Fascinated by fabric - Spray on technology

After Kate Goldsworthy’s talk introducing TED’s sustainable design strategies last week, I was interested to look a little further into one area she raised: developments in new fabrics and technology. 

Since 2003, when Spanish designer Manel Torres collaborated with the Imperial College of London to patent ‘Fabrican’, the idea of spray on clothing has been in and out of the news.   The fabric is seamless, lightweight, washable, and can be built up in layers to achieve different thicknesses. Arguably, these properties give it the potential to be seen as a more efficient alternative to conventional garment cutting, where excess material wastage around pattern pieces is highly inevitable.  Torres was inspired by “principles of the earliest textiles such as felt, which were produced by taking fibres and...binding them together without having to weave or stitch them” (Torres, 2010, www.theguardian.com). Contained within an aerosol, the spray is made of a solvent based fibre mix that bonds together and dries on contact with the skin. This means no finishing techniques are required to create a garment, further reducing the need for extra energy and material use (such as threads and bindings). The texture and colour of the fabric can also be changed depending on the type of fibre used within the spray mixture, making it highly adaptable, and meaning it wouldn’t be restrictive to work with from a design perspective. Although the product is still being researched and refined for different purposes, Fabrican’s website suggests it also has a role in medical, hygiene and even manufacturing industries, including everything from spray on bandages to upholstery.
 

Fabrican sprayed fabrics in different colours

A spray-on t-shirt being created

A finished spray-on garment

If made widely available to the public, imagine all the different uses Fabrican could have in everyday life...small areas of fabric could be sprayed on to mend holes in existing garments, making it easier for people to increase the lifetime of their current clothes. It could be used to alter garments, such as adding pockets where you want them, quickly lengthening something, or perhaps creating sleeves for winter. Fluorescent sprays could be used to spray on reflective strips for safety when out at night...And as Bridgette Meinhold observed in an Ecouterre article,  ‘if the material rips or doesn’t fit right, it can be dissolved and reworked’(Meinhold, 2010, www.ecouterre.com). 

Spray-on technology could help people to live more sustainably by giving them the power to easily mend or renew any type of worn fabric themselves, whether on an interior piece or something wearable; therefore reducing the need to keep buying replacements. In today’s society, where quick, convenient processes are favoured by those leading busy working lifestyles, perhaps the ease of a spray on solution would at least encourage people to repair and alter, rather than discard, items from their homes and wardrobes. It will be interesting to see how Fabrican develops, and whether or not it can impact on people’s attitudes in our throwaway culture. 

References:
Sample, I (2010) Spray-on clothing becomes a reality. The Guardian. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/sep/16/spray-on-clothing-t-shirt [Accessed 20/08/13]

What is Fabrican? (2010) [Internet] Available at http://www.fabricanltd.com [Accessed 19/08/13]

Meinhold, B (2010) Wearable technology- Instant Spray on "Clothing in a Can" redefines fast Fashion [Internet] Available at http://www.ecouterre.com/instant-spray-on-clothing-in-a-can-redefines-fast-fashion-video/ [Accessed 20/08/13]

Images:
Fabrican Ltd. (2010) Fabrican Fabrics [Online Images] Available at http://www.fabricanltd.com [Accessed 20/08/13]