Last weekend, at the G20 summit in Rome leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies agreed to keep to the 1.5 degrees target for reducing global warming. Countries promised to step up their efforts to limit global warming, but the agreement disappointed activists as it contained few concrete actions to limit carbon emissions.
Reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases is a huge challenge and not acting as soon as possible would result in a catastrophic scenario: the stability of countries would be endangered as temperatures rising would bring food shortages and increase migrations.
Taking action is vital as highlighted also today during the "Fridays for Future" march with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg in Glasgow where the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26; till 12th November) is currently on. The march will be followed tomorrow by another rally, entitled "Global Day of Action for Climate Justice."
Fashion remains one of the most polluting sectors in the world, even though there are labels and designers trying to raise awareness about the global environmental and climate emergency. Yet, when we usually buy an environmentally conscious piece, maybe made with a recycled fabric or yarn or with a specially developed textile, we as wearers are the only ones who can appreciate the intrinsic sustainable qualities of that particular design.
But those of us who may feel the need to communicate the urges of the planet and are looking for design pieces that may highlight climate change issues, should check out the collections by Temperature Textiles.
Initiated and developed by Eindhoven-based studio Raw Color, established by Daniera ter Haar and Christoph Brach, the label produces a small but consistent selection of pieces - knitted blankets, scarves and socks - that manifest Climate Change data.
The designs are indeed inspired by the main drivers and results of Global Warming - Temperature Change, Sea Level Rise and Emission.
For their Temperature Change series (comprising blankets and scarves), ter Haar and Brach sat down to consider how temperature is recorded since 1850 and how records have consistently proven that it has been noticeably going up since industrialisation.
The diagrams incorporated in these pieces show prediction models until 2100, as presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The pattern of the blanket - in a carefully curated and vibrantly vivid colour scheme - is based on the 4 different scenario predictions that have been modelled by the IPCC.
In the scarf the vertical pink lines represent the predicted Surface Temperature Change in degrees Celsius until 2100. The diagram shows that the temperature rise might reach 4ºC by 2100 if no emission reduction is applied.
The colour palette for the Temperature Change range combines aubergine, brown, dark red, fluorescent orange and pink, but these combinations are even more striking in the double-knit blankets, constructed from 4 coloured yarns that create eye-catching hues and blends, incorporating diverse patterns and graphics based on several temperature related data.
Double knitting allowed the designers to create two layers of fabric at the same time that can be interlocked together, resulting in subtle height differences and embossed effects.
The Sea Level designs integrate data regarding the ice mass on the planet that is decreasing and melting. The current global Sea Level Rise began at the start of the 20th century; between 1900 and 2017, the global average rose by 16-21 cm.
Earth loses 1.2 trillion tons of ice per year, a nearly 60% increase from 1994, and a sea level rise of 0.6-1.1 m within the next 100 years is expected.
This will have disastrous consequences, with shore areas flooded, increased migration and fresh water ending up in the oceans, causing a tipping point in the salt concentration that will drastically reduce marine life.
If all the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland and mountain glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters.
Also in this case the diagrams integrated in the blankets shown are based on the prediction models until 2100, as presented by IPCC.
The horizontal lines on the socks, similar to a ruler, visualise the predicted Sea Level rise; the 4 highlighted lines represent the rise of 7 cm in 2020, 12cm in 2030, 17cm in 2040 and 22 cm in 2050. These numbers are based on the most ideal emission scenario (RCP 2.8) according to the Paris Climate Agreement.
While in the case of the Temperature Change pieces the designers opted for warm shades, the Seal Level collection is based on cold shades, with sky and ocean blues alternating with aqua green and wisteria.
The global emission series looks at greenhouse gases, the main driver of global warming, caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily emitted through human activities, is responsible for 76% of the total emission; methane, emitted from a variety of human-influenced activities, causes 16% of the emission. CO2 is currently at its highest in 2 million years: pre-industrial CO2 levels were around 280 parts per million (ppm); today, we stand near 420 ppm with the world emitting about 43 billion tons of CO2 a year.
The approach of the textile design duo in these pieces is to translate Climate Change data into appealing graphics and patterns and they managed to do so by experimenting with yarns and techniques in collaboration with the Tilburg-based TextielLab. Some of these designs are made using flat-bed knitting machines, traditionally employed for the production of pullovers and other outerwear garments.
Speaking at today's "Fridays for Future" rally in Glasgow, Greta Thunberg described the COP26 climate summit as a "global greenwash festival" since heads of state keep on talking and promising, rather than acting. Greenwashing is sadly a trend in fashion, with all sorts of companies, houses and brands talking about vague climate commitments and setting extremely distant goals (2050 in quite a few cases...), while keeping on burning unsold goods.
Change is coming, though, from young designers and independent studios: in this case, for example, by incorporating scientifical data in their creations, the Raw Colour duo managed to produce a visually striking series of informative designs characterised by a strong tactile quality as well.
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