Lisbeth Løvbak Berg, Author at Clothing research

WEIGTHING WEIGHT

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 13. May 2025

Author: Rita Dominici

Introduction

Various textile management policies are under debate, with particular attention to the effectiveness of weight-based eco-modulation, a policy strategy aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of products (Lifset et al., 2023). To better understand this mechanism, it is important to first know that fashion is widely regarded as “one of the least regulated industries” (Bédat, 2022), in which efforts to achieve a sustainable approach to clothing production are primarily individual and voluntary. In fact, existing policies aim to encourage sustainability and limit environmental damage, but they do not constitute strict international obligations with shared parameters. Indeed, these should be seen more as guidelines that individual nations can modify according to their own norms and priorities. An example is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): an environmental policy defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of their products, from design to waste management. Among its aims is to encourage producers to adopt sustainable production and design practices for durable, repairable, and recyclable products, making production more sustainable. Even though it was not created specifically for textile products, it has since begun to be applied to them as well (Bukhari, Carrasco-Gallego, Ponce-Cueto, 2018). The estimation of the fees for textile products usually depends on several factors, one of which can be weight. For example, in the Netherlands, the PRO UPV Textiles Foundation set a fee of 0.10 € per kg of textiles put into the market in 2024 (Simas and Arega, 2025).

This consideration of weight is particularly relevant given that although textile waste constitutes a relatively small percentage of overall waste by weight, its environmental impact is significant and continues to grow, especially during the last decades (Bukhari, Carrasco-Gallego, and Ponce-Cueto, 2018). This trend is closely linked to the substantial increase in textile production, which has been driven almost fully by synthetic fibers. These fibers now represent over two-thirds of all materials used in textiles, and more than half of all textiles contain synthetics (Changing Markets Foundation, 2023; Henry, Laitala; Klepp, 2019). For this reason, it is crucial to take into account the diversity of fibers used in clothing: some are natural, others synthetic, and each of them has a specific environmental impact, which is generally higher for synthetic fibers than for natural ones (Muthu et al., 2012). This difference in fiber type leads to varying densities, causing weight variations even when considering the same number of garments (Watson et al., 2014). Therefore, our main question is: “Do garments made of synthetic fibers weigh less than garments made of natural fibers?”

FIBER	DENSITY (g/cm³)
Cotton	1.55
Viscose	1.52
Polyester	1.39
Silk	1.34
Wool	1.30
Acrylic	1.19
Nylon	1.14
Polyethylene	0.95
Polypropylene	0.91

Fig. 1: Densities of some general-purpose textile fibers (Hearle and Morton, 2008).

Data and Methods

This analysis is based on quantitative data collected by PhD candidate Anna Schytte Sigaard for her doctoral project “Want Not, Waste Not”, which is part of a larger project entitled “Wasted Textiles: Reduced Synthetic Textile Waste Through the Development of a Resource-Efficient Value Chain”.

The data were originally gathered using wardrobe methods, involving 28 households in three Norwegian regions: Oslo, Vestfold, and Salten. Due to limitations in sample size, the 28 households cannot ensure representativeness of the Norwegian population. However, the dataset provides a substantial number of textile observations, offering valuable insights. The participating households were asked to collect all textiles that would have otherwise been thrown away, donated to charity, given away, or disposed of in any other way over a six-month period. These items were later registered along with information from the interviews. The first household began the collection in October 2021, and the last one completed it in October 2022.  

Although the project primarily used qualitative methods, the data were extracted and transformed into quantitative form. 

In total, 3556 individual pieces, amounting to 554.5 kg of textiles, were originally registered. Since this analysis only focuses on adult clothing, 1306 individual garments, amounting to 221.34 kg of textiles, were taken into consideration. Moreover, from the 91 original variables, the ones used for the analysis were: Clothing Type, Merged Clothing Type, Weight, Fiber Content, Synthetic Fiber, and Non-synthetic Fiber, Cotton and Polyester.   

