Collaboration with Students in "Dirt to Shirt" Course at Olin College to Explore Natural Dyes and Upcycling Methods
Story:
Researchers from the Aftermath Learning Lab (Dielle Lundberg, Dr. Julia DeVoy, and Matilda Lartey) collaborated with Dr. Caitrin Lynch’s Dirt to Shirt Class at Olin College for a several month project. This was a collaboration with The MFI Foundation in Ghana and Make Fashion Clean (MFC Tie-Dye). Student team members worked on two projects primarily using design thinking and other human-centered engineering processes. These include: (1) learning more about how to use natural dyes as an additional form of knowledge/expertise and a potential replacement for synthetic dyes and (2) prototyping and testing a variety of new proposed woven products that will be more functional and stylish for the end-user. Another group of students also worked on advocacy.
Dirt to Shirt is “an intensive study of the global supply chain for clothing. It examines social, economic, political, environmental, and technological issues all along the supply chain. This includes historical and contemporary, production of components such as cotton, wool, and Kevlar; textile processing and garment production; and the after-life of the clothes we dispose of. The class includes readings, discussions, and engagement with multimedia sources; first-person contact with local people involved in the industry; and student projects on a chosen node of the supply chain.”
