Fairuz Zulfa Adlina

Fairuz Adlina is an Indonesian-London based visionary designer, researcher, and environmentalist specialising in the field of fashion, sustainability, and materials.

Fairuz graduated with first class honours in Fashion Textiles from the London College of Fashion. Her creative problem-solving and analytical approaches are driven by her curiosity and interest for discarded materials. Fairuz aims to reshape the fashion industry by exploring the unfamiliar sustainability issues. Currently, she is investigating the waste legacy of fashion consumption and retailers through multiple research methods with creative lens and futures thinking.

Awards:

Nominated to participate in the Sustainable Championship Academy 2022 (RCA x King Abdullah University, Columbia University, and Winchester University)

Featured in KARISMATISK by IKEA x Zandra Rhodes Global Launch 2021

Winner of the Global Design Graduate Show 2020 by Artsthread and i-D in collaboration with Gucci (Textiles Category/Public Vote)

RECEIPT PAPER | THE MATERIAL LEGACY OF CONSUMPTION

In the UK Fashion industry, it is estimated that it spends £32 million per year by producing paper receipts despite of no legal obligation.

Receipt paper is not just any ordinary printed paper. Most receipts are thermal paper, which is coated with layers of coatings that contain a harmful chemical named Bisphenol A or S. Its presence leaves a threat for the environment and those who come into contact with it. This project intends to raise awareness about the underestimated negative impacts of paper receipts, finding potential solutions, and to start a discussion around the future consequences of the paper receipt issue. As Samantha Lind, Beat the Receipt Campaigner, stated on her interview, “This is the retail industry’s ‘plastic straw’ moment”.

In contrast, several fashion retailers (e.g., M&S, TOAST, and French Connection) have decided to go paperless. However, the action is mostly centred around the recyclable and biodegradable paper products. This leads me to questions:

Why does paper receipt, which is neither recyclable nor biodegradable, receive less attention than other paper-based by-products in the UK fashion industry?

Why do several UK fashion brands, which have decided to replace paper receipt with e-receipts, emphasize deforestation, rather than toxic impact on the ecosystem?

A range of research methods, digital campaigns, and the trapping of toxic chemicals experiments were performed to address the receipts issue. In addition, formulating a bio-based paper receipt’s coating, in partnership with Marta Chiapasco (PhD Materials Science at Imperial College London), was and still under development. By tackling this issue through different angles, I have developed a speculative design approach. It allows me to combine design and imagination, while focusing on reducing negative impacts on the environment as well as meeting the human needs in order to find impactful and innovative solutions.

Through this project, I hope I can share my findings surrounding the receipts issue, influence and encourage the people to be conscious in their everyday choices and actions, and to deliver a message to stop the usage of harmful paper receipts within the UK fashion industry.

Testing bio-based coatings on paper – Experimentation using natural acid-sensitive dyes, a separate layer that will disappear when exposed to heat, and acids, to produce a paper that can change colour. The paper became darker when heated with a heat tool and brighter when heated longer.

Analysing the colour changes on paper

Coating natural acid-sensitive dyes on paper

A Bio-Based Coating for Paper Receipts, media item 4

The drying process of the separate layer on paper – The raw materials were dissolved in a solution then coated on papers

Visualisation of the Future Paper Receipts – From the results of bio-based coatings experimentation, I created a speculative design proposal, where I imagined a future receipt paper would be coated with non-harmful chemicals.

Thermal papers are not only used for paper receipts, but also for other products in the retail industry, including price tags and packaging.

Despite being bisphenol-free paper receipts already produced out there, they are mostly not widely accessible and their safety is still questionable. Based on the research I conducted, each layer of coating on paper receipts are using harmful chemicals, including the dyes and the solvents.

The idea of formulating a bio-based receipt paper coating, in collaboration with Marta Chiapasco (PhD Materials Science at Imperial College London) was driven after comparing the environmental impacts of physical and digital receipts. The challenge with this formulation is the colour changes on paper are only temporary. Although a permanent colour change has not yet been fully achieved, the concept has a potential to be developed further in the future.

In Collaboration with:

Marta Chiapasco

Laminating Experimentation – Aimed to prevent the bisphenols from paper receipts leach to the environment.

Process – Dissolved the chemicals on receipts using water-based glue, laminated paper receipts with adhesive films, trapped the paper receipts in agar biomaterial, duplexing, and coated the surface of paper receipts with wood coatings.

Trapping the Toxicity Experimentation Results

There are several ways to dissolve bisphenols from paper receipts chemically. However, the process in general would be high energy consuming. From a sustainability perspective, it would not be the best solution for the paper receipt issue.

On the other hand, After performing several trapping the toxicity experiments, I have reached a conclusion that these experiments also require energy as much as removing bisphenols chemically. This result was one of the factors that led me to develop a bio-based coating for paper receipts.

Experimental Sustainability Transformation Waste

Comparative study – The negative impacts of physical (paper receipts) and digital receipts

An in-depth study of Bisphenols – This chemical which is coated on paper receipts, has exhibited toxic and negative effects on human health and the environment

People`s opinions on paper and digital receipts

Digital Campaign – Raising awareness about the harmful chemicals on paper receipts

The Environmental Impacts of Physical and Digital Receipts , media item 3

After comparing and measuring the environmental impacts of receipts, I decided to produce digital campaigns, centred around the toxicity of paper receipts. The images have elements of slogans and photography. Through translating complex information into visuals that are engaging and easy to understand, I hope it can play a role to transform the decision-making in the present.

Activism Data Visualization Environment Material Research Sustainability

Fairuz Zulfa Adlina

In Collaboration with:

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About

Royal College of Art

Fairuz Zulfa Adlina

In Collaboration with:

RCA Continuation Fund

Social

About

Royal College of Art