Grant: College & Community Social Innovation Fund

This research proposal has four objectives: 1) furthering the Social Benefit Program begun during our current CCSIF research program by developing new high-value jobs for newcomers and people who for various reasons are struggling in the regular labour market, through a legitimate and ethical employment platform that would train subject matter experts (SMEs) to sort and grade post-consumer fast-fashion textiles for re-purposing in other markets. In contrast with the new "green recovery-for-recycling" industry that is dependent upon poor working conditions and cheap labour, our intention is a sustainable program with a socio-economic focus that would build self-esteem, offer respect, and provide economic subsistence to persons who may not otherwise benefit from these circumstances; 2) designing a Textile Diversion Strategy for Societal Benefit which would take the form of an innovative post-consumer waste sorting, grading, and re-purposing (SG&R) methodology, with supporting technology, aimed at both the diversion of Western society's waste from domestic and global landfill, and the dumping of such waste in third-world countries such as the East African Countries (EAC), a practice detrimental to their indigenous economy, health, environment, and, more currently, their global trading status; 3) incorporating Intentional Design and Product Development that Impacts Community in the creation of innovative products from post-consumer textile waste through SG&R, such as automotive cotton shoddy, and high-and-low-value forms of biochar, which would use cotton shoddy dust and shredded textile waste as the feedstock. As part of this, the new products will be branded in such a way as to raise awareness of the social and environmental issues surrounding the purchase and disposal of fast-fashion; and 4) establishing a Social Enterprise that would sell and market the products developed from post-consumer textile waste through SG&R in order to support the sorting and grading platform and the sustainable employment and economic development opportunities it offers for the newly trained SMEs.