TURNING TRASH INTO TREASURE

This Earth Day, you can be kind to the environment and stylish at the same time.

I find it shocking that millions of tons of solid waste are generated each year by the textile and fashion industries from yarn production, and the weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing of garments.

This is why I wanted to highlight designer Reiko Sudo. Sudo is the managing director of the Japanese design firm Nuno, and one of the major production values of Sudo’s company is sustainability.

Nuno uses materials and resources efficiently, using byproducts that are not typically used to manufacture goods, such as parts of the silk cocoon that are normally discarded. Nuno integrates new technologies with local craft traditions in the manufacturing process to take advantage of what would normally be wasted.

Nuno also uses traditional weaving techniques, relying on the expertise of highly skilled crafts people in Japan. She employs independent workers such as spinners, dyers, and mills in villages throughout Japan, helping to sustain their practices.

Sudo, considered one of most influential contemporary textile designers, was one of three designers the Cooper Hewitt highlighted in the highly successful 2016 exhibit Scraps: Fashion, Textile and Creative Reuse. Her works are also found in Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection.

With this in mind, I am excited to highlight Sudo's works available through SHOP Cooper Hewitt as we approach Earth Day. These beautiful pieces make great accessories and conversation starters.

Posted by Cindy

SHOP BLOG is written by the sales associates of SHOP Cooper Hewitt, bringing their singular design expertise into the digital realm.