Seminar 8th – 9th June 2026, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen
At the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences there is a strong research interest in perspectives on nature preservation, sustainability, circular economy, ecocriticism, the human – nature/environment and sensing relations, embodied knowledge and the role and consequences of consumption in outdoor life traditions. These are fields that often compete for influence.
At this seminar we will take a step back to basic questions about our future living conditions and take the concept of conviviality, our way of living together, as a starting point and steppingstone. This starting point critically reverses the individualistic search for wellbeing and increases the focus to solidarity and living together. Even if so called green spaces and time spent on outdoor activities are proved beneficial for health, using nature as a remedy and searching for wellbeing in nature have been criticized for being individualistic and related to overconsumption and the risk of destroying parts of the natural world.
Keynote speakers:
Thomas Fuchs, Professor at Heidelberg University, Germany
Helga Synnevåg, Professor at Volda University College, Norway
Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
Time: 12 March 2026, 13:00–15:50 CET Place: Oslo National Academy of the Arts
How do emerging fashion designers work with cultural heritage? What roles do craft and dress play in connecting the past and the present?
The Nordic organisation ALPHA and Oslo National Academy of the Arts are organising a half-day seminar that explores cultural heritage across contemporary fashion and folk dress. Through a presentation and a conversation, the seminar shares new perspectives on the meanings and use of cultural heritage and craft in fashion and dress. The day concludes with an engaging workshop where everyone can learn how to weave.
The event is supported by the Nordic Culture Fund through ALPHA.
Programme
13:00-13:10: Welcome, Fredrik Floen, Head of Bachelor’s Programme, Clothing Design and Costume Design, Oslo National Academy of the Arts
13:10-13:30: Introduction to Nordic Fashion Cultures, Ane Lynge-Jorlén, Director of ALPHA.
13:30-14:30: Cultural Heritage in Norwegian Fashion and Dress Conversation with fashion designer Ramona Salo Myrseth, fashion designer Vårhild Bakke Berntzen and cultural historian and senior curator Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen, moderated by Ane Lynge-Jorlén
14:30-14:50: Coffee break
14:50-15:50: Weaving workshop by designer Ingeborg Iona Isla Kvalnes, who merges weaving with embodied knowledge of hands. Learn how to weave and bring home self-made items.
Authors: Irene Maldini, Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Kate Fletcher
Abstract
Clothing and textiles are increasingly made of synthetic (fossils-based) fibres, enabling rapid growth in overall production volumes in this sector, with significant environmental impact. This research aims at understanding the strategies of companies that are actively working to confront this trend by trying to avoid or reduce synthetic content in their products. Fifteen companies are interviewed to gather their strategies in resisting synthetic fibres. These include four companies born with a plastic-free mindset, five companies that define themselves as a wool or cotton company despite using other materials, and six companies that aim at reducing synthetic use as part of a broader approach to sustainability and the quality of the products offered. The study analyses the barriers and enablers that affect their endeavours and proposes a series of policy recommendations to counter current developments. Barriers experienced by companies include synthetics’ low price, their physical characteristics enabling elasticity, durability and impermeability, the narrative of plastic recycling as a questionable sustainable solution, the bias of sustainability indicators and production technologies, and specific fashion trends calling for the material characteristics mentioned above. Some enablers mentioned are concerns from the company leadership about the growth of synthetics and associated microplastic release, the role of public policy and procurement in driving the change, resistance to synthetics by users in specific products (e.g. childrenswear), efforts to produce with the company’s own recycled materials, and to achieve a more intensive use of their products. The study concludes with policy recommendations such as stopping subsidizing petrochemicals, sanctioning overproduction practices, promoting true pricing and discriminating tax rates, improving sustainability metrics, targeted R&D support for natural and local materials and a fibre-to-fibre focus for recycling policy, so that the overall volume of textile production and the content of synthetics in it can be reduced.
