You'd be forgiven for thinking a brick only ever comes from a quarry. In a workshop in Paris, architect Clarisse Merlet has spent the last several years proving otherwise, one old outfit at a time. Her studio, FabBRICK, turns discarded clothing into a genuine building material, and it started with an idea almost too simple to believe.

So, What Do You Do With Two Old T-Shirts?

Merlet was an architecture student when she first went looking for an alternative to concrete. "I took two t-shirts, I shredded them and mixed them with a natural glue and gave them the shape of a brick. It worked," she has said of the moment the idea clicked.

She had landed on the idea almost by accident, drawn to textiles because, as she later told Euronews, fashion is "extremely polluting, right after the construction industry." She wasn't exaggerating. A report from the UN Environment Programme found that the number of times a garment gets worn before it's thrown out has dropped by more than a third in just fifteen years. The first prototype came together in 2016. By the end of 2018, FabBRICK was a registered company, and the process behind it is now patented in both France and Europe.

How Does a T-Shirt Actually Become a Brick?

The process is refreshingly low-tech. Textiles are shredded into fibres and mixed by hand with an eco-friendly binder Merlet developed in-house, then compressed into moulds and left to air-dry for up to two weeks. Every finished brick is 81 percent textile and 19 percent bio-based binder, with no petrochemical ingredients at all. Because the colour comes entirely from the original garments rather than dye, no two bricks are ever quite the same. They're acoustic, non-flammable and naturally good at soaking up sound, which is a fairly poetic bonus for a material made from clothes that used to insulate a person.

Now that's the sort of detail that turns a recycling story into a design story!

Where Have These Bricks Actually Ended Up?

Nowhere near as niche as you'd expect. FabBRICK has transformed more than 400 kilograms of denim into a Levi's concept store and turned over 300 kilograms of Maison Chaumet's retired staff uniforms into over 700 bricks for the jeweller's windows. It's also created mural artworks for L'Oréal's Paris offices and a wave-shaped acoustic wall built from more than 3,000 bricks for Naval Group in Toulon where the same idea holds: a brand's own offcuts, worn workwear or unsold stock, rebuilt into something people walk past, lean on or sit beside every day. 

The bricks also double as architectural furniture too, with Merlet noting the material can become stools, small tables and even full library shelving. It's upcycling with a very literal foundation. 

 

Why Does a Paris Workshop Matter to Us?

Merlet's studio is still small, a close-knit team of around ten people. Every brick is still made in that one Paris workshop, shredded, mixed and pressed in-house rather than off some anonymous production line. There's something nice about a building material you can trace back to an actual person's workbench.

Ready for another feel-good story? Check out our blog here about recycled tennis balls becoming acoustic design pieces!

With Love,
Ellie x

Frequently Asked Questions

What is FabBRICK made from?

FabBRICK's bricks are made from 81 percent upcycled textile and 19 percent bio-based binder, with no petrochemical ingredients used in the mix.

Who founded FabBRICK?

FabBRICK was founded by French architect Clarisse Merlet, who built the first prototype in 2016 and formally launched the company in Paris in December 2018.

Is FabBRICK's material fire-resistant?

Yes. FabBRICK's textile bricks are non-flammable and have achieved fire-resistance certification in France, alongside good acoustic and thermal insulation properties.

Which brands have used FabBRICK's textile bricks?

FabBRICK has worked with brands including Levi's, Selfridges, Chaumet, L'Oréal and Naval Group, transforming their offcuts, uniforms and unsold stock into bricks for stores, windows and wall art.

How is FabBRICK's textile brick actually manufactured?

Discarded textiles are shredded into fibres, mixed with an eco-friendly binder, compressed into moulds and left to air-dry for up to two weeks, all within FabBRICK's Paris workshop.