Products for Life | FUNDAMENTAL SCHOOL

The “DETOX” campaign launched by Greenpeace aims at banning all hazardous chemicals from textiles until 2020. Greenpeace focuses on 11 substance groups most commonly used in manufacturing countries. As these substances reach the aquatic environment on a global scale, they are ultimately found in food, air, drinking water and finally the human organism.

FUNDAMENTAL SCHOOL Founder Erik van Buuren has been developing DETOX textiles for over 10 years and is currently developing supply chain solutions in cooperations across the globe. Paris-based fashion label HOMECORE and FUNDAMENTAL SCHOOL team up to develop DETOX fashion.

50 million US citizens have allergic diseases, allergies cost Europe an estimated €100 billion p.a. A recent study commissioned by the EU links allergic reactions to textile processing chemicals. Research links Multi Chemical Syndrome to pollutants emitted from a wide variety of products. Quality of life and ecological health are influenced by the chemistry applied in products and services. Large amounts of chemicals are used in manufacturing textiles and many of them remain in the finished textile product. According to estimates, 4 kg of chemicals are used to produce 1 kg of T-shirts. There are many examples of applied chemical substances with hazardous properties; carconogenic, mutagenic, reproductive or endocrine disruptors, skin allergic.

By applying human and environmental centred design principles, it’s possible to produce textiles with non-toxic, reusable and recyclable fabrics. One example is a concept for kids’ overalls with many lives, in which the re-used material itself grows with the kids. At each stage of growing up, the same material is theoretically used for new wear. The fabric was developed for human skin contact and the yarns can be composted at the end of the product life-cycle, by using positively defined detox processing chemicals. At the end of the product life-cycle the longer yarns are re-spun with virgin yarns and short yarns are composted. This way an on-going material cycle is created by design.