Sustainable textile workspace opens in Edinburgh
A new communal working space and sharing facility that helps fashion and textiles professionals work sustainably, will open today (7 August) in Edinburgh.
The Facility, which is being run by textiles agency Kalopsia and supported by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS), officially opens in an unused retail space at the city’s Ocean Terminal shopping centre tonight with an evening of panel discussions comprising members of the sustainable fashion industry and ZWS.
Up to 23 students, graduates, and start-up companies will be able to work on design and production projects in the shared space, with Kalopsia providing trained technicians and micro-manufacturing and prototyping services.
Knitting and sewing machines, mannequins and computer-aided embroiderers will also be available at the space in the future.
ZWS has helped Kalopsia to develop and implement its circular business model, aiming to ‘move away from the traditional make-use-dispose approach to goods and equipment’.
#MakeThingsLast
Support from the government funded programme comes on the back of the Scottish Government’s #MakeThingsLast campaign, which encourages the public and businesses to reduce waste through sharing or leasing. It also promotes repairing, reusing and remanufacturing as part of a wider circular economy drive.
The Scottish Government states, for example, that the average drill is used for about 13 minutes in its lifetime. Sharing tools, it says, can make the valuable resources that go into them more useful.
As part of the campaign, the public is being asked to provide views on a number of circular economy initiatives, including: tool-sharing libraries; mobile phones designed to be easier to repair; leasing clothes; creating packaging from plants; and 3D-printing centres.
Facility uses sharing and lending to drive sustainability
Speaking ahead of The Facility’s launch, Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of ZWS, said: “This is a great example of how sharing space and equipment can help to reduce our environmental impact and save us money.
“With car and house sharing services and even tool libraries now available, we’re realising the benefits of sharing and lending, so it’s great to see Kalopsia making a ‘seamless transition’ to this new business opportunity to help make the textile and design industry more sustainable.
“Zero Waste Scotland is on hand to help businesses take advantage of these opportunities and helping turn the idea of a circular economy into reality.”
Dennis Jones, Centre Manager at Ocean Terminal, added: “Kalopsia have worked with Ocean Terminal through a variety of projects and the exciting concept of The Facility and what this offers to Scottish textiles and designers is pioneering within a shopping centre environment.”
Find out more about The Facility textile sharing project.
