Global laundering practices: Alternatives to machine washing

ingridha on 15. October 2017

Kirsi Laitala, Ingun Grimstad Klepp & Beverly Henry

Abstract

This article discusses laundering practices around the world including alternative methods such as washing by hand, airing, steaming, and dry-cleaning. These methods, which have received little attention in research, are often more suited to products made of wool, silk or other materials able to be cleaned using gentler techniques than more commonly used fibers such as cotton and synthetics. The material is based on extensive literature review from the past 20 years and reanalysis of previously unpublished survey data. The results show that washing by hand is common and that is the main laundering method in most rural areas of developing countries, but also significant for smaller portion of laundry in developed countries. Dry cleaning is less common, and mainly used for specific clothing items. Simple method such as airing can reduce the washing frequency, and thus reduce the environmental impacts resulting from the cleaning of clothes.

Click here to read the full article (oda.oslomet.no)

Clothing Reuse: The Potential in Informal Exchange

ingridha on 1. March 2017

Kirsi Laitala and Ingun Grimstad Klepp

Abstract

Reuse organised by non-profit and commercial actors is a strategy that recently received a lot of attention. This article discusses the question: what do we know about the amount of clothes that circulate outside the pecuniary markets? And is this amount increasing or declining? The questions are answered based on quantitative material from Norway. Almost twice as many had received used clothing as those who had bought used clothing, and our material do not indicate that this are declining. At the same time 59 per cent of Norwegian adults had neither received nor bought used clothing for themselves during the past two years. For children, inheritance is very common and the younger the children are, the more they inherit. The amount of the private clothing exchange is greater than the formal market in Norway. Therefore, when the goal is a more sustainable clothing consumption we need to include the parts of consumption that are not only related to money.

Click here to read the full article (oda.oslomet.no).

What’s the Problem? Odor-control and the Smell of Sweat in Sportswear

ingridha on 18. October 2016

Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Madeline Buck, Kirsi Laitala & Marit Kjeldsberg

Abstract

Sport and fitness are increasing in popularity, and so is awareness of body odor. Both are aspects people wish to gain control over, as promised by the marketing of sportswear with odor-controlling properties. This article discusses how the heightened awareness of body odor has developed, and how unpleasant odor varies between textiles made of different materials. A sensory analysis by a consumer panel was used to evaluate the odor intensity of 13 different fabric samples taken mainly from sportswear.

The so-called odor-control textiles smelled less intense than similar polyester samples without such treatment. Wool and cotton smelled significantly less intense than both odor-control and polyester when the samples were sweaty or aired. After washing, the odor-control textiles had a level of odor intensity that was in between that of the cotton and woolen samples. The odor-control treatment reduced the smell, but not enough to make a difference on laundering frequency, and the textiles smelled still more strongly than wool.

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

Wool as an Heirloom: How Natural Fibres Can Reinvent Value in Terms of Money, Life-Span and Love

ingridha on 24. August 2016

Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Tone Skårdal Tobiasson & Kirsi Laitala

Abstract

This paper addresses a main challenge for natural fibres; falling prices and increased focus on quantity versus quality. This is a challenge not only related to economic issues and profit, but is also unsustainable in an environmental perspective and in light of the challenges the textile sector and the world face. The paper uses wool as an example and in a surprising approach links the history and century-old traditions of natural fibers to an environmental thinking which supplements the traditional thinking around circular economy and LCA. Fabrics with a long life are the ones that have the lowest environmental impact (Fletcher and Tham2015; Laitala2014). Longevity or lifespan is a complex phenomenon in which both technical and social, or aesthetic aspects, are intertwined.

Click here to see the full paper in the book Advances in Science and Technology Towards Industrial Applications (springer.com)

Wool you wear it? – woollen garments in Norway and the United Kingdom

ingridha on 24. August 2016

Marie Hebrok, Ingun G. Klepp & Joanne Turney

Abstract

This article was developed from the project ‘Valuing Norwegian Wool’ initiated by the Norwegian National Institute for Consumer Research to generate knowledge on how wool can contribute to sustainable textile consumption, and how value creation can be increased in the Norwegian wool industry. The article will compare consumer perceptions, attitudes, practices and knowledge concerning wool as a material and as garments in Norway and in the United Kingdom, through a case study of wardrobes owned by six middle-class families.

