Examples of Bag Design From Waste Leather Parts as Material Within the Scope of Sustainability

Abstract

Problems such as ineffective use of limited natural resources, pollution of natural water resources, global warming, pollution of soil and air necessitate the research of renewable, sustainable and usable alternative resources and techniques. Leather is a healthy, long-lasting, timeless material used in clothing, shoes, accessories and lifestyle products. Undesirable environmental wastes emerge due to the fact that leather businesses have liquid, gas and solid wastes, and the excessive use of chemicals and resources such as energy and water while transforming rawhides into leather products. Environmental wastes have increased the effective use of resources and the need for usable alternatives of waste materials in industrial areas in terms of sustainability. In the study in which the qualitative research method was used, an action research was conducted. Within the scope of the study, 8 bags were designed and produced from waste leather pieces. During the planning stage of the designs, the sketches of the bag forms were drawn at first. In the development of the designs, the general forms of the bags, the sizes, types and colors of the leather pieces were taken into consideration, and the patterns for creating the surface were studied. Colored waste Nappa leathers sized between 1.5 mm and 2 mm were used for bags. The tessellation method, one of the zero-waste design techniques, was used to obtain products from leather pieces in the study. The study aimed to contribute to both the environmental and economic aspects of sustainability with bag designs made with waste leather.