New digital narratives for living textiles

Abstract

Today, the foundation of the textile industry is built upon the possibility to purchase synthetic fibres as these allow people to have an extensive amount of choices. Unfortunately, they are as far away from nature as it can get. Over the last decade, the industry is increasingly trying to move towards a more bio-based future, often this can be seen in the increased demand for materials sourced from renewable resources such as plants (living organisms) fabrics like cotton. Alongsides the increase in traditional fabrics multiple new initiatives are popping up to connect the textile industry with nature. Due to these endless possibilities, future consumers find it hard to see the wood for the trees. Navigation into the world of biodesign is a necessity to set the next step towards this envisioned sustainable future. What if I told you, to think beyond sourcing materials from living organisms? What if we let living organisms become part of our daily life again? Bioassembly makes it possible to source raw materials from living organisms, produced with living organisms to create a material that is still alive in the use phase. This concept changes the relationship between the consumer and the material. To create comfort around this new relationship innovators should be more interactive with future consumers' so preconceptions can be addressed. Currently digital platforms are the most efficient way of communication between the consumer and the innovator, especially since the shift towards digital channels particularly increased the past year due to social distancing measures as a consequence of Covid-19. However traditional tools are still inadequate in capturing and communicating the qualities of these living materials (D’Olivo & Karana, 2021). Clear digital communication should be transparent and interactive. Besides, it should give a clear image of the aesthetics that currently go beyond beauty and include morals. Morals encourage change on a societal level, where the individual is part of something bigger. The appreciation, attention and understanding of new innovations is built upon social situations and group associations, which are also digitally visible since the rise of social media. So we can state that digital social influence matters since it affects what we think and do. What if we could thoughtfully use social dimensions for the communications of new innovations like ‘living’ textiles? Social dimensions can be split into different levels. Firstly the macro-level of society is envisioned as a concept which is called social impact storytelling. It envisions a clear image on what we could create together in order to provoke change worldwide. Secondly social presence can be used to create a space where people feel safe and free to share and cherish information with others. To finally be influenced by each other; you can pioneer, you can follow or you can do the complete opposite. A qualitative study researches how these particular social dimensions can contribute to the level of understanding and appreciation regarding living textiles. Taking into account the data of 160 participants it should be noted that social dimensions should be used carefully. Innovators should be very specific in what they exactly want to communicate. Social presence can lead to a less professional story since the innovator is not the only source of information anymore. Furthermore innovators should clearly decide to whom they communicate since different groups could be addressed differently. For social impact storytelling this mainly applies when distinguishing between different age groups as there is a lot of difference in what kind of relationship they have with the digital world. The digital world can be a notably broad playground for communication. Let’s design a place that stimulates creativity by giving shape to a material and its ‘livingness’. A world where preconceptions around health, smell and hygienics can be addressed. A world where we can try something new, together.