The aim is to generate knowledge about the diverse web of aspects that influence consumption of woollen garments. The wardrobe study as a method aims to include the materiality of garments in clothes research in a more direct way. Analysing the materiality in connection with the social and cultural aspects of clothes gives us a better understanding of the relations between materiality and practice.

Click here to read the full article (southampton.ac.uk)

Why Cotton as Linen? The Use of Wool in Beds in Norway

ingridha on 22. August 2016

Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Tone Skårdal Tobiasson & Kirsi Laitala

Abstract

Cotton is the “natural” choice and the dominating material in bed linen and sleepwear in Norway as in many other European countries. Regulation of temperature and humidity are important for good sleep, but they are not cotton’s strong points. There must have been other than the functional reasons which made cotton the winner in the bedding market. This article builds on literature about bedding in Norway from the 1800s and survey questions from 1951. We ask the question: what materials have been used and why? Wool was used in all bed textiles, both closest to the body and the layers over and under, from the cheapest chopped rags to the most costly textiles. The decline was seen throughout the 1800 and 1900s, but only in the 1960s does wool become totally absent as a next to skin bed textile. The cheap imports of cotton made cottage industry and home production unprofitable and the new emphasis on cleanliness gave cotton a clear leverage.

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

Woolbed

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 16. February 2016

Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Kirsi Laitala and Tone Skårdal Tobiasson

Summary

We have studied Norwegian and Swedish consumers’ experiences and perceptions related to using wool in bedlinen and sleepwear. We have used a variety of research methods including a web-based survey, qualitative interviews, a material test where informants commented various fabric samples, as well as user trials where informants tested sleeping in merino bedlinen and sleepwear. Informants were positively curious about bedding in wool. It appears that the change in use of wool follows a pattern where one context or setting is used as a springboard into a new setting. Important springboards among informants are; dressing their own babies in wool, next-to-skin underwear in sports, and tradition and handicrafts related to wool. Differences between Norway and Sweden are apparent in a different relationship to wool and to bedlinen. The market for woollen underwear is growing in Sweden and the differences between the two countries can thus be expected to decrease. Barriers related to hygiene, heat regulation, structure and softness are important in consumers’ thoughts about a wool-bed.

Click here to download and read the full report (oslomet.no)

Deviant bodies and suitable clothes

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 6. February 2016

Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Mari Rysst

Abstract

Suitable clothes are clothes that make the body socially accepted. The theme of this article concerns what people with deviant bodies do when suitable clothes are difficult to find; clothes that make their bodies fit in in everyday social contexts. Based on interviews with Norwegian men and women, the focus is on those people who have bodies that deviate from the present Western bodily ideals of thinness, fitness and no deviances.

The article relates the interviews to research in two different fields: disability studies and fashion studies. A primary focus is on the relationship between acceptance of one’s own body—“making the best out of it,”—and respondents’ different strategies for coping with the situation. The final discussion addresses the relationship between the clothes market and deviant bodies. Focusing on a group of people with special problems related to clothes might bring forth new knowledge in general. In addition, a change in the status of the market may have positive effects for those already excluded from this market.

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

Consumers’ clothing disposal behaviour – a synthesis of research results

ingridha on 15. September 2015

Kirsi Laitala

Abstract

Consumer decisions on clothing disposal are important from an environmental point of view, as they have an effect on the lifespan of clothing, as well as the potential for reuse and recycling. This article summarizes what is known about consumers’ clothing disposal behaviour based on empirical literature published during the past 30 years. The goal of this synthesis is to integrate empirical research, find generalizable results, evaluate the used research methods and identify central issues for future research. Most clothing disposal studies concentrate on disposal channels, behavioural motivations, disposal reasons and demographics of consumers that behave in specified ways.

Many consumers prefer to deliver clothing for reuse rather than to dispose of them, but convenience is paramount. Common disposal reasons for apparel were wear and tear, poor fit and fashion or boredom, in addition to lack of storage space. Survey methods are most common, which indicates the need of other research designs that preferably include the clothing items in method triangulation. Studied samples are dominated by young women and students, and research on more heterogeneous samples is needed.

