The fashion and textile industry has already produced enough polyester to clothe the world population, if it were to be reused and recycled. Oil is mined for transportation fuel, and polyester and plastic are made from the cheap waste parts of crude oil, which are not of the quality required to make petroleum. As global economies transition away from fossil-based fuels, we need new bio-based textiles for fashion, that can replace synthetics in our wardrobe. Meanwhile, we must also reuse what we have already made.

Becky Earley has been making ‘upcycled’ polyester shirts since 1999. Each shirt collection explores different ideas about how we can create a more sustainable, circular and just industry. This shirt has been re-crafted to help people connect with nature in their region, and at the same time appreciate how what our changing tastes make us waste, can be transformed into something new and once again timely and on trend.

Wild Wormwood grows in abundance in Romania and has long been used as a medicinal herb for cuts and bruises, to treat indigestion, help with fever and infections, and as a type of insect repellent. It is also used in the liquor absinthe and to flavour other drinks like Vermouth.

Bitterweet Shirt has been made with multiple bittersweet elements in the brief: the paradox of polyester and waste; the health and drinking habits associated with the plant used as decoration on it; the impact of AI on design and cultural practices; and the local and global dynamics of fashion in a time of great political, social and economic unrest.

The shirt will go on show at Romanian Creative Week, in the From Waste to Experimental Couture exhibition, at the Palatul Culturii in Iasi, 19-28 May 2023. It has been created as part of the ongoing design research being conducted in the EU funded HEREWEAR Project (2020-2024).