Citation: Indrie, L.; Ilieva, J.; Zlatev, Z.; Tripa, S.; Sturza, A. Development of an Algorithm for Textile Waste Arrangement. Sustainability 2023, 15, 11399. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su151411399 Academic Editor: Maxim A. Dulebenets Received: 10 June 2023 Revised: 19 July 2023 Accepted: 20 July 2023 Published: 22 July 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Development of an Algorithm for Textile Waste Arrangement Liliana Indrie 1, * , Julieta Ilieva 2 , Zlatin Zlatev 2 , Simona Tripa 1 and Amalia Sturza 3 1 Department of Textiles, Leather and Industrial Management, Faculty of Energy Engineering and Industrial Management, University of Oradea, 410058 Oradea, Romania; simona.tripa@didactic.uoradea.ro 2 Faculty of Technics and Technologies, Trakia University, 8602 Yambol, Bulgaria; zhulieta.ilieva@trakia-uni.bg (J.I.); zlatin.zlatev@trakia-uni.bg (Z.Z.) 3 Faculty of Construction, Cadastre and Architecture, University of Oradea, 410058 Oradea, Romania; asturza@uoradea.ro * Correspondence: lindrie@uoradea.ro Abstract: With the constant availability of new designs at extremely low prices, the production and disposal of clothing have increased significantly, leading to the need for the sustainable management of processes. The implementation of established craft practices in modern sustainable mass produc- tion requires the development and application of software and hardware computer tools as well as production machinery. Although the management of textile waste for interior design articles is addressed in the scientific literature by various techniques, there is still limited data and strategies based on the use of specific algorithms. Therefore, in this research, an algorithm is proposed, with the help of which textile waste resulting from upholstery production can be reused in the creation of interior decoration parts. The algorithm is implemented in the GNU Octave 6.4 programming environment, which makes it easily redistributable and accessible. The algorithm consists of a total of six stages, offering an option for arranging the textile elements and analyzing their color character- istics. The arrangement is performed with a Voronoi diagram, and the colors are represented by a four-color circle. Moreover, data on waste textile fabrics are presented, as well as their application in the conception of interior design elements. The proposed algorithm allows designers to focus on the visual design rather than compatibility checks and constraints. The present paper provides an algorithm for reusing textile wastes, which come in a variety of shapes and colors and are produced throughout the fabric cutting phase of upholstery manufacturing, in order to identify the most opti- mal combinations in matching irregular waste shapes and combinations of colors, create a suitable pattern for new interior design items, and contribute to improving the sustainable management of textile waste that is produced in considerable amounts. Keywords: design tools; craft; fabrication; sustainability; circular economy; algorithm; textile waste 1. Introduction Accelerated population growth, increasingly fast-paced and consumption-based lifestyles, exponential advances in technology, and the development of industry and agri- culture to meet the growing needs of mankind have the unfortunate consequence, first and foremost, of generating waste in huge quantities. In the past few decades, global waste production has increased substantially, and currently there are no indications of a decline. Moreover, less than 20% of waste is recycled annually, with enormous amounts still improperly managed [1]. Among the most numerous and hazardous industrial wastes are chemicals from many industrial fields, with some of the most relevant being the medical sector [2,3] and textile industry [4]. The resulting toxic products of these industries [5–7] pollute the environment and reach the human body through food, breathing, direct contact, etc., generating or aggravating numerous diseases [8]. Sustainability 2023, 15, 11399. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411399 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability