Lifespan and disposal Archives

Understanding garment durability through local lenses: a participatory study with communities across the globe

Authors: Hester Vanacker, Andrée-Anne Lemieux, Kirsi Laitala, Michelle Dindi, Sophie Bonnier & Samir Lamouri. Abstract 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… Understanding garment durability through local lenses: a participatory study with communities across the globe

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

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

Holding on or letting go: Conflicting narratives of product longevity

Authors: Lisbeth Løvbak Berg, Marie Hebrok Abstract Increasing product longevity is seen as an effective way to reduce consumption within the circular economy. This paper explores narratives of product longevity, focusing on textiles, household appliances,… Holding on or letting go: Conflicting narratives of product longevity

Narratives of product longevity: a business vs. consumer perspective

Authors: Lisbeth Løvbak Berg and Marie Hebrok Abstract This paper explores narratives of product longevity expressed by businesses and consumers, with the aim of illuminating and comparing ways in which the two stakeholder groups express… Narratives of product longevity: a business vs. consumer perspective

Regulating Fast Fashion out of Fashion

Authors: Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Kerli Kant Hvass Abstract Among sustainable fashion and textile themes, product durability has recently come into focus within EU policy making. The dominant understanding is that increased textile lifespan will… Regulating Fast Fashion out of Fashion

Why won’t you complain? Consumer rights and the unmet product lifespan requirements

Authors: Kirsi Laitala, Lisbeth Løvbak Berg and Pål Strandbakken. Abstract The Consumer Purchases Act is one of the cornerstones for ensuring that businesses are liable for defective or faulty products that do not meet the… Why won’t you complain? Consumer rights and the unmet product lifespan requirements

Flawed or redundant: products with long lifespans against the odds

Authors: Harald Throne-Holst and Kirsi Laitala Abstract Many strategies are proposed that should enable the consumers to keep using the products for longer, but there is less research on which and how consumer practices contribute… Flawed or redundant: products with long lifespans against the odds

Different clothing items with different ages and duration of ownership.

Want Not, Waste Not: Preliminary findings

Author: Anna Schytte Sigaard Summary This project note presents preliminary findings from a PhD project looking into textile waste from Norwegian households. 28 households collected textiles that they would have otherwise discarded for a period… Want Not, Waste Not: Preliminary findings

A functioning ‘functional unit’?

Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Tone Skårdal Tobiasson What on earth is the functional unit of a winter coat, t-shirt, a warm sweater… or a pair of boots? For LCA-based tools and category rules, there is… A functioning ‘functional unit’?

How to make sure Extended Producer Responsibility becomes a silver bullet

This is a letter sent to commissioners and members of the European Commission in October 2022, from 4 participants in the Wasted Textiles project that explains their suggestions for a way of developing an EPR… How to make sure Extended Producer Responsibility becomes a silver bullet

Review of clothing disposal reasons

Authors: Kirsi Laitala and Ingun Grimstad Klepp, SIFO Abstract Garment lifetimes and longer serviceable life play important roles in discussions about the sustainability of clothing consumption. A compilation of the research on clothing disposal motivations… Review of clothing disposal reasons

Product lifetime in European and Norwegian policies

The objective in this report is to better understand how the increased product lifetime option has been positioned in policies over
the past twenty years. By means of policy document analysis, we explore product lifetime positioning in the EU’s circular economy
policies, Norwegian political party programs and official documents, environmental NGO documents, consumer organisation policies
and product policies. Overall, we find little focus on product lifetime between 2000-2015, however, there has been a massive
increase over the past five years. There is still a long way to go in developing appropriate policy instruments to address product
lifetime.