Extending product lifetimes through repair is a central strategy in sustainable consumption and circular economy initiatives. This article examines how consumers evaluate textile damages and potential to repair, drawing on wardrobe interviews with 28 Norwegian households. Over a six-month period, we tracked 3211 clothing and household textile items going out of use, of which only 107 (3.3 per cent) had been repaired or altered prior to disposal, almost exclusively as home repairs. Based on participant evaluations, we developed a three-level repair scale that reflects perceived repair complexity and feasibility. This scale, combined with item-level damage data, reveals both practical and conceptual challenges in promoting textile repair. Repairability in textiles is more complex than in other product groups, such as electronics, because many common damages fall outside the scope of conventional repair schemes. We argue for a practice-based understanding of repairability that accounts for the interaction between damage types, consumer competences, cultural meanings and systems of provision. Our policy recommendations highlight the need to go beyond product design and service provision to also support social learning, cultural normalization and the integration of repair into everyday life, recognizing its social and cultural significance as essential for effectively extending clothing lifespans.
Authors: Veerle Vermeyen (PhD student, KU Leuven), Filip Germeys (Professor, KU Leuven)
Today, conversations about sustainable fashion often focus on buying better and consuming less—yet we still know remarkably little about what people actually keep in their wardrobes. This gap in knowledge limits our ability to design effective interventions and evaluate progress toward a more circular fashion system. To develop meaningful strategies, we need a better understanding of the “use phase”: how many garments people own, how they use them, and how these patterns differ across the population.
With this in mind, my research set out to map the current clothing stock and wardrobe composition among adults in Flanders (Belgium). We were particularly interested in examining how wardrobe size and content vary between individuals, providing a baseline that helps illuminate the diversity of wardrobe practices within society. We conducted a volumetric wardrobe study consisting of a quantitative audit of all the garments within the study scope at participants’ home. For each item, we recorded three attributes: (1) the garment category, (2) whether the participant was the first owner of the item or not (“first-owner” vs “pre-owned”), and (3) whether the garment had been worn in the prior 12 months (“active” vs “dormant”). Underwear, footwear, and accessories were not included in the audit.
Methodology
Potential participants were initially identified through an online survey. To ensure diversity, the pool was stratified by age and gender, after which individuals were selected using convenience sampling. For example, as the wardrobe audits happened at participants’ homes, participants were selected so that researchers could reach multiple participants within the same day. In total, 314 participants took part in the research: 47% male and 53% female, from the age of 16. All participants lived either in Flanders, the northern region of Belgium, or in the Brussels Capital Region.
The wardrobe audits were carried out in two rounds using a consistent protocol. In the first round, five researchers conducted audits between January and March 2024 as part of their master’s thesis projects. A second team of five researchers repeated the same procedure between January and March 2025, allowing us to expand the dataset while maintaining methodological consistency.
After each audit, researchers posed a set of follow-up questions. In the first round, these focused on dormant garments and explored why participants continued to keep items they had not worn in the past year. In the second round, the questions shifted toward understanding garment service lifetimes and assessing the potential for reducing overall wardrobe volume.
Results
The main results of the wardrobe audits are summarised in the figure below, putting initial numbers to an area where assumptions are often made. The research provides a baseline for understanding the current stock and use of clothing in Flanders (Belgium). The 314 wardrobe audits have since been published in an online database, and the findings of the first data collection round are published as a research article in the Journal of Circular Economy.
The baseline data on wardrobe size and composition will serve as the reference for future case studies focusing on specific demographic or behavioural groups. This research will rely more on qualitative methods to gain deeper insights into the underlying dynamics of current consumption patterns. By doing so, we aim to better understand the motivations, behaviours, and trends driving clothing usage in Flanders and inform strategies for more sustainable consumption.
This research builds upon previous volumetric wardrobe studies, such as by Maldini et al. (2017) in the Netherlands. Further studies could be conducted in regions with different climatic, cultural, or economic profiles to Flanders to ascertain differences. Conducting in-person wardrobe audits offers a true ‘behind-the-scenes’ view of how people manage, store, and think about their clothing. You notice nuances that would never surface through online surveys — patterns, habits, contradictions, and surprises that spark new questions and inspire new lines of research.
