Assistant Professor Alejandra Ruiz, M. F. A. ‘ 23, is using vegetables to turn fast-fashion misuse into recyclable, eco-friendly materials.
By 2015, Ruiz said fast fashion, the mass production of low-cost clothes, led to the annual production of 120 billion pieces of clothing, 15-20 % of which went to waste. Most discarded things from the United States and other consumer-driven markets are sent to areas of Latin America, Asia, and Africa for removal.
Think how many of those 120 billion things will be discarded in these developing nations in a year, Ruiz said.
De observed the effects of discarded clothing from fast-paced areas in Chile and Colombia while pursuing her undergraduate research in fashion design.
” When I ventured into supplies style, I found fresh inquiries and comprehensive difficulties”, Ruiz said. ” I started looking into what happens to clothes after people buy them because I was n’t comfortable with the fashion system.”
Ruiz began to wonder how to use textile scraps to make fresh supplies without having an adverse effect on the environment and people around the world. Ruiz began pursuing a graduate education in style at UC Davis in 2021. She conducted studies in biodesign, which included identifying new methods of waste, reducing and breaking down textile spare using mushroom, the root-like framework of mushrooms.
Her exclusive Savageau Award, which was generously provided by UC Davis Design Professor Emeriti Ann Savageau, was her culmination.
The way to technology
To make MycoTextile Future, an award-winning, multidisciplinary job, Ruiz collaborated with UC Davis Design Professor Christina Cogdell and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Valeria La Saponara to explore possible applications of mushroom in business.
Living mycelium is used by MycoTextile Futures to transform agricultural waste and discarded clothing into functional building materials, like mycelium brick. While destroying the chemical cotton fibers before eroding, these materials can be reused many times.
Ruiz’s goal of turning spend into a source, which has won him a study award at the global Future is Fungi competition, led to the creation of MycoTextile Futures. The project has been accepted for the Green Initiative Fund at UC Davis, a program that provides grants to faculty, staff, and students to showcase projects on campus and sustainable development.
The interdisciplinar nature of the layout program was one of the things I liked most about working on this project, Ruiz said. Being the artist and being able to connect with all these different methods to information are so great.
How can we use jute spare to create products without causing further harm to the environment and its people? “- Alejandra Ruiz, M. F. A. ‘ 23
Award-winning job
Ruiz’s college installation”, Green Pathways for Repurposing Textile Waste, “was granted the 2023 Savageau Award, which supported Ruiz’s change from graduate college to her present position as an assistant teacher.
This prestigious award recognizes the accomplishments of M. F. A. style students who have graduated and recognizes software creativity. Ruiz’s labor was exhibited at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art’s ceremony opening celebration of the annual Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition.
Savageau said she and Ruiz share a similar imagination, love, and dedication to positively impacting the field of design and that Ruiz’s commitment to sustainable material design was attracted her attention.
” Alejandra’s function with mycelium is really quite outstanding and initial,” Savageau said”. It is very detailed, and her labor is greatly impacted by both the work she does and the economy. She is undoubtedly a rising star in spore research and green design.
Weaving a green potential
Ruiz is currently focusing on addressing pressing problems in the fashion and textile industries, envisioning a responsible and sustainable future for the garments manufacturing sector. Ruiz, an associate professor at UC Davis, advocates for conservation through education. When she is n’t teaching, the designer interacts with industry experts on the issues of conscious consumption, green design knowledge, and spare reclamation on a national and international level.
Ruiz said,” I would like to continue my research on fiber fermentation and the potential for using jute waste to produce biodegradable new components for sustainable equipment. I believe that to try to work with nature to develop products that can be used to enhance people’s life, is a must.
To learn more about Ruiz’s work, visit https ://www .hello-alegria.com/