Created in Portugal, where around 1 million tons of food are lost annually while the textile sector is responsible for up to 20% of the contamination of fresh water, the main strategy of the project was to use waste disposal as a resource.
In the development of the project, the first thing was the elaboration of the biotextile. It began with the exploration of the composition of various food residues, such as coffee grounds, wood ashes, garlic, carrot, onion, potato, egg and peanut hulls, in the development, analysis and evaluation of a biotextile with physical properties similar to those of a fabric, so the one made from garlic husks, very typical of Mediterranean cuisine, was chosen. The mechanical properties of this biotextile are characterised in comparison to two other fabrics commonly used in tote bags, cotton and TNT, to obtain concrete and scientific data regarding the resistance of the biotextile. In a second moment, the material obtained was applied to a tote bag project whose parametric design process allowed to customise the dimensions of the product, generate geometric pattern options and optimise the manufacture of the production modular moulds, on which the biomaterial mix. After two days, the mixture was unmolded and the garlic husk biotextile was sewn to take the shape of a tote bag.