Report 3/3

RE-act
…collections of 'unique items'!
Whereas the concept of sustainable development is increasingly present in our Western countries, solutions enabling us to follow it miss and that is mainly because the current society is based on overconsumption, a behaviour at the antipodes of a sustainable attitude. While many evolutions are made in the fields of transport and food, the clothing world stays often badly treated, because subjected to the fashion phenomena, it is more complex to solve. In spite of the efforts made regarding ethical fashion (form, composition of clothing), nothing is still proposed to change the purchasing behaviours, whereas it is that the main issue: the overconsumption and thus the overproduction of textiles. This service proposes to bring a solution to the following question: How to reconcile need for renewal for clothing and non-consumerist attitude?


Composition of a dress as example.


Each piece of cloth is unique since it is composed of original clothing of the customer.

RE-act is a new local service proposing to people to make recycle their own clothing in order to have a new ite,m unique and custom-made. It mainly addresses to people little consumerists and in search of originality and singularity trough a new experiment of clothing.
RE-act thus proposes to them an attractive alternative to the consumption of new textiles. But it also enables any consumer sensitive to the ecological question to have pleasure by the acquisition of a new cloth, while having a clear conscience to act in an eco-responsible way. The customers bring their old clothing in the store, choose among the available models and order their new cloth, personalized, made starting from their own clothing.
The model of RE-act is perfectly integrated in the current needs for proximity shops, and local production. The dressmaker work stations are besides the occasion to create jobs for social rehabilitation, which installs RE-act in a total logic of sustainable development.


Spacial arrangement

User scenario


Identity aspects: RE-act creations combine in an original way and without changing too much their initial form, clothing that are not worn for multiple reasons: old, out of fashion, bad size… The new piece of cloth has thus an additional emotional value due to the past of recycled clothing. The identity of the concept stands in the manner of re-arranging the clothing.

Uses aspects: The RE-act approach is new in the field of clothing because the consumer is directly integrated in the design of his new product. He/she is actor of his/her consumption, it is he/she which makes the choice to recycle such or such clothing and in which way he/she will arrange them in the new composition. In shop, the client is helped by the dressmaker-boss which is fully at its disposal.

Technical aspects: Each model is associated with a double card, one for the customer (to enable the choice), and one for the professional (guide-lines). The optimized design (little work of cutting) enables to have models manufactured between 20min and 1hour, and to have prices not exceeding 30 euros.

Clients and Professionals cards


Thanks
Alain Findeli, the starting point, “the light” without which I would never have assumed my difference and not even dared to consider that I could work design in this way. Thanks for his support and his advices.
University of Nimes

Anne Marchand, who followed and encouraged me since the beginning in my research of design for responsible consumption. Thanks for her competences and her enthusiasm.
University of Montreal

Joe Turner, who followed and advised me in the field of textile recycling. Thanks for his availability and his invaluable assistance.
Freedom Clothing Project, London.

Yann Hervé, which nicely presented to me the ENVIE project functioning and helped me to validate the financial aspects of this service. Thanks for his reception and his advices.
Person in charge of the social aspects at ENVIE (french company)

… and thanks a lot to all those which also helped me and encouraged in their way!