Testimonials

"This DVD is pitched at a level that makes it accessible to a range of key stages.......another great resource from Pumpkin that will support this key area of the curriculum."

D&T Practice October 09

“Fantastic.... I use this DVD with our examination groups from GCSE through to A2. The girls enjoy the presentations and find them relevant, interesting and up to date. As a teacher I appreciate the notes and activities which I find invaluable for planning and follow up.”

Jane Daltey,
Head of Technology, The Red Maids' School

Recycling and sustainability issues have an ever increasing profile in modern society and this is reflected in the D&T curriculum. The Pumpkin TV ‘Recycled and Sustainable Textiles’ DVD is a useful classroom resource that focuses on this issue from a textiles perspective.

The DVD is divided into the following sections

• A 3 minute introductory video giving a general overview on what the resource covers.

• Four video case studies of around 10 minutes each which focus on different aspects of recycling and sustainability issues within Textiles. A textiles recycling centre in Bristol shows how items are sorted and what they are used for. ‘Junky Styling’ demonstrate how they disassemble, re-cut and transform recycled garments into new and exciting products producing unique and innovative designs. ‘Worn Again’ shows how recycled tyres, seat belts, bicycle inner tubes and even old Virgin airplane seat covers are made into fashionable bags and shoes. Finally Anglo Recycling Technologies demonstrate how they reprocess waste textile fibre into industrial products such as carpet underlay, sound insulation and hanging basket matting.

• There are questions on the video clips plus design challenges teachers can use as follow up work in lessons. These are available as both word documents and PDFs.

• There are a range of extras on the DVD including links to websites, designers and organisations, books for further research, a glossary of terms, plus a transcript of the videos.

This DVD is suitable for use at key stage 3, 4 and 5. It encourages students to think about all areas of recycling and sustainability within Textiles rather than just the most obvious ones. It prompts student to think about how consumers and manufacturer’s can make a difference to the bigger picture. It also shows students how designers can use recycled materials in innovative ways to make cool and unique products that are a long way away from the traditional slightly fusty recycling image. In particular the case studies on ‘Junky Styling’ and ‘Worn Again’ are inspirational starting points for students wanting to use recycling and sustainability as a focus for their own projects.

The DVD is pitched at a level that makes it accessible to a range of key stages and the short video clips make it flexible for use in different learning situations. This is another great resource from Pumpkin TV and one that will support this key area of the D&T Textiles curriculum.

Review in D&T Practice, October 09

Suggested exam board specification links