The variable “Clothing Type” includes 1306 observations and comprises 23 categories: Blazer, Blouse, Cardigan, Dress, Sweatshirt, Jeans, Jumpsuit, Maternity Wear, Outerwear, Pants, Pantyhose, Pyjamas, Shirt, Shorts, Skirt, Socks, Sweater, T-shirt, Tights, Top, Underwear, Vest, and Workout Clothes. From this variable, the “Merged Clothing Type” variable was created by merging some of the original categories by creating 10 final ones: Heavy Lower wear (including “Pants”, “Pantyhose”, “Jeans”), Activewear, Heavy Upper wear (including “Sweater”, “Sweatshirt”, “Cardigan”), Light Lower wear (with “Skirt”, “Shorts”), Light Upper wear (including “T-shirt”, “Top”, “Blouse”, “Shirt”, “Vest”), Jacket (with “Outerwear” and “Blazer”), Maternity wear, One-Piece (including “Dress” and “Jumpsuit”), Pyjamas and Underwear.

The variable “Weight” provides information on the weight in grams of each of the 1306 garments. 

As clothing fibers, they can be classified into two main categories: synthetic and non-synthetic. Natural (non-synthetic) fibers occur in nature and include materials like cotton, wool and silk, while synthetic fibers are man-made, such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic (Chen et al., 2021). In this analysis, the variables “Synthetic Fiber” and “Non-synthetic Fiber” indicate the amount of each fiber type present in the 1306 garments examined. Using this information the variable “Fiber Content” was created, which includes 3 categories: “Mostly Synthetic” (over 70% of fibre content non-synthetic), “Mixed Material” (between 31-69% of both synthetic and non-synthetic) and “Mostly Natural” (over 70% of fibers are synthetic).

The variables “Cotton”, and “Polyester” include information regarding the quantity of the respective material used in the production of each individual garment.

Therefore, the analytical sample is composed of 1306 observations.  

After the operationalization of all relevant variables, the analysis will consist of descriptive statistics produced using the statistical program R. In particular, stacked bar charts will be used to visually represent the composition of garments by clothing type, fiber composition and weight. Moreover, to answer the research question, a Welch T-test was employed to compare the average weight of garments made of synthetic versus natural fibers in specific categories, such as dresses and pants. Afterwards, a one-way ANOVA was performed to test for significant differences in the weight of garments based on fiber composition across clothing categories. This was followed by post-hoc Tukey tests to identify pairwise differences. Lastly, a hierarchy regression was run to evaluate the explanatory power of synthetic fiber content in predicting garment weight.

Results

   In order to answer the research question, this section presents the findings of the study, detailing the composition of synthetic and non-synthetic fibers across various clothing categories

*Fig.2: Average fiber composition by clothing category*

Fig. 2 shows how different clothing categories, ordered by their average synthetic fiber content, vary in terms of fiber composition. It emerges how synthetic fibers are not equally distributed across all clothing types, for example, on average, some garments, such as “Activewear” and “Pantyhose”, contain a higher percentage of synthetic fibers, while others, like “T-Shirt” or “Jeans”, tend to have higher content of natural fibers.

*Fig. 3: Average weight for each type of clothing and material*

After better understanding the average fiber composition in the different clothing categories, Fig. 3 also takes into consideration the average weight of the garments and the amount of synthetic and natural fibers they contain. This analysis multiplies the percentage of each fiber type by the weight of the garment to estimate the fiber-specific contribution to weight. From the results it emerges that, although not weighing more in absolute terms across all the clothing categories, natural fibers may contribute significantly to garment weight, especially in categories like “Blazer” and “Jeans”. This may be because natural fibers (such as cotton or wool) are generally heavier than synthetic ones. It is also important to note one limitation of this graph: the calculation considers the percentage composition of the garment along with its weight, without considering that different materials have different specific weights. This means that the same quantity of a certain material may weigh more or less than another. Nevertheless, even if the varying densities of the materials were considered, it is ultimately the way these materials are processed that determines how much they affect the final weight of the garment.

*Fig. 4: Dresses’ weight composition (Grams per Fiber type)*

In Fig. 4, it is possible to observe how the weight of dresses varies considering their textile composition. It is worth noting that, on average, dresses made mostly from synthetic fibers, especially polyester, are located on the right side of the graph as their weight is lower (around 200 grams) compared to dresses made mostly from natural fibers like cotton, wool, and viscose, which tend to cluster on the left side of the graph because their weight is greater. This emerged also when running a T-Test: the average weight of natural fibers in “Dress” is 1.01 (p< 0.001) grams higher than the average weight of synthetic fibers.

By looking at the composition of one garment category, it is also interesting to observe the behavior of the fiber types. It emerges that there are some heavier observations where polyester, or other synthetic fibers, constitute most of the garment’s weight. This shows how weighing a garment is not only about a fabric’s absolute density, but it depends also on their processing, they can be thicker or thinner, impacting the final weight of the garment.

