Niki Marathia
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Material value
Week 3 of 6
Team
Design a way for textile waste to reveal its hidden value. Textiles are subject to complex processes of production, use, and disposal. Across various sectors such as fashion, hospitality, and entertainment, huge volumes of textiles are discarded, often before they have fulfilled their purpose. These include textiles such as offcuts, excess stock, worn linens, fabrics used in the entertainment industry, and textiles that have become damaged.

Project partner: FibreLab
Luis Winkelbrandt
Shuairuge Shu
Molly Wensley
Mohammed Maheen
Vanashree Chowdhury
Niki Marathia
Merrin O'Connor
Jaime Santos Guerrero
Yihan Zhong
Bodystorming

Inspired by last term’s workshop on AI and Collaboration, we used Claude to generate two micro interactions involving textile waste using the formula: [object]+[unexpected behavior]+[emotion]

Figure 1. Human cocoon lo-fi prototype
From Claude
The Human cocoon
A towel’s secondary function is a heavy, damp cloak. By draping a wet towel over your shoulders, you effectively lower your body temperature through a process of sustained shivering—a clever way to ensure you never feel too comfortable after a hot shower.
Figure 2. Sound hush lo-fi prototype
From Claude
The Sound Hush
Large, abstract wall panels constructed from layered textile remnants that serve as acoustic dampeners, inspiring awe through their texture and ability to quiet a room.

We felt that the results were a little too bizarre for us to develop, so we tried a new exercise. Acting on last week’s tabletop feedback, we set out to give a towel new identities by prompting each other to interact with it as if it were something different.

Round 1
To begin, we used prompts like ‘this towel is a ponytail’ or ‘this towel is a hat’

Figure 3. First round of bodystorming exercise
Round 2
We then focused on hospitality scenarios like ‘this towel is a lobby carpet’

Figure 4. Second round of bodystorming exercise
Round 3
Finally, we used hotel-specific prompts like ‘this towel is a room service tray’

Figure 5. Third round of bodystorming exercise


Some interactions stood out

Figure 6. Towel as a dinner table


Figure 8. This is your boyfriend’s old towel


Figure 10. This towel is your date

Figure 7. This towel is your mom


Figure 9. This towel belongs to someone you miss


The exercise helped us embody the entwined relationships between humans and objects we encountered in Bennett's (2010) Vibrant Matter. When pretending the towel belonged to someone we loved (fig. 7), we folded it carefully and presented it as an object waiting for someone to return.

When we pretended it was a dinner table (fig. 4), it needed to be held close to the face and required a second person to stretch the fabric taut on the other side. Though the towel is soft, we were able to present it as an interface to eat from.
Stained towel

Mary Douglas (1966, p. 7) wrote ‘our idea of dirt is compounded of two things, care for hygiene and respect for conventions’. To challenge these conventions, we recreated a stained towel using make-up and invited our classmates to imagine it in their hotel room. 
Figure 11. Setting up the towel
Figure 12. Staining the towel with make-up
Figure 13. The finished product
We didn’t want to risk wasting a towel by staining it for this exercise, so we made a representation out of paper. Asking our classmates what they think happened to it and whether they would use it, we wanted to explore what, if anything, would motivate them to engage with it. No one thought the towel was useable until we asked Eric whether he would use it if it was made by Balenciaga, to which he replied that he would. This response made us want to explore what else might change someone's perception of a stained towel beyond luxury brands.

“Dye it so you don’t see what it’s been through. In Hindu philosophy, objects retain their past”
—Vibhooti
“Disgusting”
“It should be clean and spotless” 
—Matthew
“I would use it if it was Balenciaga”
—Eric

Feedback

During our table top presentation, we were encouraged to extend last week’s clothes swap activity to our towel explorations. We decided to try living with someone else’s towel in our space to record where we store and how we use it. To best align this activity with the cultural probe method, we created a diary for us to write our thoughts and map our interactions (fig. 15).

Our activity video

Figure 14. Towel swap video


Tools
  • Phone camera
  • Black pen for floorplan, colour for the legend

Rules
  • Document your interactions with the towel in your space
  • Before you alter the original makeup of the towel you must ask the owner
  • respect the towel 
  • Document all interaction between you and the towel and other object and the towel
  • Be positive and kind - good vibes only

Try to engage with these themes:
  1. The social construction of object meaning and value
  2. Human–object entanglement and the agency of non-humans
  3. Object biographies and the temporal life of things
Figure 15. Towel swap diary template, designed by Lynn Zhong

Click to expand
Figure 16. Luis’ diary


Figure 19. Niki’s diary

Figure 17. Nicole’s diary


Figure 20. Molly’s diary

Figure 18. Lynn’s diary


Figure 21. Merrin’s diary



Overall, we found that we treated the towels with care because we knew who they belonged to. We thought that was an interesting contrast to hotel towels that are designed to be completely anonymous. Though at first we were careful around them, over time, Nicole, Merrin, and Vana felt more comfortable using them on their skin. The rest of us found alternative ways of use (i.e. Jaime dried his pans with it), or didn’t use them at all.

Places our towels went




How they were used



Figure 22. How people used the towels




Figure 23. Why people didn’t use the towels on their body



Figure 24. List of body parts the towels where used

Figure 25. Body map of towel use
1 circle = 1 use

Sources

Douglas, M. (1966). Purity and Danger. Routledge.