LivingLoom: Investigating Human-Plant Symbiosis Through Integrating Living Plants Into (E-)Textiles

LivingLoom is a design inquiry that proposes a post-anthropocentric approach to fabrication by integrating living plants directly into textiles. Industrial textile fabrication views plants as passive resources. They are grown, harvested, and spun into yarns for textile production, mainly to serve human needs. While efficient, this approach overlooks the intrinsic value of these organisms as living beings. LivingLoom fabrication approach wet-spins biodegradable yarns with seeds that can be further integrated into textiles that can sprout and grow. We present a design space for incorporating microgreen seeds into textiles with a 10-day growth cycle, leveraging care-based fabrication and interaction. We conducted a three-day user study to understand how people wear and care for plant-integrated textiles, revealing new possibilities for living textiles and care-based interactions. LivingLoom examines the intimacy between humans and plants in textile forms, shedding light on the design potential for the care-based fabrication of (e-)textiles.