*Fig. 5: Pants’ weight composition (Grams per Fiber type)*

The same trend is observable in Fig. 5, where the “Pants” clothing category is taken into consideration. From this graph, it can also be observed that, on average, pants made mostly from synthetic fibers, particularly polyester (represented in the graph by the pink color), are lighter and occupy the area on the far right of the graph, with an average weight of around 300 grams. On the other hand, pants whose composition is mostly made of natural fabrics, especially cotton, but also other natural fibers, are located on the far-left side of the graph, having a greater weight (with some observations exceeding 500 grams). In this case as well, the T-test also suggests that: the average weight of natural fibers in “Pants” is 1.10 (p < 0.001) grams higher than the average weight of synthetic fibers. Again, it is important to remember the importance of the processing of a specific material, which can lead to the production of fabrics that are either thicker or thinner, resulting in different final weights.

Table 1: ANOVA and Post-hoc Tukey Test Results by Clothing Category and Fiber Composition

			Post-hoc Tukey Test
Clothing Category	ANOVA P-Value	Mostly Natural/ Mixed Material	Mostly Synthetic/ Mixed Material	Mostly Synthetic/ Mostly Natural
Jackets	0***	-4.074	29.502***	33.576***
Heavy Lower wear	0***	153.118***	-195.682***	-348.801***
Pyjamas	0.0033**	-9.978	-48.152**	-38.173**
Underwear	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
Light Upper wear	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
Maternity Wear	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
Light Lower wear	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
Activewear	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
One-Piece	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
Heavy Upper wear	Not Significant	Not Performed	Not Performed	Not Performed
All	0***	-94.34265***	-54.10098*	40.24167*

Note: ***p<0.01, **p<0.05, *p<0.1

Furthermore, to assess differences in garment weight across fiber categories a variable a one-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc Tukey test was conducted considering the “Merged Clothing Type” variable. The analysis revealed statistically significant differences for “Jackets”, “Heavy Lower wear”, “Pyjamas”, and the overall sample (All), while other clothing categories did not show significant variation in their weight considering their fiber composition.

For “Jackets” garments made of mostly synthetic fibers were significantly heavier than those made of mixed material and mostly natural fibers. No significant difference was found between mixed material and mostly non-synthetic fibers.

In the case of “Heavy Lower wear” mostly natural-fibers items were significantly heavier than garments with mixed material and significantly lighter than mostly synthetic items. Moreover, mostly synthetic garments were also significantly heavier than mixed material counterparts.

For “Pyjamas”, mostly synthetic items were significantly lighter than those with mixed material and mostly non-synthetic. The difference between mixed material and mostly non-synthetic was not statistically significant.

For categories such as “Underwear”, “Light Upper wear”, “Maternity Wear”, “Light Lower wear”, “Activewear”, “One-Piece”, and “Heavy Upper wear”, no statistically significant differences were found between fiber categories, and thus post-hoc comparisons were not performed.

Finally, when aggregating across all clothing categories (All), significant differences emerged between all fiber categories: mostly non-synthetic garments were heavier than mixed material, and mostly synthetic garments were heavier than those composed mostly of natural fibers and lighter than mixed material items.

Lastly, to examine the contribution of fiber content to garment weight, a hierarchical regression model was employed (See Appendix Table 3). In the first step (Model 1), only the variable “Merged Clothing Type” was included, resulting in an adjusted R² of 0.619. In the second step (Model 2), “Synthetic Fiber” was added to the model, increasing the adjusted R² to 0.648. This indicates that the inclusion of “Synthetic Fiber” explains approximately 3% additional variance in garment weight. An ANOVA comparison between the two models confirmed that this increase in explained variance was statistically significant, showing that synthetic fiber content contributes significantly to predicting garment weight beyond the effect of textile category alone.

