– 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

DESIGNA — International Conference on Design Research

Erlend Hua Lun Kok on 2. October 2024

Clothing researchers Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Kate Fletcher will be part of opening the DESIGNA – CITIZENSHIP International Conference on Design Research in Covilhã Portugal the 24th and 25th October by presenting in the first plenary session at 10:30. Their talks are outlined below.

Multispecies citizens, clothing, design and nature – Professor Kate Fletcher

Ecological emergencies are intensifying to the point of earth system collapse. Fashion clothes and the systems that create them are deeply implicated in these emergencies. Garments are entangled with consumerist ideologies, with individualism, excess and wastefulness. They are also predicated – in the Modern West – on the notion that humans are separate from, and above, nature and that nature and its resources are for human’s unlimited use. Breaking with this approach, in this talk I will explore design themes and actions of nature relations, drawing on stories from my work with clothing. I will explore extending ideas of citizenship to include the greater-than-human world, the role of limits and direct sensory experience of the body in design.  

Clothing consumers as citizens, and the role of design – Professor Ingun Grimstad Klepp

The image of consumers is far from the one of citizens, but all of us are both. In this paper I will explain how I as a consumer researcher understand the deep conflicts in this image and how it impacts the possibility of finding more sustainable solutions. As an guest in the design family I will explore the challenges at the border between consumer research and sustainable design and with that acknowledge both the great potential – and limitation of designing clothes for citizens

For more information regarding the conference, click here.

Wild Dress

Erlend Hua Lun Kok on 26. April 2024

Image credit: Charlie Meecham

Launch: Hawkwood May Day Festival
Monday 6 May 2024 12-5pm
Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking
Pianswick Old Road
Stroud GL6 7QW

Wild Dress, a collection of my stories about clothing and the natural world was first published in 2019 by Uniform Books. The collection is about life, living and dressing in entanglement with ecological systems, recognising that these things – clothes and nature – cannot be separated. Written and spoken by Kate Fletcher, Wild Dress is created with immersive sound designer Carolyn Downing and director/dramaturg Zoë Svendsen.

Now Wild Dress has been transformed into an immersive sonic artwork in a collaboration between the theatre maker and dramaturg Zoë Svendsen, award-winning sound artist Carolyn Downing and me. 

The core of the artwork are five sonic pieces, geolocated in woods around Hawkwood House, and accessible through the app Echoes. Here audiences can move through the woods and listen to delicately crafted audio pieces. The simplicity of walking and listening, experiencing the woods and experiencing stories of clothing and nature has a beautiful symmetry, the pieces feeling like an extension of body-land. They are available in the grounds of Hawkwood until at least the end of summer 2024. A map of the zones for each of the stories is below.

The Launch day also layered many other elements. There was a rail of clothes ready to be borrowed, each with different affordances impact the experience of moving and listening, and a cassette tape describing the features on hand.

There were two Saori looms hosted by Nicola and Ali from Stroud-based Wayward Weaves and Periscope respectively, and after listening, the audience was invited to weave some ‘fabric’ with natural materials gathered from the woods. The weave became a recording of a day’s worth of conversations about clothing and the living world, interlacing one with the other.

And there was the remarkable performer Tamzin Griffin who told excerpts of stories from Wild Dress and a later book Outfitting (2022). I watched, mesmerised as she filled out the words and extended them, and they became alive different to and apart from me. It was an honour to witness, a privilege, and personally very affecting. 

Huge thanks to all those who supported on the day and across the years that this has been in development: Metis, ArtsAdmin, Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking, Arts Council England.

How to participate

To experience Wild Dress you will need to bring a smartphone and your own
headphones. You will also need to download the ‘echoes’ app, which is free: this can be done in advance. Please see here for further details: https://metisarts.co.uk/wild-dress/listening

Wardrobe methods event

tobiasson on 4. March 2024

Poster for event

April 17th at 10:00-11:00 CET. Online.

Join us for an exciting discussion about Wardrobe Methods in research with a talk by Professor Ingun Grimstad Klepp and then a sharing of experiences from across UCRF of doing research about the use and disposal of clothing. It will be facilitated by UCRF board members Kate Fletcher and Karishma Kelsey.

The aim is to:

  • deepen understanding about wardrobe methods; and 
  • extend use of wardrobe methods and build greater diversity in their ideas and applications. 

You can register here. The event will take place over Zoom. 

