As a creator in 2020, who always wondered the origin and disposable of the material I use and interact with, my preliminary research around e-textiles and understanding how they function led me to studies around the circularity of the materials used in e-textiles.
As more and more clothing or textiles that contain electronic components capable of monitoring health, controlling lights, collecting solar charges are beginning to enter society, a mass consumer market for e-textiles without an integrated understanding of safe disposal methods raises serious questions about the depletion of resources and effects on human health, especially for vulnerable populations in developing countries where such clothing is sent or dumped.
With this project I aimed to develop a library of bio-degradable or non toxic disposal materials that could potentially replace the conventional conductive materials and resources available at hand. These include biomaterials made from seaweed extract along with activated carbon.

You can find my RPF here

Readings :
“Could ‘Smart’ Textiles Prove Toxic?” by Dylan Walsh for New York Times
“Prospective Impacts of Electronic Textiles on Recycling and Disposal” by Andreas R. Koehler
“Historic review of the development of Electronic Textiles” by T. Hughes Riley