Conclusions

The aim of this analysis was to try to understand whether garments made predominantly from synthetic fibers generally weigh less than those made from natural fibers. The motivation behind this research question lies in the fact that the issue of weight-based eco-modulation in textile policies, especially in relation to natural fibers, is an important yet underexplored topic, with practical implications for the fashion industry. From the results it emerges that, on average, especially for some clothing categories, garments made mostly of natural fibers tend to weigh more than those made of synthetic fibers, suggesting that it is important for weight-based policies regulating production in the textile industry to also consider the different types of materials used in garment production in order to achieve better effectiveness. Although it is important to keep in mind a limitation of this analysis: this study does not consider the density differences between the materials since the identity itself is not a proper indicator of the fiber weight of every particular garment. Indeed, the textile final weight would depend also on the physical and chemical processes through which the fibers are processed. This work, however, aims to serve as a starting point for exploring a topic that is still little discussed and that could be further investigated in the future. Additionally, other related themes could be explored, such as the relationship between garment weight, fiber composition, and gender, or how the composition of different fabrics affects the durability of garments. 

References

Bédat, M. (2022). As quoted in Friedman, V. (2022, October 14). New York could make history with a fashion sustainability act. The New York Times. 

Bukhari, M. A., Carrasco-Gallego, R., & Ponce-Cueto, E. (2018). Developing a national programme for textiles and clothing recovery. Waste Management & Research, 36(4), 321-331. 

Changing Markets Foundation. (2021) Fossil Fashion: The Hidden Reliance on Fossil Fuels; Utrecht, The Netherlands. Retrieved from: https://changingmarkets.org/report/fossil-fashion-the-hidden-reliance-of-fast-fashion-on-fossil-fuels/  

Chen, X., Memon, H.A., Wang, Y. et al. Circular Economy and Sustainability of the Clothing and Textile Industry. Mater Circ Econ 3, 12 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42824-021-00026-2

Hearle, J. W., & Morton, W. E. (2008). Physical properties of textile fibres. Elsevier.

Henry, B., Laitala, K., & Klepp, I. G. (2019). Microfibres from apparel and home textiles: Prospects for including microplastics in environmental sustainability assessment. Science of the total environment, 652, 483-494. 

Lifset, R., Kalimo, H., Jukka, A., Kautto, P., & Miettinen, M. (2023). Restoring the incentives for eco-design in extended producer responsibility: The challenges for eco-modulation. Waste Management, 168, 189-201.

 Muthu, S. S., Li, Y., Hu, J. Y., & Mok, P. Y. (2012). Quantification of environmental impact and ecological sustainability for textile fibres. Ecological Indicators, 13(1), 66-74. 

Sigaard, A. S. (2023). Want Not, Waste Not: Preliminary findings. Consumption Research Norway (SIFO). 

Simas, M. S., & Arega, M. A. (2025). From local strategies to global sustainability: A macroeconomic analysis of Extended Producer Responsibility scenarios for the Norwegian consumer textiles sector. 

 Watson, D., Kiørboe, N., Palm, D., Tekie, H., Harris, S., Ekvall, T., Lindhqvist T. & Lyng, K. A. (2014). EPR systems and new business models: reuse and recycling of textiles in the Nordic region. Nordisk Ministerråd. 

Appendices weighting weight Download

The environmental impact of product lifetime extension: a literature review and research agenda

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 26. April 2025

Authors: Irene Maldini, Ingun Grimstad Klepp & Kirsi Laitala

Abstract

Consumer goods environmental policy is increasingly focusing on product durability and product lifetime extension (PLE) to reduce their impact. Given the growing societal relevance of PLE, this review investigates the discourse about its environmental effects, and the empirical knowledge that substantiates this discourse. One hundred and nine relevant articles were selected from 388 distinctive records identified in two databases, Scopus and Web of Science. The statements about the environmental effects of PLE in these publications were extracted and analysed, and a detailed process of backward citation tracking was followed to identify the empirical base substantiating these statements, leading to 85 additional publications that were included in further analyses.

The findings show that the main environmental benefits expected from PLE are related to reductions in the volume of goods produced, which result from expected reductions in demand due to delayed product replacement. However, this reasoning is based on two under-researched assumptions about consumer and industry behaviours: that the demand for new products is driven by replacement, and that decisions on production volumes in the industry are driven by consumer demand. The empirical base in the field is dominated by quantitative assessments that reproduce these assumptions rather than studying them. The findings from a handful of field studies that investigate the presumed behaviour, question that it applies. Therefore, a research agenda is proposed to better understand the relations between product lifetimes and material flows and the influence of consumer and industry behaviour over them. Moreover, given the current gap between the durability discourse and the empirical knowledge that would be needed to substantiate it, recommendations are made for academics, policy makers, advocacy groups, and businesses environmental strategists to moderate their expectations from product longevity measures.

Click here to read the full article (elsevier.com).