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

Mapping sustainable textiles initiatives: And a potential roadmap for a Nordic actionplan

ingridha on 9. September 2015

Ingun Grimstad Klepp (project leader)
Kirsi Laitala, Michael Schragger, Andreas Follér, Elin Paulander,
Tone Skårdal Tobiasson, Jonas Eder-Hansen, David Palm, Maria
Elander, Tomas Rydberg, David Watson and Nikola Kiørboe.

Summary

This report aims to chart a plan for a coordinated Nordic effort towards sustainable development in textiles and identify ongoing initiatives in the area. The aim was an ambitious plan with a potential for significant reductions in environmental pressures, but also green growth. To reach these goals, we staked out four regions a Nordic plan should include.

  1. Replace fast fashion
    The key to achieving an environmentally significant effect is to
    reduce the amount of textiles in circulation. This will reduce the
    production of waste and the use of chemicals.
  2. Reduce resource input
    The perspective is all about reducing inputs in textiles value chain. This includes various forms of circulatory thinking, material efficiency, as well as commercial forms of recycling and waste management.
  3. Redirect global vs local
    Locally produced textiles, with emphasis on ingredients, traditions, uniqueness and innovation, is a new and positive measure that can easily get attention outside environmentally conscious circles. A greater appreciation for good ingredients, and why quality costs, are required to compete with “fast fashion” and shift towards lasting value. Local production has the potential to create green growth and jobs in the region.
  4. Rethink for whom
    Nordic countries are at their best an example of inclusive and
    democratic societies. The fashion industry however, has marketed itself towards the young and thin. An ethical approach to fashion encompasses not only how clothing is produced, but also who they are produced for and how clothing affects the ability for selfexpression and participation in an open society.
Ongoing initiatives

The mapping showed that there were many ongoing initiatives in the Nordic. The work has mainly focused on the perspective of so-called “reducing resource use”. The more established an initiative is, the more likely it is to be low on innovation. An important dilemma surfaces when attention is on better utilization of waste, as this may indirectly contribute to increased growth in volume.

Knowledge and further research

We lack most knowledge in areas with the greatest opportunity for reduction in environmental impact. The knowledge follows an inverted waste pyramid, where prevention, longevity, etc. are very important, but with a low knowledge-level. Another important distinction is between the market understood as an exchange of money and what goes on outside these formal markets, and there is in general little knowledge about the latter parts of the value chain. The report contains a list of knowledge gaps and suggestions for further research.

Nordic positions of strength
  • Consumers have little knowledge about textiles in general and the products do not contain information about basic characteristics (durability, quality, etc.) enabling them to make informed choices.
  • The Nordic region’s main strength is an ease of dressing for movement and the outdoor elements.
  • Handicraft traditions are strong, however they may be disappearing.
  • There is some renewal of interest in more local sourcing.
  • Reuse and recycling are the main focus, in spite of lack of a recycling industry and limited market.
  • High standing as ethically and environmentally concerned region.
  • Tradition of cooperating in spite of language and cultural differences.
  • Social networks and electronic tools could be used even more.
  • Inclusion, democracy and participation are important values.
  • There is a lack of common statistics on the sector.
Policy and regulation

The textile industry is international with few global policy regulations. There is a great opportunity for the Nordic region to make a difference.

Suggestions for a Nordic roadmap
  • Avoid symbolic issues and cases, and focus on making a substantial difference environmentally.
  • Contribute to a discussion of the relationship between the global and the local in textiles.
  • Collectively engage the sector in thinking positive and offensively, being inspiring and visionary.
  • The roadmap must work with the whole sector, not just the commercial industry.
  • Engage all the Nordic countries and exploit the strength in our differences.
  • Ensure knowledge exchange through building on the current state of know-how and the enthusiasm nationally and internationally.
  • Acquiring new knowledge where there are obvious blind spots.
  • Set specific, ambitious, and achievable (political) goals.
  • Support the public debate on central themes.

Click here to read the full report (norden.org).