Reference
Maldini, I., Duncker, L., Bregman, L., Piltz, G., Duscha, L., Cunningham, G., Vooges, M., Grevinga, T., Tap, R., & van Balgooi, F. (2017). Measuring the Dutch clothing mountain: data for sustainability-oriented studies and actions in the apparel sector. PublishingLab.
Further references
Dataset with wardrobe audits: Vermeyen, Veerle; Van Acker, Karel; Germeys, Filip, 2025, “Size and Composition of Wardrobes in Flanders”, https://doi.org/10.48804/EQBNMJ, KU Leuven RDR, V1
Published results of the first round: Vermeyen, V., Alaerts, L., Worrell, E., Van Acker, K., & Germeys, F. (2024). Behind Closed Doors: Examining the Stock of Clothing in Individuals’ Wardrobes. Journal of Circular Economy, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.55845/OQEE5977
Pilot study on wardrobe reduction: Vermeyen, V., Duyvejonck, M., & Germeys, F. (2025). From excess to essential: Exploring the Potential of Adopting Smaller Wardrobes. Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025), (6). https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10360
The overproduction of garments, often of low quality, contributes significantly to environmental degradation, especially in the Global South. Therefore, assessing the durability of garments has attracted the attention of industry organizations and legislators. Recent research has identified both intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of durability and their links to a circular transition. This study aims to deepen the understanding of garment durability by incorporating the local perspectives of five different global communities. Using a participatory action research methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders across value chains in France, Ghana, Indonesia, Norway, and South Africa. The key findings of this study have been grouped into 8 trends that characterize garment durability: (1) quality is preferred over durability, (2) garment durability is dynamic, (3) price and brand are related to perceived durability, (4) local refers to geographical proximity, (5) local involves value creation, (6) local touches tradition, (7) traditional garments and textiles are more durable, and (8) local contexts influence garment durability. These trends indicate that local factors significantly influence the definition and practice of durability, suggesting that global legislation must consider such nuances when describing and quantifying durability in the context of garments and textiles.
Vanacker, H., Lemieux, A.-A., Laitala, K., Dindi, M., Bonnier, S., & Lamouri, S. (2025). Understanding garment durability through local lenses: a participatory study with communities across the globe. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 34962. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-19087-3
Hybrid seminar Thursday, 6th of November 2025, 13:00-17:00 CET. OsloMet, Pilestredet 35 / Online.
We cordially invite you to the combined end seminar of the CHANGE and Wasted Textiles projects.
The title and the illustration of the seminar are inspired by the book «More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy» by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, which describes how energy innovation has not led to energy transitions, but rather the use of more and more and more energy. We found this to be a suitable title also for a seminar that concludes two projects, which have studied the drivers of the increasing volumes of clothing from two different angles.
The seminar will be chaired by Prof. Kate Fletcher, MMU, and Jens Måge, SirkNorge and present central findings from both projects, ranging from historical knowledge to contemporary consumption and political implications of the research, through to following and future research.
PROGRAMME
13:00 – Welcome
13:05 – Context
Two projects, two approaches to the same problem // Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor in Clothing and Sustainability, SIFO, OsloMet
13:20 – New knowledge
Circular Habits, Linear Results – Do Repair and Reuse Slow Wardrobe Growth? // Kirsi Laitala, Senior Researcher, SIFO, OsloMet
More than enough: Gender and clothing volumes in Norwegian wardrobes // Vilde Haugrønning, PhD Candidate, SIFO, OsloMet
Textile disposal volumes from Norwegian households // Anna Schytte Sigaard, PhD Candidate, SIFO, OsloMet
The limitations of product durability and longevity to reduce environmental impacts // Irene Maldini, Senior Researcher, SIFO, OsloMet
Sustainability impact analysis of Extended Producer Responsibility for the Norwegian consumer textiles sector // Meron Assefa Arega, Senior Researcher, SINTEF
Working to reduce plastic and production volumes in fashion education and business // A conversation between Gisle Mardal, NF&TA and Tone Skårdal Tobiasson, NICE Fashion
The upcoming EPR legislation and the market experiences we have gained to date // Kerli Kant Hvass, Assistant Professor, Aalborg University
Direct impact: Experiences from open discussions over museum objects // Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen, Norsk Folkemuseum
16:00 – Offspring
New projects and applications: Continuations of and reactions to the examined perspectives // Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor in Clothing and Sustainability, SIFO, OsloMet. and Kate Fletcher, Professor of Sustainability, Design and Fashion Systems, MMU
Exhibition and seminar, 17th of Octobre 16:00-19:30, 18th of Octobrer 2025, 12:00 – 17:30 Deichman Library, Bjørvika, Oslo
A powerful art project that stitches together stories of fashion, environment and colonial structures.
