Projects Archives - Page 3 of 13

Clothing Care

Kinga Zablocka on 12. January 2025

“And he don’t even care for clothes” sang Nina Simone in “My Baby Just Cares For Me” which is how the chapter “Clothing Care” opens in the new, impressive and comprehensive book “The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability in Fashion”.

Clothing researchers in SIFO use the Nina Simone quote to discuss the connection between “care[ing] about clothes, people, and nature. There is a connection between care as something practical and mundane, such as washing and repairing clothes, and the more general feeling of wishing to preserve something. The chapter spans from presenting knowledge on techniques used to maintain (care for) clothing such as washing, repair and storage; to discussing the prerequisites for caring about this.”

Ingrid Haugsrud is the first author. The text is based on data from her MA thesis in Fashion and Society from OsloMet. In 2016, she performed a wardrobe study with six informants in their 20s, and 63 favorite garments that the informants valued especially were registered. These were the garments that their wearers cared for both in emotional and practical terms. The other authors, Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Kirsi Laitala, use these specific examples to paint a picture. Together, they have extensive experience with scientific publications about different care techniques such as washing, repair and clothing use, as well as repurposing of clothing in the wardrobe. As such the text summarizes a lot of knowledge in addition to relating it back to topical discussions today; what can lead to change and the relationship between technical lifespan and longer use time.

The chapter is a product of the CHANGE-project. It uses wardrobe studies, empirical data and discusses a variety of topics such as how one environmental challenge, the volumes of clothing that are being produced, can be reduced. It points out that helping consumers to better take care of their clothes is not a vailable solution, as consumers would only take better care of their if they owned fewer pieces. For Ingrid, this work is not only important because it brings forth the important work she did on her MA thesis, but also because it is an early preview of what she will work on in her PhD, which is fittingly a part of the larger CARE-project. She hit the ground running by acquiring a publication in the field at the very start of her PhD journey.

We have not read the book in its entirety thus far, yet we have to prize its wide subject matter. It does not only include the environmental side of sustainability, but also the cultural and social aspects. We were able to find much more information in this book compared to most books on topics such as clothing consumption and production of clothing and shoes in and outside of Western Europe and USA.

Amazing international win!

tobiasson on 7. December 2024

Time to celebrate! Traditional costumes, the craftmanship and social practice from Norway, and summer farming (seter and fäbod) in both Norway and Sweden are now on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list!

This gives an unexpected boost to the Amazing Grazing project and puts some recent and older publications in a new light.

First and foremost a big congratulations to years and years of hard work from Norwegian and Swedish organizations to put these two intangible cultural heritage traditions on the radar of the global work with protecting the many disappearing or vulnerable cultural practices.

For summer farming at fäbod and seter: knowledge, traditions and practices related to the grazing of outlying lands and artisan food production, this is more related to cows and goats, and milking in Norway, however, the Cultural Ministry, when announcing the win on their web-page, chose a picture of (amazing) grazing sheep as their illustration! Traditionally, sheep in Norway were also integral in this practice. (As I can attest to, my father spent the summers of his youth at the family farm mountain seter, shepherding both sheep and cows.) It was the Swedish government, not the Norwegian, who fronted this application.

The Norwegian government, on the other hand, fronted the application of traditional costumes (bunad) in Norway, their craftsmanship and social practice.

The point is, for Clothing Research, that we need to understand ‘local’ dress better, and that the bunad is one of possibly many (or a few) dress practices where local is important, being very concrete and related to the material aspects (the textiles, the embroidery yarns, the sewing), but also the understanding of being ‘from a place’. This is part of a concrete use of clothing that enables being a part of a geographic community, a fibershed. This is described in this paper on Local clothing: What is that and how an environmental policy concept is understood.

On the other hand, the bunad has also had an important role in keeping the Norwegian textile industry alive.

The under-pinning idea that clothing is culture, is important here, and a big win, and exactly what is missing in the EU textile strategy.

We also notice the rise of other similar inscribes into the UNESCO list:

The women’s ceremonial costume in the Eastern region of Algeria: knowledge and skills associated with the making and adornment of the ‘Gandoura’ and the ‘Melehfa’
Custom of Korean costume: traditional knowledge, skills and social practices in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Craftsmanship of traditional woven textile Kente

The result of these two inscriptions will be a renewed interest in the cultural heritage, is assumed, but the organizations behind the applications have big plans for recruiting the younger generations and leveraging more interest both nationally and globally. 150 years ago, there were 100 000 summer seter or fäbo locations in Norway and Sweden, today there are 750 in active use in Norway, and somewhere between 200 or 250 in Sweden.

