Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane

From the company greenearth cleaning, an alternative to dry cleaning with perchloroethylene

Decompose

The breaking down of biodegradable materials into compost

Deconstruction

Taking products apart for reuse. Easiest when deconstruction has been considered in the first instance as part of the product lifecycle which enables recycling. Part of Design for disassembly.

Delignification

Removal of lignin from cellulose fibres, to enable spinning. < en.wikipedia.org . 7.5.07

[online]

Dematerialisation

Essentially taking materials out of the equation wherever possible. Replacing products with services, for example sharing resources, leasing goods from the manufacturer, getting away from the necessity for personal ownership. (an idea of Rem Koolhaus, elaborated on by AFL) Has implications for the designer to design for disassembly, for replacement of parts, for longevity and for ease of maintenance.

Design for disassembly

(Scot Fletcher p22 Eco design vol. V111 no 2) “Design for disassembly enables a product and its parts to be easily reused, remanufactured (or refurbished) or recycled at end of life.”

This is an essential design strategy for designers to employ when designing for a system of product of service.

Design for Durability

Products that can be mended, repaired, that do not go out of fashion, would require a stable, regular demand to support the production chain on which the durability would rely.

This important strategy is part of the new ecologically motivated industrial revolution.

Design for obselesence

Throwaway products, designed not to last. Designed to require replacement. Designed to keep the manufacturers making more and newer models, so that the customer has to keep coming back for more.

Devore

A technique where chemicals (usually sulphuric acid,) are printed or painted onto a cellulosic fabric to burn out areas which are not blocked with a ‘resist’. Some fabrics are composite, and the non-cellulosic is unaffected by the acid. Used to achieve aesthetic effects. Not eco friendly.

Downcycled

Downcycling is the journey from manufacture to landfill or disposal. (Cradle to Cradle and Greenblue.org) Much recycling is actually downcycling, where the inherent value of the materials has been compromised. Subsequent use is of lower performance quality too. (For opposite pattern of behaviour, see ‘up-cycling’)

Demeter is the only ecological association that has built up a network of individual certification organisations world-wide. Also interested in biodynamic farming methods.

Downsizing

Often seen as an opportunity to leave the rat race behind, earn less, but enjoy life more. It requires living within ones means, and acquiring new economic survival skills. This can also mean choosing occupations which are enjoyable for their own sake rather than wealth acquiring. Thrift, creativity, and more natural lifestyles can be manifestations of downsizing.

Some city bankers even end up farming Alpaca.

Direct dyes for cotton

Direct or substantive dyeing is normally carried out in a neutral or slightly alkaline dyebath, at or near boiling point, with the addition of either sodium chloride (Nalco) or sodium sulphate <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye> 7.5.07 [online]

Discharge dyes

This is a system of removing dyed areas with bleach (which is made into a printing paste) and replacing these same areas with another colour. The effects give accuracy of alignment of different coloured areas in a pattern with a typical faint halo, or paler line around the discharged shapes. The use of bleach may be seen as un-environmental, also the waste of the bleached out pigment may be seen as wasteful.


Disperse dyes for PES and PA

Disperse dyes were originally developed for the dyeing of cellulose acetate, and are substantially water insoluble. The dyes are finely ground in the presence of a
dispersing agent and then sold as a paste, or spray-dried and sold as a powder.
They can also be used to dye nylon, cellulose triacetate, polyester and acrylic
fibres. In some cases, a dyeing temperature of 130 °C is required, and a pressurised dyebath is used. The very fine particle size gives a large surface area that aids dissolution to allow uptake by the fibre. The dyeing rate can be significantly influenced by the choice of dispersing agent used during the grinding.

<en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye> 7.5.07 [online]

Dralon

Dralon GmbH is an internationally renowned producer of acrylic fiber.

(< www.dralon.com > 7.5.07 [online])

Dry Cleaning

Perchloroethylene is a commonly used chlorinated solvent in the dry cleaning process, "perc" is implicated in 90% of all groundwater contamination. Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane from the company greenearth cleaning is an alternative. (observer magazine 14.1.06)

Dupont

In the twentieth century, DuPont led the polymer revolution by developing many highly successful materials such as Vespel, neoprene, nylon, Corian, Teflon, Mylar, Kevlar, M5 fiber, Nomex, Tyvek and Lycra. <en.wikipedia.org> 7.5.07 [online] All these fibres and fabrics are high performance technical breakthroughs and dupont is considered a the world leader in the research and development of textiles and textile engineering.

Dyeing

The process of colouring fibres. This is the most problematic area of environmental textile design, and is best addressed by referring to the international bodies who evaluate best and acceptable practise, such as Oeko-100 and skal. Climatex have evolved best practise in use of dyes. Leeds green chemistry group is developing new ways of achieving 100% absorption of dyes as a major issue is waste and disposal. Natural dyeing is considered eco friendly, but has its own set of concerns.

‘Commercial dyes include fibre-reactive cold water dyes, which use an alkali chemical reaction between the pigment and the fibre. These are suitable for cotton, linen, rayon, viscose and silk. Acid dyes fix the colour by the use of acid and are suitable for wool, animal fibres, nylon and silk. Disperse dyes transfer and fix colour using heat to polyesters, acetates, acrylics and nylon". ( Hardy, S. ‘Handcrafted rugs’ 2001, pub: guild of master craftsmen. p 16)