Savannah Hartford

Artist's Statement

In recent years fast fashion has become acknowledged as a huge contributor to the environmental crisis. In the last four years, data acquired by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) cited: approximately a full truck load of textiles is either added to the landfill or burned every second; 60% of materials involved in fast fashion are made from plastic; 500,000 tons or the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles worth of microplastics are released into the Ocean from washing clothes made of synthetic materials; around 20% of global water pollution is a result of the fast fashion industry; and overall, fast fashion is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions (more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined). In my opinion, fast fashion is one of the most absurd and senseless uses of our finite resources. I understand that consumerism is important, I just wish it could happen ethically and with more of an artistic emphasis.

That was my intention for this project. To use undervalued resources in multiple facets to create something beautiful, durable, and sustainable. My plan was threefold: dumpster dive for discarded textiles, give them new life with plant based dyes/eco printing, and finally sew them into something of utility. I’d planned to use synthetic (plastic) based textiles like polyester, acrylic, and nylon as fillers for pillows so as to pollute less water with microplastics.

In the trial and error required for a project like this, the timing didn’t keep to the schedule I’d expected: I have mason jars of dyes that need more time to process. However, my most recent dumpster dive was successful in acquiring textiles, and a dear friend was kind enough to take over the documentation process. We dove to seek out food ‘waste’ which is also featured in the video. Keep in mind that most of what was reclaimed had been disposed of hours prior, and were primarily sets of bagged produce in which one in the set went moldy faster than the others. It’s estimated that grocery stores are responsible for around 40% of all food waste in the United States. I was glad to help divert even a few hundred pounds from the landfill; to be consumed or utilized as compost.