On the bunad side, the situation is brighter: there are 450 different traditional costumes in Norway, and an estimated 80% of Norwegian women own a traditional costume, and 20% of all men, this number is however, on the rise.

So what happens in the years to come, will be very interesting to follow!

Photo booth boots possible change

Kinga Zablocka on 4. December 2024

As part of the SIFO presence at the recent Friluftsliv conference, Kate Fletcher, ran a “Photo Booth” to record the thoughts (in a thought bubble!) of conference delegates about clothing and nature. Delegates responses ranged from desirable practical qualities of clothes for use outdoors, to the feelings that clothes imbue; and from aspiration about the potential length of life and compostability of clothes, to questions about whether clothes are needed at all when living en plein air!

A huge thank you to all those who took part and to the conference organisers for hosting us.

Kate Fletcher with a Photo Booth participant.

Post growth (?) fashion webinars

tobiasson on 29. November 2024

Dec. 13^th 2024 15-16 CET (3-4 pm)
and
Jan. 16^th 2025 15-16 CET (3-4 pm)

Two consecutive talks by Consumption Research Norway SIFO at OsloMet
First one with Prof. Ingun Klepp and Tone Tobiasson and in January Kate Fletcher.

December 13^th: Prof. Ingun Klepp, Professor at the National Institute for Consumer Research, and Tone Tobiasson, Author and journalist, from Oslo, Norway. One of the most passionate and influential tandems in the textile research / policy space, with a long track record of pioneering research projects that changed our understanding of the use phase of garments, post consumer textile flows and plastification of fashion.

There is a cap for 100 people to attend each webinar. To attend, RSVP through the associated link to get a calendar invite.

January 16^th. Kate Fletcher is one of the most renown sustainable fashion researchers. Her work, including that on systems change, post-growth fashion, fashion localism, decentering durability, Earth Logic and nature relations both defines and challenges the field of fashion, textiles and sustainability. She has written and/or edited 13 books available in eight languages, and in 2022 she was identified by author Margaret Atwood as a visionary. Kate is a co-founder of the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion. Her most recent work is about design, clothing and nature.

There is a cap for 100 people to attend each webinar. To attend, RSVP through the associated link to get the calendar invite.

Announcing the publication of Decentering Durability: Decarbonizing and Decolonizing Ideas and Practices of Long-Lasting Clothes

Kinga Zablocka on 29. November 2024

Just published in Fashion Theory, an article exploring durability through a decolonial lens. The research it builds on was conducted as part of the LASTING project, led by our very own Kirsi Laitala and funded by the Research Council of Norway.

The article, written by Kate Fletcher and Anna Fitzpatrick, is open access. Please share widely. Grateful thanks to all those who participated in the research. Link to article here

From the abstract: Durability is widely recognized as a key feature of materially resourceful, lower-carbon clothing lives. Yet most of what is known about long-lasting garments is rooted in Euro-American ways of thinking, and reproduces its structures, priorities, values and resulting actions. This paper brings a decolonial concern to understandings of clothing durability to enlarge the conceptual boundaries around it, including those that break apart dominant ideas and approaches to clothing durability in order to show difference. It presents both the “workings” and the “findings” of a small research project, ‘Decentering Durability’, examining both how research is conducted as well as what is uncovered at the intersection of decolonizing and resource-efficient, decarbonizing agendas for fashion.

New article published in the WOOLUME project

tobiasson on 25. November 2024

Big congrats in order! WOOLUME recently got some more good news: ‘We are pleased to inform you that “Thermoregulation and Soil Moisture Management in Strawberry Cultivation Mulched with Sheep Wool” by Jan Broda, Andrzej Gawlowski, Monika Rom, Tomasz Kukulski, Katarzyna Kobiela-Mendrek has been published in Applied Sciences and is available online’:

Due to its beneficial and unique insulating properties, wool mulch ensures a proper microclimate on the soil surface, preventing the overheating of the soil during the summer heat and protecting excessive cooling during cold nights. The wool spread on the soil surface minimises the fluctuations between the soil’s day and night temperature.

