Material Innovations

The Challenge:
Create something that captures the genius loci of Portland.  (Genius loci is defined as the distinctive atmosphere or spirit of place.)

The Resources:
In Portland we’ve got an abundance of rain.  In fact, it rains on average 36.3 inches per year.

Portland takes storm water management seriously, they have to.  We have a “big pipe” problem.   Each year EMSWCD hosts a Welcome The Rain Event to help Portland residents learn about how to manage storm water at their residence.  Both city and residential initiatives for storm water management include: grey water capture systems, rain gardens, rain harvesting systems, and bioswales.  This abundance of rain water is the first resource necessary for the making of a Portland centric genius loci creation.

Due to the aforementioned gloomy rain Portlanders look to coffee for a much needed pick me up.  As Julie Pointer so eloquently shared last week coffee is part of Portland’s intangible heritage.  Local responsible roasters include Stumptown and Portland  Roasting.  People take coffee drinking very seriously here, which means we have another resource: used coffee grounds.  That’s right, there’s an opportunity for one more stop before the used coffee grounds reach their end of life cycle rest in the compost pile.

If you are concerned with this obsession with coffee just listen to Starbucks.  Their doors say we should take comfort in these types of rituals.  Aren’t their efforts to manufacture culture impressive?

Moving on, Portland is also home to their very own Sustainable Fashion Week. Their vision is “to emphasize eco-responsible fashion, stage independent designers, and draw national attention to Portland’s unique intersection of Art, Commerce, and Sustainability.’ Local independent designers look to natural fibers and sustainable dying processes for their creations.   So these sustainable fashion designers round out the local resources necessary for the Portland centric genius loci creation.

The Result:  Product Story System Equation
Collected Rain Water + Used Coffee Grounds + Local Sustainable Fashion Designers =  Portland Genius Loci Clothing

We’ll use the collected rain water along with the used coffee grounds to naturally dye fabric for local designers to craft into clothing.

Then we’ll have created a product story system that produces the embodiment of sustainable Portland genius loci in wearable form.

But, we could make this genius loci clothing even better if we used the coffee grounds to create fabric, not just dye it.  Singtex is on the forefront in the development of this biotech fabric.  According to their website one medium sized cup of coffee can make two t-shirts.  Their eco-friendly process doesn’t use any chemicals and the fabric can be washed in clean water- no detergent necessary.  It is also odor resistant!

According to a report by Fast Company the S.Café material is also quick-drying and UV-protective.  It’s currently being used by french outdoor brand Eider and is in product development stages with this long list of brands.