Towards a reconciliation of consumption with sustainability Understanding

Towards a reconciliation of consumption with sustainability: Understanding the role of design in promoting sustainable clothing consumption practices.

OVERVIEW • • Introduction Project Description and Objective Method Literature Review Expected Results and Applications Schedule Q &A

PROJECT DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVE • Aim: To understand the potential design has in transforming current clothing consumption habits into sustainable ones. • Central Research Question: How can design (ers) contribute towards bridging the gap between clothing consumption and sustainability in the realm of fashion? • Dissertation Format: Article based thesis

ARTICLES & SUB QUESTIONS Article One: Sustainable Consumption through Design: Current Practices and Problem Areas • Aim: To highlight ways on how sustainable consumption of clothes can be fused into the lives of people. • Central Research Question(s): Ø What factors shape consumption choices and perpetuate it as a practice within society? Ø How much is known about where our clothes come from? Ø What is the level of awareness and attitude of consumers towards sustainable clothing (Surveys in Helsinki and Oslo)? Ø How can the barriers towards sustainable consumption be addressed?

Continued… Article Two: Activism through Design • Aim: To identify and test for the impact that alterations in design thinking towards sustainability might have on the environmental footprint of clothing consumption. • Central Research Question(s): Ø How important is the role of the designers in designing for sustainability? Ø What challenges are faced by current designers? Ø What methodologies are used by designers when designing for sustainability? What techniques are being taught and philosophies under use in design schools? How can they be addressed? (compare the two)

Continued… Article Three: Design Alternatives for Sustainable Consumption • Aim: To explore theme of consumer centered ecological design strategies. • Central Research Question(s): Ø What are sustainable alternatives to current design practices? Ø How can design alternatives (e. g consumer centered ecological design) be promoted and inculcated into the design philosophy of fashion at large?

METHOD “Ethnography is predicated upon attention to the everyday and intimate knowledge of face-to-face communities and groups” (Marcus, 1995, p. 99) • Qualitative Research Tools: – In depth Interviews – Focus Group Discussions – Participant Observation • Quantitative Research Tools: – Surveys

LITERATURE REVIEW • Social Practice Theory • Concepts on Liquid Modernity and Lock-in • Various articles and publications by Professor Armstrong Cosette, and others will be studied in full. • K. & Aakko, M. (2014) Creative Control in Sustainable Fashion. 19 th ADMC, Academic Design Management Conference, Design Management in the Era of Disruption. 2 -4 September 2014, UAL, London, UK, pp. 583 -600 • Hirscher, A. & Niinimäki, K. (2013) Fashion Activism through Participatory Design, Crafting the future conference. 10 th European Academy of Design Conferences 17 -19 April, 2013. University of the Gothenburg, Sweden. • Markkula, A. (2011, Consumers as ecological citizens in clothing markets. Department of Marketing. Aalto University, Helsinki) • Niinimäki, K. (2011, From disposable to sustainable: the complex interplay between design and consumption of textiles and clothing, Department of Design, Aalto University, Helsinki) in particular.

Continued… • • • • • Attfield, Judy. Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life. Oxford International Publishers Ltd, 2000. Black, Sandy. Eco-Chic: The Fashion Paradox. Black Dog Publishing Ltd. Fletcher, K. 2008. Sustainable Fashion & Textiles: Design Journeys. Oxford: Earthscan. Guy, Ali. Through the Wardrobe: Women's Relationships with Their Clothes. ed. et al. Berg, 2001 Haye, Amy De La and Wilson, Elizabeth. Defining Dress: Dress As Object, Meaning and Identity. Manchester University Press, 1999. Hirscher, A. & Niinimäki, K. (2013) Fashion Activism through Participatory Design, Crafting the future conference. 10 th European Academy of Design Conferences 17 -19 April, 2013. University of the Gothenburg, Sweden. Laitala, K. (2014) Clothing consumption. An interdisciplinary approach to design for environmental improvement. Ph. D, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Markkula, A. (2011) Consumers as ecological citizens in clothing markets. Department of Marketing. Aalto University, Helsinki. Miller, Daniel and Susanne, Kuchlerand. Clothing as Material Culture. eds. Berg, 2005 Niinimäki K. & Aakko, M. (2014) Creative Control in Sustainable Fashion. 19 th ADMC, Academic Design Management Conference, Design Management in the Era of Disruption. 2 -4 September 2014, UAL, London, UK, pp. 583 -600 Niinimäki, K. (2012) Proactive Fashion Design for Sustainable Consumption. Nordic Textile Journal, 1, pp. 60 -69. Niinimäki, Kirsi (2011) 'From disposable to sustainable: the complex interplay between design and consumption of textiles and clothing', Ph. D, Aalto University, Helsinki. Niinimäki, K. & Armstrong, C. (2013) From Pleasure in Use to Preservation of Meaningful Memories: A Closer Look at the Sustainability of Clothing via Longevity and Attachment. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 6 (3), pp. 190 -199 Reckwitz, A. "Toward a Theory of Social Practices: A Development in Culturalist Theorizing. " European Journal of Social Theory 5. 2 (2002): 243 -63. Print. Rouse, Jospeh. "Practice Theory. " Http: //wesscholar. wesleyan. edu/. Wesleyan University Wes. Scholar Division I Faculty Publications, 01 Jan. 2007. Web. Mar. 2014. Sanne, Christer (2002): “Willing consumers – or locked-in? Policies for a sustainable consumption” Ecological Economics 42, 273 -287. Svendsen, Lars. Fashion: A Philosophy. London: Reaktion, 2006. Print. Sustainable Fashion: Why Now? : A Conversation Exploring Issues, Practices, and Possibilities / Edition 1. 2008. Fairchild Books Inc. New York, Print. Warde, A. "Consumption and Theories of Practice. " Journal of Consumer Culture 5. 2 (2005): 131 -53. Print.

