The word weiji –crisis in Mandarin- is a sum of two, danger and opportunity. Paradoxically, our western society is capable of stigmatizing itself with danger rather than taking advantage from opportunity. The opportunity to behave differently, to open reality to a new experience. For instance, taking time to stop while walking in the city and observing our surroundings. We may then imagine a different life cycle of the objects which compose such a punctual scenery…

This is the proposal of WASTE.
Direct recycling of car discarded textile. A creative transformation of waste into brand new accessories, following an eco-friendly systemic approach. Indeed, to throw away discarded car leather is two times environmentally unfriendly: first, because chrome coming from industrially tanned leather is polluting the ground and air with heavy metals; second because discarded leather needs to be replaced with new production. And that comes with a heavy bill for the environment. Direct recycling in WASTE’s products emerges from this awareness that such unsustainable consumption pattern of the fashion and car industries needs to be reversed.
Indeed, car upholstery consumes an average of 10m2 leather per car. 45% of which is discarded. Replacing this discarded leather with a new product is double counting on the consumption of energy, raw materials and chemical products. And on the impact on the environment.
WASTE breaks this vicious circle proposing fashion and recycling. Let’s take an average surface of 0,7m2 of direct recycled leather per bag. And let’s analyse the life cycle of leather with a round number of 5m2. This means –on average- 7 bags.
For each 5m2 recycled, 1.25 cows will not need to be fed, avoiding consuming 13.000 litres of water, and the emission of 28.5 tons of CO2. The skin of cows enters then an industrial process to come to the final chromed-tanned leather: skin washing and curing, piling and chrome tanning. These processes consume a total of 7,4 kWh, 50MJ, 550 of drinking water and 9 kg of chrome, per 5m2 of finished leather. Then, 525 l of liquid waste water and 22 kg of solid waste are produced and need to be treated. This treatment allows recovering 1.2 kg of chrome, but with the price of having again to treat 520 l of waste water and 15 kg of toxic mud for final rehearsal. For each 5m2 of discarded leather, the same consumptive pattern resumes…
WASTE direct recycling is a systemic solution. Wearing a direct recycled bag is wearing a positive shadowed ecological footprint. It also means betting for innovative new ways of life, where visual and ideological expectations combine. The opportunity is now.
For further information please contact:
Driss Ezzine de Blas
ezzine@cirad.fr
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