re-(t)exHile is an international artistic research project that investigates the consequences of the global textile waste crisis. The project started in Lagos and has since grown through collective sewing and textile installations in Slovakia, Chile – and now Oslo.
In October, the project will come to Deichman Bjørvika in collaboration with KORO, with an installation and an international seminar. Here, the audience is invited to reflect on fast fashion, overproduction and Europe’s role in the global flow of used clothing. The artwork is expanded through collaboration with students from KHiO and volunteers from diverse backgrounds. The project concludes with a performative intervention in Oslo City Hall, where textiles from all the project chapters are gathered – as a visual and symbolic gesture against the recurring colonial patterns in the fashion industry.
A project by Maria Alejandra Gatti, Martinka Bobrikova, Oscar de Carmen and Anto Lloverasre-(t)exHile is an international artistic research project that investigates the consequences of the global textile waste crisis. The project started in Lagos and has since grown through collective sewing and textile installations in Slovakia, Chile – and now Oslo.
In October, the project will come to Deichman Bjørvika in collaboration with KORO, with an installation and an international seminar. Here, the audience is invited to reflect on fast fashion, overproduction and Europe’s role in the global flow of used clothing. The artwork is expanded through collaboration with students from KHiO and volunteers from diverse backgrounds.
The project concludes with a performative intervention in Oslo City Hall, where textiles from all the project chapters are gathered – as a visual and symbolic gesture against the recurring colonial patterns in the fashion industry.
A project by Maria Alejandra Gatti, Martinka Bobrikova, Oscar de Carmen and Anto Lloveras.
Organisert av KORO.
Program
Friday 17th of Octobre
16:00 Welcome by KORO and Erik Kaspartu
16:10 Introduction to re-(t)exHile and round table conversation
17:00 Lecture: Making fast fashion out of fashion – Ingun Grimstad Klepp
17:50 Lecture and documentary: Sowing imagination – Andrei Fernandez
18:40 Lecture: The violence of donated clothing – Sunny Dolat
19:00 Film screeing: Delivery Details – The Nest Collective
19:20 End
Saturday 18th of Octobre
12:00 Welcome
12:05 Lecture: Responsible Consumers and the Environmental Impact of Fashion – Outi Pyy
13:10 Workshop: Broken No More: The Art and Joy of Repair – Marium Durrani
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia invites you to a webinar.
What is the status of textile circularity in the Nordic-Baltic region, and how could Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) help accelerate collection, sorting, reuse and recycling of post-consumer textiles?
What lessons can be drawn from early national efforts in Latvia and the Netherlands – and which pitfalls should be avoided?
In this note, we present the results of a survey conducted in the project Textile Farmers and Fashion Agriculture: New momentum for local utilisation of all agricultural resources, led by Fibershed Norway. Based on responses from 124 small and 8 larger entities, we see that the grassroots in the Norwegian textile value chain are diverse, with a majority of the respondents being knitters/weavers and/or producers of animal fibres from both sheep and other fibre animals. Respondents from all parts of the textile value chain are represented, including some cultivators of fibre plants. Sales and framework conditions are the biggest bottlenecks. The responses bear the hallmarks of multitasking and a great willingness to cooperate in a value chain characterised by poor profitability and little political support.
