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About

The Aftermath Learning Lab is a research lab at Boston College whose mission is to reduce textile waste through art, research, and education.

Recycle clothes concept. Pale pink knitted sweater with clipboard  on white background. Au

Objectives

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Projects

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Meet the Team

Image by Brett Jordan

Accomplishments

Image by Jo Szczepanska

Grants

Image by Solen Feyissa

Contact Us

Recycle clothes concept. Pale pink knitted sweater with clipboard  on white background. Au

Objectives

Art

We are creating art advocacy installations across the United States to inspire awareness and dialogue about the impacts of textile waste.

Research

We are researching the environmental and public health impacts of textile waste using landfill simulating reactors and through analysis of big data sources. 

Education

We are developing educational resources about textile waste and working to connect causing pollution with the people who are most impacted.

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Meet the Team

Principal and Co-Investigators:

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Julia DeVoy, PhD

Principal Investigator

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Brian Smith, PhD

Co-Investigator

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Mark Cooper, MFA

Co-Investigator

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Martin Scanlan, PhD

Co-Investigator

Project Manager:

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Dielle Lundberg, MPH

Project Manager

Project Advisor:

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Sunand Bhattacharya, MFA

Project Advisor

Research Assistants:

Current:

Evan Warns (2020-2023)

Addison Metzger (2021-2023)

Kate Canniff (2022-2023)

Cecelia Cheng (2022-2023)
Griffin Lawler (2022-2023)

Lourdes Macaspac (2022-2023)

Former:

Eva Ottum (2020-2021)

Sarah Findeisen (2020-2021)

Evelyn Kotch (2021-2022)

Project Collaborators:

Make Fashion Clean (MFC)

MFC is a non-profit organization based in the United States working to reduce fashion pollution through reuse and upcycling. Learn more.

Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation (MFI)

MFI is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that creates inclusive employment through upcycling used clothing dumped in Ghana. Learn more.

Image by Jo Szczepanska

Grants

2022-2023:

Schiller Institute Grant for Collaborative Scholarship at Boston College

"Development of an Educational, Multiplayer Video Game to Address Environmental Racism and Drive Political and Community Action"

2021-2022:

Schiller Institute Grant for Collaborative Scholarship at Boston College

"Assessing Public Health and Environmental Racism Impacts of Textile Pollution through Computer-Based Social Justice Research and Multi-Media Art and Data Dissemination"

2020-2021:

Ignite Grant at Boston College

"Greenhouse Gas Generation and Other Human Health Effects of Post-Consumer Fashion Waste in the U.S."

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Projects

Some of Our Current Projects:

Landfill-Simulating
Reactor Experiment

The lab has built three landfill simulating reactors which are being tested and put into operation to measure the health effects of decomposing textiles.

Policy Research

and Evaluation

The lab is conducting research on policy proposals designed to reduce textile waste and is evaluating their environmental and economic impacts.

Exhibitions of Aftermath Sculpture

The Aftermath Sculpture is now touring universities across the United States and is inspiring conversations and panels about the impacts of textile waste.

Symposia about Textile Waste

The lab is currently organizing symposia about textile waste intended to build dialogue about solutions between the Global North and the Global South.

Textile Waste Facts 30-Minute Course

The Textile Waste Facts course is now available online and continues to generate data and feedback for on-going improvement and development of new content.

Development of a

Video Game

The lab is in the early stages of conducting design thinking workshops for the development of an educational video game about textile waste.

Image by Brett Jordan

Accomplishments

Some of Our Accomplishments as a Lab:

2022:

  • Exhibition of the Aftermath Sculpture at Boston University

  • Textile Waste Facts Course is Re-Designed and Re-Launched

  • Exhibition of the Aftermath Sculpture at the Smithsonian

  • Exhibition of the Aftermath Sculpture at Boston College

  • Textile Waste Facts Course Is Launched

2021:

  • Aftermath Sculpture Is Constructed

  • Scientific Article Published in the Waste Management Journal

  • Poster Presentation at the Constructed Environment Conference

  • Landfill Simulating Reactors Are Constructed

2020:

  • Landfill Simulating Reactors Are Designed

Image by Solen Feyissa

Contact Us

Email the Aftermath Learning Lab at:

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