For an updated project description, click on the following link for the Project Readiness Package.

Goodwill Industries, a mainstay in the second-hand industry, receives thousands of pieces of second-hand garments each year. For various reasons, a significant portion of these clothes can not be re-sold. To get rid of these excess garments, Goodwill currently sells them for pennies on the pound as material to be used for low-tech applications such as rags.

Clearly, the current situation with excess fabrics presents an opportunity for improved utilization of those materials. It was proposed in a previous MSD project that the excess clothing be made into a more valuable product, namely insulation. The intent of the current project is to explore the upcycling of cotton garments to make thermal and/or acoustic insulation. The P17701 project team will research current cotton insulation products and will ultimately attempt to create their own prototype. The team will conduct testing to prove the effectiveness of the product, and will detail the critical steps required to construct the prototype which may eventually used in a manufacturing process housed at Goodwill/ABVI.

Project Name

ABVI Upcycling: Cotton Insulation

Project Number

P17701

Start Term

2161

End Term

2165

Faculty Guide

Chris Leibfried

Primary Customer

Joe Kells

Sponsor (financial support): ABVI

Planning & Execution

Project Photos and Videos

Problem Definition

Systems Design

Preliminary Detailed Design

Detailed Design

Build & Test Prep

Subsystem Build & Test

Integrated System Build & Test

Integrated System Build & Test with Customer Demo

Customer Handoff & Final Project Documentation