Piñatex, the design development of a new sustainable material

This is a research project by practice, which firstly develops a new material invention derived from natural fibres extracted from waste pineapple leaves; secondly it articulates the contemporary designer’s role in facilitating sustainable solutions through: Insights from my own material invention, PiñatexTM, which integrates the materiality of design with the immateriality of concepts and values Developing a visual model of mapping I began with these questions: ‘What are the challenges in seeking to make a new and sustainable material from the waste products of pineapple agriculture in the Philippines?’ and ‘How can a design practice link elements of materiality (artifacts) with immaterial elements (value systems) in order to improve sustainable social and economic development?’ Significant influences have been the work of Papanek1 (2003), Hawken2 (1999) and Abouleish3 (2008) and in particular the ethical business model initiated by McDonough and Braungart in Cradle to Cradle®4 (2002). My own research project is inspired by the Cradle to Cradle® model. It proposes the development of a new material, PiñatexTM which is derived from natural fibres extracted from waste pineapple leaves and could be used in a wide variety of products that are currently fabricated in leather or petroleum-based materials. The methods have comprised: Contextual reviews; case studies (SEKEM, Cradle to Cradle® and Gawad Kalinga); practical experiments in the field of natural fibres, chemistry, product development, manufacturing and prototyping, leading to an invention and a theoretical model of mapping. In addition, collaboration has taken place across scientific, technological, social, ecological, academic and business fields. The outcome is a new material based on the synchronicity between the pineapple fibres, polymers, resins and coatings specially formulated. The invention of the new material that I developed as a central part of this research by practice has a patent in the national phase (PCT/GB 2011/000802) and is in the first stages of manufacturing, commercial testing and further design input (Summer 2014). The contribution to knowledge is firstly the material, PiñatexTM, which exhibits certain key qualities, namely environmentally non-toxic, biodegradable, income-generating potential and marketability. This is alongside its intrinsic qualities as a textile product: aesthetic potential, durability and stability, which will make it suitable for the accessories, interiors and furnishing markets. The theoretical mapping system Upstream and Downstream forms a secondary contribution.

HATWALK/ Guerilla Millinery/ Part of the Cultural Olympiad

Stealth Visor for the Duke of Wellington Project HATWALK The 2012 Cultural Olympiad would not have been representative of London's creative industries without fashion design. Sponsored by the Mayor of London brought milliners to organise an alternative to the catwalk format , the designers brought together a Hatwalk, uniting landmark heritage statues, classical and modern, to be crowned with a new bespoke design piece each. Together forming a pedestrian navigation through the Jubilee city, the hats also invited twenty one milliners to consider the specificity of working for the great outdoors. Rigorously tested in wind tunnel laboratory to withstand hurricane wind speeds and squally shows the designs aim to bring the 'exclusive' culture of fashion accessories to the inclusive culture of international festival. Working with new technologies of engineering, such as laser measuring tools, and crane for assemblage and fitting, McLean brings new meaning to the familiar figures of national public authority. Since the storming of the Bastille in revolutionary France it has been traditional for the new order to symbolize change through attacking public statuary. In a similar vein, Hatwalk, invites spectators to reconsider the relationship between distant and lofty personages of power and the sartorial insignia through which their power is signified. Crowned with a revolutionary red ' large plexi punk neon number' the Duke of Wellington, at Wellington arch is the first in the Hatwalk exhibition. The originality of this research consists in the effects of surprise and Brechtian 'de familiarisation' resulting from the unexpected. The effects of this structural carnivalesque inversion of authorities can involve a range of reactions from the disdain of the offended to the laughter and pleasure of the surprised. This strategy of bringing the ludic element of play to the formalised authority of legitimised power is also signified through the conscious use of materials and colour in a monochrome and uniform culture of statuary. Here the difference in materials and visible surface of the design signifies the differences that need to be included within a socio political order before it may takes its place in history as being representative of the people it is entrusted to lead. This research output continues the work that led to the Hat Anthology exhibition (output 1), the Fifty Hats that Changed the World (output 2), the Jamaican Olympic team headwear design ( output 4), and is continued in the design, merchandise, accessories and avant garde artefacts of the House of Flora ( see website). The iterative process of the research brings innovation within continuity to McLean's work. It is difficult to theorise the 'rigour' that is undeniably present in a creative design praxis except in that McLean;s research outputs are always surprising and unexpected.