This project develops design for recycling textile-based goods, one of the most damaging waste streams, using contemporary toolsets to dismantle products into pure fractions.
Recycling textile-based goods after use is extremely difficult with current methods. To improve recycling outcomes, it is essential to recover pure materials—known as fractions—from post-consumer waste. However, due to the fibrous nature of textiles, mixed materials, varied constructions, flexibility, and product diversity, achieving pure fractions is nearly impossible using existing processes. As a result, the textile industry generates vast amounts of waste and significantly harms the environment, especially through its heavy reliance on virgin resources.
This project develops robotic and automated tools to dismantle post-consumer textile products into pure fractions, complete with the data and traceability needed for effective material recycling. To make this possible, design and manufacturing processes must consider the constraints of automated disassembly.
The systems developed are intended for adoption by large-scale producers of textile-based goods, helping to significantly reduce environmental impact.
Image: Robotically disassembled material fractions. © Maxwell Ashford
Maxwell Ashford
01.09.2025 - 31.08.2026
BRIDGE Proof of Concept
BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
with Marcelo Coelho, Gaël Hugo, Pauline Saglio
A new educational model for a post-pandemic world
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Christophe Guberan
Proposition of baskets obtained through a series of explorations of the properties and advantages of the different materials addressed, in this case: metals, wood and its substitutes, plastics and textiles. This project was carried out by the 1st year students in the Bachelor of Industrial and Product Design.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Stephane Halmai-Voisard, Maddalena Casadei
Deky is a plaid-like garment for elderly people who are often cold. Its loose and enveloping shape allows seniors to keep warm and dress effortlessly using Velcro and colour coding. It is also ideal for elderly people with limited movement: caregivers can take off the back buttons to dress the person easily. The back is shorter than the front, allowing Deky to be worn seated without inconvenience and without disrupting daily actions. The quilted fabric is made of light and warm polyester foam covered with soft and fluid gabardine. Deky is an everyday companion to facilitate the life of elderly people by keeping them warm and providing a feeling of security and comfort.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Stephane Halmai-Voisard, Maddalena Casadei
We all know about the scourge of plastic waste in our oceans, but did you know that there is even more plastic in our soils? This is what the latest report from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) has revealed. Indeed, with its pots, nets, and various types of films, plastic is everywhere in the food-processing industry and our agricultural land is polluted by micro-particles. Line is a reusable and 100% natural alternative to plastic mulching film. Made from linen oiled with linseed oil, it is extremely durable and does not release any chemical particles into the soil. Its woven or folding strip systems offer great flexibility of use for various types of planting with variable spacing.
MA PRODUCT DESIGN
by Maxwell Ashford
Mention Très bien Prix BCV + Prix Eyes on Talents In standard recycling, objects arrive in industrial warehouses facilities as unknown entities, with no communication about the components. They are fed into shredders which reduce them to a mixture of materials that are then painstakingly sorted. Coatings, glues, colours and other aspects mean that pure material fractions are near impossible to extract. The RUEI-01 shoe concept was designed to be recycled by a robot and contains all the information pertaining to itself in a digital form. This allows robots to “un-manufacture” the shoe, disassembling and separating materials with all data provided, even colour codes and original sources of materials. Existing recyclable shoes focus on mono-materialising. RUEI-01 evaluates the potential for multi-material durability and performance, with recycling by automation.