The fluctuations do not exceed 2–3 degrees on hot summer days, which are five times smaller than for the control plot. Due to its excellent absorption capacity, wool mulch ensures high rainwater retention, providing a humid environment during drought. The performance of the wool mulch in the soil thermoregulation and water retention is better than that of other organic mulching materials of plant origin. For wool, the temperature fluctuations recorded in summer are two times smaller.

The water retained in wool is released into the soil more slowly, ensuring a longer-term higher water content in strawberries’ root zones. In addition to being beneficial for plant growth, wool is difficult to biodegrade and maintain its properties for a long time.

The application of wool as mulch in strawberry cultivation was analysed to find a solution for the rational use of wool from mountain sheep. In the plantation, the experimental plots mulched with wool, straw, and bark were appointed. The plots were monitored during the experiment, while the soil temperature and moisture content were measured.

The data collected in two-hour intervals were analysed, taking into account air temperature and falls registered in the local meteorological station. Additionally, the progress of mulch biodegradation was tracked. The changes in the wool morphology that occurred by biodegradation were observed during microscopic examinations using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). It was stated that wool mulch plays an essential role in thermoregulation of the soil surface, prevents the overheating of the soil during the summer heat, and protects soil against excessive cooling during cold nights.

The wool mulch minimizes the fluctuations between the soil’s day and night temperature. The fluctuations do not exceed 2–3 degrees on hot summer days, which are five times smaller than for the control plot. The wool retains large amounts of rainwater several times its weight. The water is then slowly released, providing the growing plants with a moist environment during a longer rainless period.

Moreover, wool is difficult to biodegrade and maintains its properties for a long time, lasting longer than one vegetation season. Compared to straw and bark, the temperature fluctuations recorded for wool are two times smaller, and its effectiveness in water management is considerably better. The beneficial impact of the wool mulch ensuring favourable conditions for strawberry growth was explained by the specific wool structure and its unique properties.

Read and learn!

hiWOOL project

Kinga Zablocka on 11. November 2024

Network for heritage and innovation for the future of WOOL

The hiWOOL project – Network for heritage and innovation for the future of WOOL – was an initiative by “Save the Portuguese Wool” Association, launched in 2015 with the aim of promoting the sustainability of wool and safeguarding of the culture and heritage traditions in Portugal.

Funded by the Bilateral Relations Fund, hiWOOL aimed to share knowledge between Portugal and Norway concerning the sustainability of wool and the exploitation of wool products for small producers of indigenous sheep breeds, based on studying similarities and differences between the two countries.

On 12^th may, 2021, the project started with the first meeting gathering all partners, with a brief presentation of the activities to be developed, made by the proposing team, a discussion on the parameters that should be selected for the characterization of wool fibers was conducted.

The start of the project was also celebrated with the Shearing Day, at Quinta da Fonte Santa, in Caneças-Portugal, on which 150 sheep of the Bordaleira Serra da Estrela breed, belonging to shepherd Virgílio Ricardo were shorn.

During the project, field work was carried out in both countries, including workshops on the development of wool products and investigation on the wool tradition in museums and archives (click here for more information). The main achievements and results has been presented on the partners’ web pages and in social media, during the project timeline, and a final seminar.

The hiWOOL project features the collaboration of the Selbu Spinneri AS (Norway) and Multilãs, Unipessoal, Lda (Portugal) companies, the research centers Consumption Research Norway SIFO, Oslo Metropolitan University and the D_TEX Lab – Textile Development Laboratory of the Architecture school from the Lisbon University and the local support of the Wool Museum in Covilhã and the Folk Museum in Oslo.

Both teams are now analyzing and characterizing the national wools, and results from that work will be shared on the partners web pages and social networks.

Participants Norway (SIFO)

Ingun Grimstad Klepp
Lisbeth Løvbak Berg

Other participants Norway

Tone Skårdal Tobiasson
Selbu Spinneri

From the WPE Lab

Textile Development Laboratory of the Architecture school from the Lisbon University

– 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: Seeing design with new eyes

Ingun Grimstad Klepp on 29. October 2024

The Wool museum and universitty in Covilhã, Portugal hosted the Designa conference, where Clothing Research’s Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Kate Fletcher were both key note speakers. Here is their report:

Kate and I felt very honoured and privileged to be able to open this conference together. Both the importance of the environmental crisis and of textiles was taken as read in the conference, and this made it easy to talk to this diverse group of designers representing a range of disciplines from all over the world.