The EU Textile Strategy: How to Avoid Overproduction and Overconsumption Measures in Environmental Policy

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 18. April 2025

Authors: Irene Maldini and Ingun Grimstad Klepp

Abstract

The environmental impact of clothing has become critical in recent decades and the growing volume of products in circulation plays a main role. The European Union’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles is a particularly influential policy in this area given the number of regulatory instruments included and their global influence. However, this study highlights the limitations of this Strategy in reversing the trend of growing production and consumption volumes due to its focus on the product level, specifically on product durability. Based on the analysis of public documents and interviews with participants of the policy making process, the study unpacks the factors that enabled such a decision, and how it was integrated in the final document. The analysis shows that by focusing on product durability, an explicit aim to reduce the volume of clothing was avoided, leaving potentially impactful marketing-related measures out of the scope. Two main factors leading to this exclusion are identified: (a) the framing of the Strategy in terms of competitiveness, and (b) a policy-making process prioritizing input from anecdotal rather than scientific knowledge. The study concludes with recommendations to advance knowledge and policy initiatives in marketing-related environmental policy for production and consumption reductions.

Click here to read the full article.

Changes for CHANGE

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 31. March 2025

The Clothing Research Group warmly welcomes Rita Dominici who has come to SIFO for an internship.

Rita Dominici is a second-year student in the master’s program in “Sociology and Social Research” at the University of Trento. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of Bologna with a thesis titled “Fashion as a Social Phenomenon and Consumption Field: The Rise of Fast Fashion and New Paths Towards Sustainability” for which she researched trends in clothing consumption, focusing on current phenomena within production and consumption in the textile industry. She will be working in the CHANGE project during her internship.

Kinga, who has been with us since September, is now moving on and will start a new job as a product developer at Tufte Wear. We wish her all the best!

Gender, Fashion, Sustainability

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 12. February 2025

Author: Kate Fletcher

Abstract

The ability to affect sustainability outcomes is often culturally gendered. This article examines sustainability practices in fashion in the light of core themes in the gender and sustainability literature, drawing upon a re-analysis of a decade-old dataset of resourceful clothing use practices from the Local Wisdom project. In the dataset, evidence is found both of gendered practices and differentiated levels of involvement by gender. The article presents and examines these findings and then extends the discussion to the effects of gendered influence within the field of fashion sustainability more broadly, a field that may often be seen to be gender-blind. The article argues for a new attention to gender and for a re-imagining of the domain based on metabolism and relationship to overcome ideologies and practices based on separation of one group of people from another and of humans from nature.

Click here to read the full paper (intellectdiscover.com).

– The futures we IMAGINE

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 30. October 2024

The IMAGINE project invites you to its end conference and exhibition!

When: December 10th – 15th 2024
Where: Litteraturhuset, Oslo

Join us to explore visions of the future through the lens of eating, dressing and moving in inspiring talks, works and conversations on December 10th.

And visit the exhibition from December 10th – 15th.

For tickets for December 10th, follow the link here.

Program December 10th

08:30 Doors open

09:00 Velkommen // Mads Bruun Høy

Nye måter å forholde seg til fremtiden på // Nina Heidenstrøm

Mellom katastrofe og utopi. Norske dagdrømmer om livet i fremtiden // Audun Kjus

Forsvinningspunkter – fortellinger om fremtider // Heidi Dahlsveen

The power of imaginaries: imagining futures of consumption // Dan Welch

Dyr i byen – En forfattersamtale om klimaromanen Dyr i byen // Marte Wulff

Future Imaginaries in Art, Policy, and Business: The Dominant and Marginal Voices // Justyna Jakubiec, Rick Dolphijn, Virginie Amilien, Lisbeth Løvbak Berg

11:30 – 12:30 LUNSJ

A story of human and technological coming togetherness // Märtha Rehnberg

Velkommen til utstilling og workshop // Marie Hebrok, Dan Lockton, Femke Coops

14:00 Exhibition Opening

14:30 – 15:30 Workshop

14:00 – 17:00 Exhibition

Urban transitions toward sufficiency-oriented circular post-consumer textile economies

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 25. October 2024

Authors: Katia Vladimirova, Yassie Samie, Irene Maldini, Samira Iran, Kirsi Laitala, Claudia E. Henninger, Sarah Ibrahim Alosaimi, Kelly Drennan, Hannah Lam, Ana-Luisa Teixeira, Iva Jestratijevic & Sabine Weber

