My major is Textiles,more specifically, woven textiles.The main problems in this field is that, just like Griffith, finance is a major problem.Griffith explains, that "a lens factory is expensive to build and equip", and that lens making involves using "costly moulds".These problems are no different in the textile industry,as there are extremely expensive set-up costs for machinery in order to produce a cheaper product.
Time and energy is another problem Griffith had with his ideas.He explains that solar roadways look good but in theory there are several problems with them.He explains that it very "energy-intensive"and that your "unlikely to make your money back".This is the reason that Hand-looms are becoming extremely rare,due to the fact that the amount of energy and time needed to produce a one off fabric by hand does not create a great enough profit to sustain a business.The woven textile industry relies completely on yarn, which is becoming increasingly expensive to buy. Woven products are therefore being imported from other countries where labour is cheaper and human rights are breached in order to produce woven fabrics at a fraction of the price it would cost to produce in this country.
The other reason for this action to be taken is "culture", as explained by Griffith.As a society we have a "throw-away" attitude where we no longer spend large amounts of money on products that will last us for years to come, instead we spend less money on products which have lower quality and which we can throw away , due to the fact they are no longer in fashion.
Jill states that Just like Griffith’s situation, the initial cost to set up a factory is very high. She relates this to her field stating that a textiles lab has a high initial cost as well. Jill also relates Griffith’s solar road ways to hand looms. The fact that they both require a high amount of energy and time is causing them to become increasingly rare. I completely agree because in Industrial Design, we run into similar problems. In my own experience with the machinery, tools, and materials we have in the studios, I have found that they too require a high cost. For example a basic laser cutter averages about 40,000$, and we have about 20-30 different machines in the studio. It seems that initial costs of factories and studios are always going to be high but that is the case because it makes it efficient to produce products and eventually make profit.
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