Local, Sustainable, Textile Circulation: Water-Marbling Artist Launches The Fashion Library
by: Kaley Cross
The fast-fashion problem is no longer a secret. The average US consumer disposes of 81.5 pounds of clothes every year. Not to mention, of the 100 billion garments produced annually, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills (earth.org). If that wasn’t bad enough, many of these garments end up in landfills or are shipped overseas to leak into the environment because the proper waste management infrastructure to properly dispose of these materials does not exist. (www.circulartriangle.org/blog/challenges-and-opportunities-for-circularity-in-textiles)
In recognizing this critical problem, many solutions have been recommended:
Shop second-hand
Participate in clothing swaps
Mend current garments to lengthen their life
However, these sustainable habits aren’t for everyone. The desire for high-end clothing and new outfits will always remain. But that doesn’t mean, for these folks, or these occasions, the purchase of another garment to be worn once, and thrown into the back of the closet, was needed. Fashion libraries provide people the opportunity to enjoy high-end garments while keeping the garments in circulation for as long as possible. This concept started in the Netherlands in 2014 with the first clothing library, LENA.
After learning about this concept during a course Circular Fashion: Design, Science and Value in a Sustainable Clothing Industry, Zeynep decided this was the perfect way to merge her passion for creating unique garments using her water-marbling techniques, and her finding a sustainable solution for minimizing textile waste. She then brought this idea to Circular Triangle’s Coordinator, Kristin Schillings, and after seven months, The Fashion Library was born.
The goal of The Fashion Library is to provide access to high-end garments designed and made by local artists. In the beginning, the library will include 18 different articles of clothing along with the hand marbled-handmade bags to choose from featuring Zeynep’s work. Zeynep and The Fashion Library team hope to grow the collection of offerings over time to feature more local artists.
How It Works
We ask Fashion Library participants to donate $50 to cover shipping, cleaning, new inventory and other costs. The online Library will be available once a month Friday - Sunday for pilot participants to select the thank-you items they'd like to rent.
STEP ONE: Choose which item(s) you'll borrow.
All items online at the Fashion Library are listed at $0. You can add what you would like to rent in your cart and checkout. Donations can be made at CircularTriangle.org/Take-Action, and there will be a link In the confirmation email.
Select Three: Choose up to 3 items to borrow for up to 3 weeks.
or
Go Exclusive: Select one of our exclusive dresses to borrow for up to 3 weeks.
STEP TWO: Donate!
Your $50 donation will cover shipping, cleaning costs, and future additions to the Fashion Library.
*The donation link will be in your order confirmation email or at CircularTriangle.org/Take-Action
STEP THREE: Enjoy & Repeat
We'll email you a shipment confirmation within 2 business days of receiving your selection and donation to confirm your items are on their way!
Items need to be returned within 3 weeks, using the pre-paid shipping label included in the bundle.
We will take care of all the cleaning requirements, and make sure everything is ready to go back into circulation.
All you have to do is keep an eye out for next month's selections and additions to our stock!
Learn More
This is a 100% volunteer-led venture. Our community wants a way to access high-quality fashion sustainably, and we want to prove it!
Have suggestions? Want to help? Email us at CircularTriangleNC@gmail.com
About Zeynep
Zeynep is a water-marbling artist. She organized water marbling workshops and classes in various places including the Duke Arts Center, NCSU Crafts Center, and Cary Arts Center. She attended several art festivals for water marbling demonstrations including the Raleigh International Festival. She had a chance to share her art in the West Regional Library Showcase and also had a demo with about a hundred residents. Also, she had an exhibition at Herb Young Community Center last year.
Zeynep's passion is to create something unique, original, authentic, and one-of-a-kind art each time. Water marbling is the perfect form of art to achieve that: spontaneous dance and movement of colors on the water bring peace and tranquility to one’s soul.