EXPECTED RESULTS AND APPLICATIONS • Article one aims to present the knowledge, awareness level and attitude of consumers towards their ecological foot print. • Article two will reveal, firstly, the extent to which designers do design for sustainability themselves and secondly to test for the degree of power they have to make an impact on consumption through their design. Thus, give way to discussion on the power of fashion designers have in promoting sustainable consumption by impacting the system as a whole through variations in design thinking. • Article three will extend and continue the discussion on using alternative methods to successfully design for sustainability within the realm of textiles and clothing. By unveiling innovative ways through which alternatives in design can impact and help steer consumption towards sustainability.

SCHEDULE Year One Year Two Take courses at the University on research methods and writing skills in addition to courses designed specific to the topic of this dissertation in completion of the required 60 credits of theoretical studies. Read relevant material and earlier studies done on the topic. Literature review done in year one will help to further specify the research proposal and prepare interview questions for field work. Make contacts with informants and arrange for interviews for year two in Helsinki. Field work: Conduct consumer and designer interviews, focus group discussions and data collection. One year will be spent in Helsinki, Finland gathering data. Interviews with designers in the Helsinki Design District, participant observation at design schools (Alto University, Helsinki Design School) and in depth interviews with the faculty and students along with surveys of consumers will be carried out. Make contacts with informants in Oslo, Norway at the end of the year and arrange for interviews for year three to be conducted in Oslo. Year Three The same exercise will be carried out in Oslo, Norway during year three. Tools such as focus group discussion, participant observation, in depth interviews with the faculty and students of design schools (SOFI, ESMOD, Oslo National Academy of the Arts) and surveys of consumers will be conducted. Year Four Write-up and organize findings from year two and three. Analyze findings and draw conclusions. Revise, edit and prepare for final submission of dissertation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • Austgulen, Marthe. Hårvik. Consumer Perspectives on Eco-labelling of Textiles. Www. sifo. no. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH, 2013. Web. Dittmar, H. (1992), The Social Psychology of Material Possessions, Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead. Fletcher, Kate and Goggin, Phillip A. (2001) “The Dominant Stances on Ecodesign: A Critique”, Design Issues, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 15 -25. Hirscher, A. (2013) Joyful participation in new ways of designing and making clothes. Enabling person-product attachment to potentially reduce unnecessary consumption. Ma thesis, Creative Sustainability MA programme. Aalto University Hirscher, A. & Niinimäki, K. (2013) Fashion Activism through Participatory Design, Crafting the future conference. 10 th European Academy of Design Conferences 17 -19 April, 2013. University of the Gothenburg, Sweden. Laitala, K. (2014) Clothing consumption. An interdisciplinary approach to design for environmental improvement. Ph. D, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Marcus, George E. (1995) “Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography”, in Annual Review of Anthropology, 24, pp. 95 -117. Mc. Quillan, H. (2011). Zero-waste Design Practice: Strategies and Risk Taking for Garment Design. In: A. Gwilt & T. Rissanen (eds. ). Shaping Sustainable Fashion. London: Earthscan, pp. 83– 97. Niinimäki, Kirsi (2011) 'From disposable to sustainable: the complex interplay between design and consumption of textiles and clothing', Ph. D, Aalto University, Helsinki. Niinimäki K. & Aakko, M. (2014) Creative Control in Sustainable Fashion. 19 th ADMC, Academic Design Management Conference, Design Management in the Era of Disruption. 2 -4 September 2014, UAL, London, UK, pp. 583 -600. Stuart, Alex (1998) The Ethnographer's Method. London: Sage Scheyvens, Regina and Donovan Storey (2003) Development Fieldwork. London: Sage. Rissanen, T. (2013). Zero-waste Fashion Design: A Study at the Intersection of Cloth, Fashion Design and Pattern Cutting. Doctoral dissertation. Sydney: University of Technology.

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