Abstract

Wealthy cities are the primary hubs for excessive consumption and disposal of fashion and textiles. As such, cities have the power to support urban transitions toward more circular and sufficient consumption patterns. However, there is a lack of research and data around the topic of post-consumer textiles, which results in lagging policy and action at a city level. Here we aim to address this knowledge gap and offer a deeper understanding of what happens to clothes and textiles after consumers no longer want them, across nine Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development cities. Based on the analysis of policy documents, interviews and scientific and gray literature, the study finds similarities in terms of how the flows are managed across wealthy cities. The findings suggest that directing unwanted textiles toward exports makes the problem of growing post-consumer textile waste, a direct result of fashion overproduction and overconsumption, invisible to the public and to municipalities. This Article offers an important and timely analysis to inform action on post-consumer textiles and proposes a list of actionable policy recommendations for city governments to support the transition toward circular and sufficient urban textile systems.

Click here to read the full article (nature.com) or contact the authors for a copy.

Clothing Research at ESA 2024

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 11. October 2024

The European Sociological Association’s main biennial event this year took the clothing researchers to Porto!

When: 27th – 30th August 2024
Where: University of Porto, Portugal

Set on the beautiful backdrop of Porto, the main themes of the 16th ESA conference were “Tension, Trust and Transformation”. About 20 researchers from Consumption Research Norway SIFO participated in the conference this time around, which for a long time has been a very important arena for the institute, in particular, through the Sociology of Consumption Research Network.

Between sessions, we also had time to visit the city, eat some Francesinha and get acquainted with the chickens living on campus.

Four presentations from the SIFO Clothing Researchers

In the session ‘Clothing consumption 1: Fashion’, Vilde Haugrønning presented the paper ‘Gender Dynamics in Clothing Consumption: Examining the Inflow and Outflow of Clothing from a Practice Oriented Perspective’ based on results from the wardrobe studies of her PhD project in the CHANGE project.

In the session ‘Clothing consumption 2: Identity’, Anna Schytte Sigaard presented her paper ‘Social Practices and Identity-Work: Life Course Changes as Drivers for Textile Disposal’ based on results from the wardrobe studies of her PhD project in the Wasted Textiles project.

In the session, Imaginaries of Consumption, Lisbeth Løvbak Berg presented a paper from the IMAGINE project, “Futures Literacy: Norwegian imaginaries of food and clothing consumption”, co-written with Justyna Jakubiec and Atle Wehn Hegnes. The paper explores how futures literacy of food and clothing consumption is exhibited in the material collected in the project, across the three stakeholder groups, consumers, businesses and policymakers.

In the session ‘Clothing consumption 3: Sustainability’, chaired by Anna, Kirsi presented the paper ‘Wardrobe Revelations: Rethinking Repair Practices and Clothing Consumption’. The paper is based on survey data collected in the CHANGE project.

In the same session, our research friend, Réka Tölg, PhD Candidate at Lund University, also presented the paper ‘Caring Circularities: Enacting Circular Consumption by Caring for and with Clothes’, co-authored with Christian Fuentes.

You can read more about the conference by clicking here (europeansociology.org) and the abstracts from the SIFO clothing researchers’ papers below.

Conference Abstracts

Futures literacy: Norwegian Imaginaries of Food and Clothing Consumption

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg, Justyna Jakubiec & Atle Wehn Hegnes

UNESCO has championed futures literacy since 2012, highlighting its importance in the context of imagining alternative futures and directing change towards desirable futures. It follows that futures literacy allows people to actively engage with the plurality of images of the future and relate them to their own choices and ideas of (un)desirable futures. While this includes understanding the role of the future also in people’s everyday consumption practices, which inevitably play a major role in the green transition, efforts are largely focused on policy planning, business innovation and higher education. We, therefore, ask what level of futures literacy Norwegian stakeholders exhibit related to food and clothing consumption. Based on stories collected from 137 Norwegian consumers, advertisements, and business strategy and policy documents, we highlight the different stakeholders’ narratives of food and clothing consumption to compare their engagement with present imaginaries of future consumption. We find that businesses and policymakers display a higher level of future literacy than consumers. In general, the narratives of food consumption are richer and more well-developed than those of clothing consumption: business and policy documents’ narratives of sustainable clothing futures are limited to the repeating narrative of ‘repair, reuse, recycle’, whereas food consumption narratives range from self-sufficiency to alternative protein sources. The latter suggests a higher level of future literacy, which may reflect a more mature discussion of food futures: adversely, the lack of attention to alternative forms of clothing consumption decreases the likelihood of a larger transformation of clothing consumption patterns.

