Removable prints
October 2011 - June 2012

Everything is temporary. That is the way we should look at decorating our textiles too. People change, but their clothes do not change with them. We stop wearing our clothes when we are tired of them, while prints are permanent. What would happen if we have the possibility to replace prints on textiles? In other words, to remove prints and add new ones to make fabrics last. This method would combine short (fashion) cycles with long raw material cycles.

Approach
Refinity developed a technique to remove prints from textiles and reprint the item. 
This gives a lot of possibilities, some examples are:

• A consumer can get his clothes and accessories altered in print shops,
• Companies can change logos and slogans on their textiles,
• Print can be removed before textiles are recycled, which gives the fabric a single colour when it is shredded and enables the fibres to be spun into a high quality solid coloured thread

To visualise this project Refinity collaborated with Anne Noordegraaf and More Tea Vicar. They created several items based on a garden theme. These items are made of GOTS certified organic cotton. The ink can be entirely removed from this cotton. On other textiles the ink can leave a haze. The threads used are Tencel and the buttons are Corozo. The garment is biodegradable (the ink is not tested for biodegradability yet), but removing the print and recycling the fabric is recommended.
Advantages of this technique:

• Fewer textile items needed, so less long distance transport of raw materials,
• Prints are machine washable and can therefore be worn more than once,
• Flexible production: reprint your stock
• Even coloured threads after spinning the shredded textiles.

The ink is not commercially available and will not be further developed by me. No inquiries please.
(Latest update: May 2021)

Clothingdesign Anne Noordegraaf, Printdesign More Tea Vicar, Photography Janneke Tol, Model Lori Schriekenberg