Join us on 17th April!

Participation is free, but booking is essential to help us organise the event.

Please note: the event will be recorded and made available on the UCRF YouTube channel for later viewing.  Also note: an edited book of 50 wardrobe methods, ‘Opening Up the Wardrobe: A Methods Book’ (2017) co-edited by Kate Fletcher and Ingun Grimstad Klepp is now available as a free e-book, find it here. And a link to a library of new Wardrobe Studies is here.

The Slovool webinar

tobiasson on 4. March 2024

Poster for Slovool webinar

Friday March 15th, 9:30 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 15:30 CET. Online.

Link to register for participation: https://oslomet.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hyjlVft_S5et2l8WCVwHTw#/registration

9:30 Welcome by Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor Clothing and Sustainability, Consumption Research Norway, Oslo Metropolitan University

9:45 How the change from local spæl wool to merino in embroidery yarns impacted the bunad by Kari-Anne Pedersen, Norwegian Folk Museum

10:15 Wool in traditional Slovak folk costumes by Mgr.art Radoslava Janáčová, ÚĽUV (The Center for Folk Art production)

10:40 The challenges of sourcing material for Slovakian folk costumes in a local value chain perspective by Mgr. Zuzana Kolcunová, ÚĽUV (The Center for Folk Art production)

11:00 Discussion and reflections facilitated by Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor Clothing and Sustainability, Consumption Research Norway, Oslo Metropolitan University

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch break

13:00 Welcome back and summary of the morning session by Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor Clothing and Sustainability, Consumption Research Norway, Oslo Metropolitan University

13:15 How local sheep breeds have contributed to rediscovering cultural expression in modern design by Ingvild Svorkmo Espelien, founder Selbu spinneri.

13:40 The challenges of building up a wool value chain based on local Slovak wool, challenges of first Slovak mini-mill by Mgr. Martina Vozárová, founder and owner of Vlnárska Manufaktúra

14:00 Innovation and inspiration: Challenges of bringing local Slovak wool back to the market by Mgr. Ľubica Kováčiková and Mgr. Alena Niňajová, non-profit OZ Naša Vlna and founders of local Slovak wool brand MOKOŠA

14:30 Discussion and ways forward facilitated byTone Skårdal Tobiasson, journalist and woolly author

15:15 Summary by Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Professor Clothing and Sustainability, Consumption Research Norway, Oslo Metropolitan University

15:30 End

Fashion and the City

tobiasson on 23. January 2024

Panel discussion on the role of municipalities in promoting circularity and more sustainable consumption patterns in the fashion sector.

Sustainable fashion is often regarded as an issue of international trade and global issues, disregarding the role of local municipalities in the phenomena of overproduction and overconsumption and their trickle-down effects. Yet many cities around the world have started to think of this challenge and develop innovative mechanisms to reduce the volume of production and overconsumption and support their city’s fashion sector’s transition to sustainability. How can municipalities reduce waste, induce sustainable consumption behaviours in their citizens and promote sustainable choices, and circular business services? Do municipalities that are at the receiving end of fast fashion initiate policies and initiatives to re-address the phenomenon? Can cities impact the fashion industry by changing consumption patterns of their citizens?

UN ALLIANCE WEBINAR February 5th, 2024 14:00 – 17:00 CET

Here in the link to register to the event.

Programme and speakers

Opening remarks Simone Cipriani, Chairperson, UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion & Chief Technical Advisor, Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI/ITC)

Introduction Katia Dayan Vladimirova, PhD, Senior lecturer and researcher, University of Geneva

City Cases (10 min each) AMSTERDAM: Dieuwertje de Wagenaar, Senior Policy Officer Circular Textiles, City of Amsterdam. Fashion and textiles in the “Amsterdam Doughnut”: How policy can boost local circular ecosystems. OSLO: Kirsi Laitala, Senior researcher, Oslo Metropolitan University. Key challenges of textile waste and city-level solutions: Case of Oslo. ACCRA: Elizabeth Rickett, Co-founder, The Or Foundation. Textile overwhelm: How Accra City is managing the growing volumes of imported second hand garments and the resulting textile waste through circular practices. GENEVA: Katia Dayan Vladimirova, PhD, Senior lecturer and researcher, University of Geneva. Opportunities to support responsible local fashion consumption: Case of the City of Geneva. CAPE TOWN: Alison Evans, Head: Waste Markets, City of Cape Town. Moving towards circular textiles through Cape Town partnerships. The case of the city of NEW YORK will also be featured.

