Interactive Loofah Wearables
Designing Loofah Wearables for Embodied Ecological Reflection
Keywords: Biodesign, Biomaterials, Living Interfaces, Loofah, More-than-Human Design, Wearables
Project Credits: Yingting Gao, Jing Xie, Fiona Bell, Alex Cabral, Josiah Hester, HyunJoo Oh
Publication: TEI ’26 — Proceedings of the Twentieth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, Article 50, pp. 1–16 (2026) PDF DOI
This project investigates loofah as a plant-based, biodegradable material for embodied ecological reflection. A material exploration and design space combine loofah with indicators for temperature, UV radiation, water and soil pH, iron, and soil moisture, while also using it as a substrate for plant growth. A hat and glove with environmental sensing and living microgreens support a 15-day autoethnographic inquiry into wearing environmental change and cultivating on-body ecological practices and care.
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Design and Living with the Wearables
