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A methodological approach to the materiality of clothing: Wardrobe studies

The material is not just ‘a carrier of different types of symbols, but an active element in the practices. Bringing this to the fore requires new research methods. This article discusses a methodological approach, we call it a wardrobe study, which allows for the analysis of the way in which clothes relate to each other on the whole or within parts of the wardrobe. More specifically, we discuss how this method can contribute to increasing the materiality of clothes studies. The theoretical point of departure for this approach is a practice theory in which the material enters as an integral part. First, the article briefly discusses developments within the study of dress and fashion. Second, the methods combined and developed in wardrobe studies are discussed. The emphasis here is primarily not only on the weaknesses of the individual methods in practice-oriented dress studies, but also on how they jointly can contribute to the wardrobe study.

Consumption Studies: The force of the ordinary

Consumer research deals with the acquisition, use and disposal of goods and services. Our workplace, SIFO, the National Institute for Consumer Research in Norway, dates back to the 1930s, when home economics and testing of products were predominant. The work aimed at guiding consumers, at that time called housewives, through the ‘jungle’ of novel consumer goods. More recently, SIFO’s work combines social science and textile technology to study the social and technical aspects of consumption.

In this chapter, we ask: how can knowledge of clothing consumption contribute to the work on sustainable fashion? We will answer the question through examples from interdisciplinary projects on textiles at SIFO, as well as from consumer research. However, we will not give an overview of consumer research on clothes and sustainability. But first, an admission: fashion – the topic of this book – operates according to a different logic from our field of work. We would have posed the question differently: how can consumer research – and all the other fields of expertise covered in this book –contribute to more sustainable patterns of clothes production and consumption? Therefore, we also have to include a discussion of the concept of fashion.

Made to fit: Å kle en avvikende kropp- handikap og klær

Klær er helt sentralt for menneskers deltakelse i samfunnslivet og for selvfølelse og selvrespekt. Hvor vanskelig det er å kle kroppen avhenger både av den anledningen vi kler oss for og den kroppen som skal kles. I denne rapporten retter vi søkelyset mot klær tilpasset handikappede. Å ha et handikap kan innebære sosiale barrierer og fysiske begrensninger som gjør det vanskelig å finne klær i et marked som i hovedsak tilbyr masseprodusert konfeksjon. For å kartlegge problemet har vi foretatt en litteraturstudie, en brukerundersøkelse og en markedsundersøkelse. Dette er gjort for å finne ut 1) hvilken kunnskap som eksisterer på feltet, 2) hvordan handikappede selv opplever utfordringen med å kle en avvikende kropp og 3) i hvilken grad det finnes et marked for handikapklær og/eller hvorvidt et slikt marked har potensiale som forretningsområde for Fjellrypa.

Valuing Norwegian Wool

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Wool has been called the white gold and has warmed and brought joy to the Norwegian population throughout history. It is also a textile fibre with many unused features. The starting point of the project Valuing Norwegian Wool is a desire to help Norwegian agriculture, wool based industry, and design to exploit the potential inherent in Norwegian wool as raw material, and in the Norwegian textile tradition. Norway has a thriving textile industry and several strong companies that produce products made of wool. The marketing of the origin of the raw material these products are produced from is however rather inadequate and sometimes misleading. While fewer and fewer of the products are made of Norwegian wool, consumers – not without reason – take it for granted that Norwegian producers use Norwegian wool.

Potensiale for økt materialgjenvinning av tekstilavfall og andre avfallstyper (papir/papp, metall og glass)

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Rapporten vurderer muligheter for økt materialgjenvinning av tekstilavfall i Norge. Mengden generert tekstilavfall i Norge er 24 kg på innbygger per år som hovedsakelig blir brent med energiutnyttelse. Det finnes lite materialgjenvinning av tekstiler i dag og kunnskapen om de miljømessige konsekvenser er begrenset. Innsamling av tekstiler for gjenbruk er derimot godt etablert og handelen med brukte klær en stor global næring. Produksjonen av tekstiler er svært forurensende, og dermed økt levetid og gjenbruk bidrar positivt gjennom å erstatte nye tekstiler. Forbrenning med energiutnyttelse reduserer energiforbruket med cirka 2-6%, mens gjenbruk reduserer med cirka 20-60% av forbruket gjennom tekstilers hele livsløp. Også for andre miljøparametere er gevinsten ved gjenbruk stor sammenlignet med energiutnyttelse.

Det kvite gullet

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Utstilling på Kunstindustrimuseet i sammenheng med Valuing Norwegian Wool prosjektet. Oktober 2012. Kurator: Karen Gjelsvik Hetland Foto: Ellen Johanne Jarli Lenke: agentksarchive.blogspot.com

Lukten av svette: luktutvikling i ulike tekstiler

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Det er utviklet en metode for å samle opp svette og bedømme lukt i tekstilprøver for å undersøke hvordan forskjellige materialer lukter etter bruk, lufting og vask. Følgende tester er også utført: Varevekt metode i henhold til standard NS-EN 12127:1997. Vannopptaksprosent i henhold til modifisert metode basert på standard NF G 07- 166: 1993. 13 ulike tekstiler delt inn i kategoriene antilukt, ull, bomull og syntetisk ble testet. Alle tekstilene ble vasket fem ganger før testing. Videre ble effekten av tøymyker på lukt undersøkt. Prøvene ble evaluert av et forbrukerpanel med 12 SIFO ansatte. Resulatene er basert på vel 3200 observasjoner og beregningene er utført ved hjelp av Exel og SPSS. Testen ble utført i samarbeid med Myren Sportssenter i tidsrommet 12.-26. september 2011.

Potential of Woolen Materials in Health Care

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Woolen textiles may have more potential use areas within the health care than what they are used for today. They have many benefits such as being self-extinguishing, flexible, and having high isolation as well as moisture absorption properties. While absorbing moisture it releases heat, and as the evaporation rate is slow, woolen materials do not give a rapid chill that some other faster drying materials have. Therefore wool can hold lot of moisture before feeling wet. Due to wool’s potential to shrink in wash, the challenge has been how to wash wool to get it clean enough for health care use. Laboratory experiments were designed in order to see woolens’ tolerance to different washing treatments, as well as their properties related to soil repellence and stain removal.

Materialised Ideals: Sizes and Beauty

Today’s clothing industry is based on a system where clothes are made in ready-to-wear sizes and meant to fit most people. Studies have pointed out that consumers are discontent with the use of these systems: size designations are not accurate enough to find clothing that fits, and different sizes are poorly available. This article discusses in depth who these consumers are, and which consumer groups are the most dissatisfied with today’s sizing systems. Results are based on a web survey where 2834 Nordic consumers responded, complemented with eight in-depth interviews, market analysis on clothing sizes and in-store trouser size measurements.

Results indicate that higher shares of the consumers who have a body out of touch with the existing beauty ideals express discontentment with the sizing systems and the poor selection available. In particular, large women, very large men, and thin, short men are those who experience less priority in clothing stores and have more difficulties in finding clothes that fit. Consumers tend to blame themselves when the clothes do not fit their bodies, while our study points out that the industry is to blame as they do not produce clothing for all customers.