OPPO x RCA Humanising Technology: Eric Saldanha's wall-mounted Wearloop device relies on airflow and UV light to clean dirty clothes.
Wearloop can be attached to walls, the inside of a wardrobe or on a door, and has been developed to alleviate the negative environmental impact associated with excessive washing, drying, ironing, and dry-cleaning of garments.
The technology instead relies on airflow and UV light to kill harmful bacteria and evaporate any moisture and sweat on a piece of clothing so that it can be worn again, or returned to a wardrobe.
Saldanha intention for the project is to reduce people's dependence on washing machines and in turn normalise the re-wear of clothes.
Wearloop was developed by Saldanha under a brief set by OPPO London Design Centre – the design hub of global technology company OPPO – while studying the Royal College of Art's MA Design Products programme.
"At the current rate, the textile industry would account for 26 per cent of the world's carbon budget associated with a two-degrees-celsius pathway by 2050," explained Saldanha.
"Wearloop is a dedicated space to hang clothes at the end of the day. The active ambient airflow and UV-C light will kill the secondary-bacteria and evaporate any residual moisture and sweat on the garment, rendering the garment suitable for wearing again."
Global technology company OPPO is presenting seven people-centric projects by five Royal College of Art students that were developed in collaboration with its design hub, OPPO London Design Centre.
The five featured students were among eight of those mentored by the global technology company while studying the MA Design Products programme, during which they answered a brief entitled Humanising Technology.
See OPPO's selection of projects from the OPPO x RCA Humanising Technology collaboration here.