Development of a circular ecosystem for the production of textiles and clothing in Hamburg

The OpenLab Circular Textiles is run by House of All (H’ALL for short), and is called HALL4CRCLRTY. Our goal at House of All is to make the apparel industry more sustainable and thus reduce its negative impact on a social and environmental level. Today’s consumer culture has led to clothing becoming disposable. We want to restore the appreciation for clothing and make sustainable fashion accessible and affordable for all. House of All is not an ordinary brand, but it is a holistic model for the alternative handling of clothing. Our approach strives for local circular economy, where clothing is designed, made and used in small communities according to principles of circularity (cosmo-local manufacturing*). This promotes regional needs and reduces the impact of mass production. Through the collaborative use and care of clothing, we create an inclusive ecosystem that does not disadvantage anyone.

To achieve this, we rely on the principle of commoning and the values of open source. Similar to Solidarity Farming, we share costs and use resources collaboratively. Transparent designs and community participation can reduce development costs and promote sustainable fashion.

We focus on three main areas:

DESIGN - Designing, planning, manufacturing

WEAR - Dress, (care for) use and pass on

CARE - Education, Research & Development

DESIGN

We enable the community to participate in the design process and develop circular designs in co-creative formats, both digital and analogue. At HALL4CRCLRTY, we invite you to engage with the processes of textile manufacturing and address the challenges of our time through responsible design. We look specifically at how textiles can be made locally to realise a sustainable Fab City. Our Lab is a place of experimentation where designs can be created and optimised in a practical context. With our wide range of machines, we enable independent designers to produce small series under the premise of sustainability. With a monthly subscription, you can become part of our community and book additional services according to your needs.

In the research context, we are interested in the following topics:

Design strategies for more circularity: Exploring design approaches that lead to more circularity in the textile industry and facilitate distributive manufacturing in local ecosystems.

Adaptations in aesthetics for open source hardware compatible designs: Exploring aesthetics aspects that specifically target open source hardware compatible designs.

Rethinking processes at the local level: exploring new ways of thinking and processes to optimise local textile production and meet community needs.

Using local materials: Exploring materials that are available locally and ways to use, recycle and manufacture them to meet community needs.

WEAR

Dress, (care for) use and pass on

The House of All is not just about owning clothes, but about sharing them. We make clothes available in a shared pool. Here you can borrow clothes as often as you like and then give them back. This gives access to sustainably produced clothing that would normally be unaffordable, and together we reduce the waste of resources.

In the research context, we are interested in the following topics:

QR codes for recording value streams: Use of QR codes to collect information on inner-city value streams and to analyse usage behaviour and potentials for optimising the textile cycle.

With regard to impact, we are interested in the usage behaviour and data relevant to the life cycle.

CARE

Education, research and development

No one walks the streets naked and we should care more about what touches our skin every day. Education and Research & Development is crucial to realising our vision. At the Lab, you can participate in workshops as well as give workshops.

Together with local artisans and the Chamber of Crafts, we evaluate the possibilities and challenges of local textile production. This also includes the use of regional materials and the creation of a circular system. Our aim is to increase the demand for local production and regional materials in order to support local tailoring and to promote the concept of the local ecosystem. Co-operations and collaborations are of great importance. We invite designers to participate in our process and contribute their circular designs. We are also looking for people who understand our vision and are willing to get actively involved.

Contact

For more information, and how you can get involved, follow the link to our website. or write an email to Sarah Prien: sarah@wearall.clothing