” I am buying and never using. While yes I did learn that it is in my control to stop my harmful actions, I would, however, still like to learn more about what I can do in everyday life as a consumer to help prevent more harm. I feel like this class focused a lot on how much damage is being done and that the solution was then up to us to be creative and fix. I like this method but I would still like to be more educated on small ways we can become more sustainable in our everyday lives—what can we do NOW i.e: give a weekly suggestion list of eco friendly apparel or interior products we could begin to utilize. I feel that this class would be more beneficial if suggestions like that were made while also giving the class a fun interactive activity to be apart of.

Our sole purpose is to understand our consumer

      The concept Waste=Food is a concept from the reading: Cradle to Cradle that is so simple yet so accurate and relevant today. Society today often over consumes. Throwing away a product that is deemed “finished” will soon be a thing of the past with this simple concept. Within this concept of cradle to cradle there are two “metabolisms” which are discussed: biological metabolism and technical metabolism. Biological metabolism seeks to design a product that once the consumer is through with it, can be safely put back into the soil to biodegrade. Technical metabolism, on the other hand, is up cycling a product to be used again and again for three to four more life cycles.

      According to the other reading this week, C2CAD: a sustainable apparel design and production model, in order for a change to be made, designers must understand the needs of the consumer. After some research, thought, and consideration I have come up with a design concept that deals with the biological metabolism. Shoes are an everyday necessity for humans. Because we know that humans need these products without a doubt, I have come up with a solution that allows humans to bury parts of their shoes when they are done. The other part of the shoe that cannot be buried will be recycled and can be used again for another pair of shoes.

      Just like Marcia Ganem from the reading by Bradley Quinn: Textile Futures, I will utilize worn out tires as well as inner tubes. These materials will be the sole of the shoes. The fabric for the greater part of the shoe (the part covering the foot) will be made from 100% organic materials that can be stripped from the sole of the shoe and then buried to go back into the soil safely, without harm to our environment. There can be different varieties of the shoe as well. Shoes will be offered in the form on sandals, ballet flats, full coverage flats (like those of the TOMS brand shoe), etc. I believe that because we understand that humans need shoes and are looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to ordinary products, that these shoes will do very well in the apparel market.