The overarching theme was citizenship, a challenging one in a time of decline of democracy and increasing differences and distrust. The first Designa conference took place in 2011 and the themes have always been important and challenging. It also felt special to be able to attend an in-person conference in the heart of Covilhã.

The town is characterized by its steep hills and lies tucked into the mountainside, and is a tourist destination, made clear by the pictures of skiers in our hotel lobby. The hotel’s name was Solneve (sun snow in Portuguese) and it felt an apt choice in which to host researchers from Norway! It is also the main urban hub for the region with a long industrial tradition, a place where textile history is embedded in every house and stone. The university and the wool museum hosting the conference are interwoven, making this a unique place for a conference. Kate was told, time and again, how Covilhã was the Manchester of Portugal. However, in Norwegian eyes, it is more reminiscent of Lillehammer. The closeness to the mountains with rich pasture landscapes, wool (not cotton as would have been the case with Manchester) and water for dyeing and power, all had more in common with Lillehammer – and possibly Leeds (sans mountains).

Nonetheless, the textile industry has been important to the development of the local university, similarly to Manchester and Leeds. Lillehammer lacks that aspect.

The building in which the conference took place was part of the wool museum and was originally the site of the Royal Textile Factory from the 1760s. The museum and the university have brought new life to the old industrial buildings. The new institutions are literally building on old textile production locations, layering on top on old terrasses, and wells previously used for dyeing and scouring, and all the other stages of production.

After a formal welcome, Kate’s and my keynotes opened the conference. The session was led by the director of the wool museum, Rita Salvado. In her talk, Kate explored design themes and actions of nature relations, extending the ideas of citizenship to include the greater-than-human world. I followed up with “Clothing consumers as citizens, and the role of design” where I ended with wool as an example of design for and by citizens, with the example of Tingvoll ull. It was a fitting and soft place to land in this wool-town.

While Kate lifts and expands on concepts, my perspectives are often rooted in the technical and practical realm, as well as including material and political aspects. We were both able to respond to the many questions that followed our key notes, a both felt this was rare moment for us and our clothing research colleagues in the audience, Irene Maldini and Ana Neto.

Other conference-goers included fashion and design students from the local university and researchers from many other corners of the world, including a group from NTNU, representing Norway and brought with them warm greetings from Mari Bjerk, in addition to many excellent thoughts and reflections on the presented material. The themes that were discussed were broad, with a lot of emphasis on AI and different forms of design of systems and social relations. This was made possible by a responsive and positive audience, who were given ample time to ask their many questions.

In between we were also able to tour the wool museum, which impresses with its size, content and engagement with the town’s citizens and visitors, adding to the interesting discussions between Rita, Irene, Kate and myself. Rita’s background as a textile engineer, paired with an openness and curiosity about how wool’s history can come more to the forefront in understanding the places geographically and for tourist development, made it easy to find common ground.

The last keynote speaker, Nuno Jardim Nunes, represented the impressive initiative, the New European Bauhaus, with the talk “Bauhaus of the Seas”, in which he emphasized the importance of interviewing non-humans, and with that made a nice connection to Kate’s keynote. Nuno spoke on how they feed sounds from sea dwellers through AI.

It felt like it was not the last time our paths will cross the warm and sometimes snowy Portuguese wool town: Covilhã.

Link to book of abstracts here (labcomca.ubi.pt)

Thematic session at PLATE 2025

tobiasson on 28. October 2024

Join us for a thematic session at PLATE conference in Denmark (July 2025).

2025 is the last year for the CHANGE project and one of the closing activities is a thematic session at the Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) conference. The thematic session on “Rebound effects and critical views on product durability”, co-chaired by Irene Maldini, Ingun Klepp, Kirsi Laitala, Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, Harald Wieser welcomes contributions until November 29th, 2024. The conference will be held at Aalborg University in Denmark from the 2nd to the 4th of July, 2025, and you can read more here.

With this session we would like the PLATE community to press pause for a couple of days and reconsider: Are we moving in the right direction? What are the assumptions that underlie the claimed benefits of durability? Are our efforts really helping to reduce material depletion at a significant rate? What are the material and behavioural conditions that need to be met for durability to have the desired effect? And are these conditions present in real product lifetimes and in our everyday lives? What new ways of thinking can help us in advancing the field for more significant impact? These are questions that we (co-chairs of this session) find very relevant today and would love to address together with the presenting authors, while building on the quality research that we know this community can deliver.