In 2017 a young architecture student explored a clever reuse idea: turning old textiles into bricks. The concept has grown into a practical material used in homes today, prized for its heat and sound insulation properties.
Clarisse Merlet saw the staggering amount of textile waste in France. The Ecoinventos portal reports about four million tons of clothes discarded each year in France, a figure that pales beside the roughly 17 million tons dumped in the United States in the same period. Recycling rates also lag behind, with about one third of discarded clothing recycled in France and roughly 15% in the United States.
Construction typically consumes substantial natural resources and contributes to CO2 emissions through extraction, processing, and transport. Aware of these environmental pressures, Merlet embarked on a project to manufacture bricks from discarded clothing.
This circular economy approach found a home at FabBRICK, a line of decorative, insulating, and design bricks designed for a range of uses. Although these bricks are not yet suited for structural building, Merlet hopes to reach that milestone soon.
FabBRICK bricks come in several sizes and serve multiple purposes, including furniture components like tables, lighting fixtures, and room dividers. The bricks are built from torn garments sourced from a Normandy supplier. The company also notes that donations can be collected on-site to be transformed into furniture or wall coverings.
Each brick incorporates the equivalent of two or three T-shirts and can include a variety of materials beyond cotton, such as polyester, elastane, PVC, and more. The recovered textiles are first analyzed to determine their suitability for the brick-making process.
Shredded clothing remnants are mixed with an ecological adhesive developed by Merlet and then pressed into a brick mold. The mold relies on mechanical compression, requiring no more energy than what a human worker would exert. After pressing, the bricks are dried for two weeks before use. They offer fire resistance, moisture resistance, and notable thermal and acoustic insulation.
The enterprise began in 2018 and has already produced more than 1,000 bricks in a span of two to three years. About 40,000 bricks have been manufactured, representing roughly 12 tons of recycled textiles repurposed and diverted from landfills and the broader supply chain, helping conserve natural resources and reduce emissions.
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Notes on the environmental impact of textiles and waste management underline the potential of textile-based bricks as a sustainable materials solution. Merlet’s approach demonstrates how post-consumer clothing can be reimagined into functional elements for interior design, offering an avenue to reduce waste while delivering practical insulation benefits.