Student invents clothes that 'grow' as babies do.

[procon]

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A 24-year-old graduate student has created clothes for infants that “grow” as the child does, sparing parents from having to buy new garments every few weeks.

Ryan Yasin invented the material while studying at the Royal College of Art and is now using it to launch a clothing range called Petit Pli. Unlike other elastic materials, it expands in perpendicular directions when stretched, meaning it can respond to a child’s body shape.

The material expands in perpendicular directions Children tend to go through seven clothing sizes between the ages of six and 36 months, often outgrowing clothes within weeks of them being bought.

According to Aviva, parents spend an average of £2,000 on clothing before their child turns three. The cost of transporting these clothes also harms the environment and the pressure for cheap clothes can lead to poor conditions for manufacturers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/09/07/student-invents-clothes-grow-babies-do/

Brilliant idea, and he's also planning a clothing line for adults, specifically maternity wear!

[klook]

1. Clothes that grow with you - great idea

Seriously, though, this is a cool invention -- especially for parents of growing children. It used to seem cosmically unfair to me that as fairly impoverished young parents of boys who either grew out of or destroyed clothes a few times a year, we had to spend so much dough on their attire.

This will help a lot of people -- not so great for the cousins expecting hand-me-downs, though.

[procon]

3. What impressed me was the inventor's background is aeronautical engineering.

He's still a postgraduate student, but he applied the scientific principles he studied for his aeronautical engineering degree to create a sustainable fabric that is waterproof and holds its unique folds.

Something tells me he's going to have a huge career shift from engineering to textile design and sustainable fashions.

[mopinko]

4. we would have gone broke w/o thrift shops, but still

the time it takes to go thrifting was a huge part of the cost.
wore my ass out, it did.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Erm, he could do it for all of us ladies, and find a whole new market.

Just say'n.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Nice idea, but

I expect the existing baby clothes market to find a way to shut this down somehow. Their whole business model is dependent on making disposable clothing that can barely be handed down or sold on secondary markets. Relative to their size, babies are super-consumers, and there's a whole industry around that fact.

[procon]

7. I thought so too, at first, but then I figured consumer demand would still drive

business to meet their needs. Parents would want these clothes because they would save lots of money on not buying new clothing for fast growing kids.

Since the clothing accommodates a wide spread of growth changes, they really won't be passed down because kids can wear them "from four to six months until about the age of three years". If a kid was wearing the same clothing for 3 years, I can't think there would be much left to pass on to a smaller sibling. All kid's clothing still gets stained and worn and torn, so parents will need to shop for replacements and keep the 'good' set for show, and the well used set for everyday play wear.

[Johonny]

11. IDK, it's not that hard to find on the secondary market

Most of my kids clothes come from mother's groups that pass the clothes from parent to parent as kids run through the stages. When it comes to baby clothes its hard not to find people giving them away and much of it is hardly used.

[JoeStuckInOH]

6. Easier solution: Thrift Store.

Entire outfits can be had for $5.

Just avoid the occasional World Series or Superbowl shirt that has the wrong winning team printed on it.

[Yavin4]

8. How does it hold up after multiple washings? n/t

[procon]

10. He says the pleats are "baked in" so the clothing is machine washable.

"Our garments have been rigorously tested and designed to be machine washable, they come out
perfect! Wash at 30℃ , it's better for the environment too! To dry, just place on top of the drying rack. No ironing needed!"

[surrealAmerican]

9. "Invents" is the wrong word.

The word they should have used is "designs".

They are nice designs. I wonder how well they hold up to heavy, frequent laundering.