2,700 liters. What comes to mind immediately? Wow — that’s enough water to sustain me for 900 days, take 30 baths, or even water entire fields. So many possibilities! But who would have thought that 2,700 liters of water would remind me of… a T-shirt. Yes, just a regular white T-shirt that almost everyone owns. That number was my wake-up call. It made me see clothes differently — not just as fabric and stitches, but as stories of resources, labor, and impact. This curiosity led me to join the Fashion Revolution campaign and its Who Made My Clothes movement. I organized awareness events, shared information online, and spoke to local communities about the hidden journey of garments — from fiber cultivation to final sale. I saw how little people knew about their clothes’ origins, and how powerful it was to connect them to the makers and the environmental cost behind each piece. During this time, I began reflecting on my own heritage. I grew up in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, where my family kept large flocks of sheep. My grandmother bred fine sheep with high-quality wool, and every shearing season our yard filled with soft fibers. But alongside the valuable wool was always a pile of coarse, short fibers — “unusable” wool that no one wanted. We often burned it. Watching this felt wrong. For centuries, wool had been woven into our homes, clothes, and traditions. Now, part of that heritage was being discarded as waste. This became the starting point for Smart Wool — my project to transform low-grade wool into a high-performance, sustainable textile. Through a process I developed — enzymatic shrink-proofing, structural densification, eco-friendly PFC-free DWR coating, and blending with biopolyamide — I can preserve up to 58% of wool that would otherwise be thrown away. The result is a material that’s 30% warmer, 15% stronger, and 67% more abrasion-resistant than untreated wool, while remaining natural. Processing just 50 tons annually could save 30+ tons of CO₂ emissions and prevent wasting thousands of cubic meters of water used to produce new fibers. To bring Smart Wool into modern design workflows, I integrated CLO3D into my process. This tool lets me create lifelike prototypes, test how Smart Wool behaves in different designs, and cut physical samples by half — reducing waste, speeding production, and improving resource use. I have already created three digital prototypes from Smart Wool: Insulated jacket — showcasing water-repellent and windproof qualities. Classic coat — highlighting thermal insulation and premium look. Casual sweatshirt — demonstrating comfort and everyday wearability. For me, sustainability is about closing the loop — from raw fiber to final garment — and ensuring that no resource, tradition, or story is lost. By combining cultural heritage with technological innovation, I want to show that sustainable design can protect traditions, empower communities, and inspire global change. Smart Wool is my proof that what was once considered waste can become the fabric of the future.