Gender Dynamics in Clothing Consumption: Examining the Inflow and Outflow of Clothing from a Practice Oriented Perspective

Vilde Haugrønning

The present-day consumption of clothing is marked by excessive production and consumption, leading to issues of water scarcity, microplastic pollution, chemical contamination, CO2 emissions, and textile waste. In order to mitigate the environmental impact of clothing, there is an urgent need to examine the factors influencing the high volume of garments in wardrobes.
This study explores the influence of gender and age on clothing consumption based on a qualitative and quantitative wardrobe study of 15 households in Norway from a practice oriented perspective. Each household had a man and a woman living together as partners to enable a gendered comparison between couples that take part in many of the same practices and share the everyday life. In the wardrobe study, the participants conducted a counting exercise of all the garments they owned, including underwear, socks and accessories. Following this, each participant was asked to register all inflow and outflow of clothing for 6 months.
The analysis focus on the turnover rate of clothing and employs Evan’s (2019) six moments of consumption that focus on processes of acquiring and disposing in relation to practices. Preliminary findings show that female participants acquired a higher quantity of clothing compared to male participants. However, age also play a significant role in determining the turnover rate of clothing. The study highlights the social mechanisms and gender dynamics that shape clothing consumption patterns and challenges the prevailing studies on clothing and fashion that often overlook the nuanced practices and actions that influence clothing volumes.

Social Practices and Identity-Work: Life Course Changes as Drivers for Textile Disposal

Anna Schytte Sigaard

In this contribution, the complex interconnections between social practices and textile consumption are explored. Based on wardrobe interviews in 28 Norwegian households, investigation is carried out of the influence of two major life course changes, cohabitation, and parenthood, on disposal of clothing and other textile items. In the transition from living alone to cohabitation, it is found that the disposal of clothing and textiles emerges not only as a functional act but as a symbolic act of divestment. Spatially and temporally separated practices, such as pre-move closet purges and post-move decoration, underscore the profound identity-work involved in this transition where discarded items come to symbolize remnants of single life. Parenthood introduces a challenging balance between environmentally conscious practices and time constraints, unveiling compromises made in sustainable practices amidst the demands of parenting. The disposal of impractical gifts and inherited baby clothes reflects the negotiation of a new parental identity. In this contribution, the importance of individual reflexivity in the negotiation of identities during major life transitions is emphasized. Thereby, it contributes to expanding the understanding of clothing and textile consumption as both routinized and mundane practices at the same time as involving intentional and reflexive discursive activities.

Wardrobe Revelations: Rethinking Repair Practices and Clothing Consumption

Kirsi Laitala

Global clothing production and consumption pose significant challenges to environmental, social, and economic sustainability, particularly driven by the fast-fashion business model linking the global North and South. This study, based on a Norwegian consumer survey (N=1200), investigates factors influencing volumes of clothing consumption. Analyzing acquisition, ownership (wardrobe size), and disposal volumes, principal component analysis (PCA) factor extraction was used to identify key constructs related to respondents’ preferences and perceptions of clothing acquisition, use and repair practices.
Gender and age emerge as pivotal determinants, with women reporting higher acquisition, ownership, and disposal levels than men. Those in their 50s possess the largest wardrobes, while younger individuals exhibited a higher frequency of clothing acquisition and disposal, and thus higher turnover rates of their wardrobe contents. Surprisingly, the study reveals that higher repair intentions or focus on quality do not correspond to reduced consumption. These counterintuitive results challenge conventional assumptions about the relationship between these practices and overall consumption. Similarly, factors such as the allure of sales, impulse buying, and the desire to appear well-dressed contributed to increased consumption levels, emphasizing the influence of psychological and social factors.
The lack of correlation between reduced consumption and the intention to focus on buying fewer quality items and repairing more implies a need for alternative strategies that consumers can apply to address their consumption levels and related sustainability challenges in the fashion industry. This research emphasizes the urgency of reevaluating current practices and fostering a more sustainable and conscientious approach to clothing consumption.