Discussants (5 min each) Felicity Lammas, Sustainability Manager, Global Fashion Agenda Mohammad Awale, Founder, Rummage Josephine Philips, Founder and CEO, Sojo Matt Dwyer, Product Impact and Innovation Leader, Patagonia Enrica Arena, CEO, Orange Fiber Åsa Degerman, Manager, Once More Q&A

Conclusions ● Gulnara Roll, Head of the Cities Unit, UNEP
Moderation ● Paola Deda, Director, Forests, Land and Housing Division, UNECE

This is an event of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion; organized by ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative, UNECE, UNEP, ICLEI and the University of Geneva.

Unused resources for CHANGE: Fashion, history and sustainability

tobiasson on 31. October 2023

Double spread from an old women's magazine showing cozy ways to dress.

We need to activate knowledge to unravel today’s environmental tangle, and we need to come together in these trying times. On Thursday November 9th, the SIFO Project CHANGE and the Norwegian Folk Museum will collaborate and will be visited by our talented Swedish and Danish colleagues. There will be an academic seminar (physical and digital) and later the same day a whole evening with a hands-on approach both to the museum’s archives and to research. In between the two, there will be opportunities for mingling, food and drink.

We need you to register, as there is limited space. If you want to take part in everything, you must register both for the seminar, the mingling and buy a ticket for the evening (two separate links). When registering for the academic seminar, you can also choose to have a link sent to you for digital participation.

Hybrid academic seminar:

Unused resources for CHANGE: Fashion, history and sustainability

14:30 – 14:45
CHANGE – why does history matter?

Why talk about historical practices in the discussion around the environmental impact of textiles and clothing?

Professor Ingun Grimstad Klepp Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) at OsloMet.

14:45 – 15:15
How did they do it? Variety in clothing without excessive wastefulness, Reflection on today’s environmental strategies inspired by dress practice in Norway and Sweden 1780-1880.
Professor Ingun Grimstad Klepp Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) at OsloMet.

(Based on Variety in dress: Norwegian and Swedish clothing 1780-1880 Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen, Marie Ulväng, Pernilla Rasmussen, Ingun Grimstad Klepp & Ingrid Haugsrud)

15:15 – 15:45
A closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear. Wardrobe planning in Norwegian weekly magazines 1908-2023

Ingrid Haugsrud Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) at OsloMet.

(Based on Towards a closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear: Wardrobe planning regimes in women’s weekly magazines 1908-2023. Ingrid Haugsrud, Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Vilde Haugrønning.)

15:45 – 16:00
Q&A

16:00 -18:00 Mingling and opportunity for physical attendees to buy refreshments (registration required).

Click here for participation in the academic hybrid conference, either physical or digital).

For participation in the evening event (6:00-8:30 PM) you need to buy a ticket directly from the Folk Museum (only physical participation possible). Click here for tickets.

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).

Natural Fibre Connect Conference 2023

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 14. September 2023

Hybrid event, 28-29th of September 2023.

Tone Skårdal Tobiasson will present the report THE PLASTIC ELEPHANT at the conference.

Natural Fibre Connect (NFC) is an alliance between leading alpaca, cashmere, mohair and wool organisations. The NFC logo represents each of these four natural fibres, woven together by their shared goals and challenges as well as their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – as seen by its resemblance to the SDG17 icon.

The goal of NFC is a world with more Natural Fibres by 2030. Through its events, NFC enables consensus building as well as sharing and understanding of the growers’ and herders’ perspectives.

In-Person Conference in Biella, Italy

Actively participate and connect with others at the in-person main conference Natural Fibre Connect 2023 hosted in Biellay, Italy – the center for manufacturing precious animal fibres. Visit various mills, listen to live speakers and participate in workshops and panel discussions while also enjoying the beautiful surroundings, food, and drink of Northern Italy.

Online Conference

Join Natural Fibre Connect from the comfort of your home and listen to all live sessions, workshops, and panel discussions. Network with other online participants, visit the online exhibition hall and ask questions. Presentations will be translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Mongolian. Did you miss a session? No problem, all recordings will be available after the conference.

Click here to see the program of the conference (naturalfibreconnect.com)

Click here to see the recordings from the conference (linkedin.com)