USED BUT NOT USED UP

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 27. September 2023

Webinar Monday 23rd of October 2023 08:30-11:00

Both the volumes of textile waste and the interest in what to do with it, are growing. Fortunately, knowledge about what textile waste consists of is also growing, as is the interest in regulating the sector.

In this webinar, we will summarize several recent reports on textile waste in Norway and other countries, as well as a report that examines whether environmental strategies take seriously the fact that if the textiles are to be used up, then less must be produced.
The clothes we dispose of are often used – but far from used up.

We ask:
– How can discarded textiles be used in the best possible way to ensure new use, and what kind of knowledge enables us to reduce the amount of used but not used up textiles?
– How much textiles, especially synthetics, are disposed of in Norway? What do wasted textiles consist of, and why and how are they disposed of?
– Which regulatory measures will can be implemented in order to reduce the volumes of textile waste?

This is a dissemination seminar under the Wasted Textiles research project at SIFO, Oslomet, funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Retailers Environment Fund.

The webinar will be held in English.

Program

08.30–09.00
Registration and coffee for those who attend physically

09.00–09.05
Welcome!
Moderator: Jens Måge, Advisor, Avfall Norge

09.05–09.15
Plastic – The elephant in the room: Who dares to talk about it?
Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor, Oslo Metropolitan University – SIFO

09.15–09.30
Waste analysis in the Wasted Textiles project
Frode Syversen, CEO, Mepex | Kristiane Rabben, Advisor, Mepex Consult AS

09.30–09.45
Method for Picking Analyses of Textiles – REdu Wasted Textiles Summer Project 2023
Saeid Sheikhi, MSc student in Information Systems and Business Analytics, Høgskolen Kristiania | Siri Vestengen, Masterstudent Economics, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU) | Camilla Sunde, MSc in Informatics: Digital Economics and Leadership, Universitetet i Oslo (UiO) | Eva Valborg Hovda Masterstudent Material Science, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU)

09.45–09.55
Dutch experiences with waste analyzes on textiles – reflections on the types of brands found.
Hilde van Duijn, Head of Global Value Chains, Circle Economy Foundation

09:55-10.00
Experiences from picking analysis in Svalbard
Henrik Lystad, CEO Norwaste

10.00–10.15
Coffee break

10.15–10.30
How can a producer responsibility scheme be set up to reduce environmental impact?
Dina Lingås, Consultant, NORION Consult

10.30–11.00
Questions and discussion

Click here to join the webinar (facebook.com).

Click here to sign up to attend in person (avfallnorge.no).

Lost in the masses: is product longevity the solution?

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 26. September 2023

When: 18th of October 2023, 10:00-15:15

Where: OsloMet, Pilestredet 35, Ellen Gleditschs hus: PH131, Anna Felbers auditorium (1st floor)

The Lasting project presents findings from 3 years of research on product lifespans and sustainability. The project led by Consumption Research Norway SIFO at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) gathered actors from the Norwegian home appliances, textile and furniture sectors. The partners have researched the material streams, consumer and business perspectives as well as policy in the area of product lifetimes with the goal of moving towards a sustainable future where products last for a long time.

This seminar will be of particular interest to anyone working with sustainability, product design, business models or policy development.

The seminar is followed by a workshop where we move from theoretical to practical explorations, examining how we could live with our things in the future. Here we will play around with design briefs based on the project findings.

The seminar will be in English, while the workshop will be in Norwegian.

Click here to sign up (nettskjema.no)

Program

9.30 Doors open – coffee available

10:00 Welcome by Harald Throne-Holst, Researcher at SIFO

10:05 Consumer views on increasing product lifetimes by Kirsi Laitala, project leader and Researcher at SIFO

10:30 Let’s see the forest for the trees: industrial ecology insights into product lifetimes by Kamila Krych, PhD Candidate at NTNU

10:55 Conflicting narratives of product longevity by Lisbeth Løvbak Berg, Researcher at SIFO

11:20 Durability in product policy – The limitation of the dream of longer life by Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor in Clothing and Sustainability at SIFO

11:45 Lunch

12:30 Lost in sameness: plurality, clothing and durability by Kate Fletcher, Professor at the Royal Danish Academy

12:55 Discussion: overproduction and product longevity

13:25 Coffee break and room change for workshop participants: Room PI451 (4th floor)

13:45 Workshop (in Norwegian): Tingene og oss i fremtiden

15:15 End

The Lasting project is funded by the Research Council of Norway. Read more about the project at the project website (lasting.world).