Waste Not: Towards a circular fashion economy

National College of Art & Design, School of Design, Department of Fashion

Waste Not Towards a circular fashion economy

by Annique van Niekerk

Submitted to the School of Visual Culture in Candidacy for the Degree of Joint Course Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Fashion Design and History of Art and Design, 2016

NATIONAL COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN Faculty of Visual Culture

I declare that this thesis is all my own work and that all sources have been fully acknowledged.

Signed: Date: 4 February 2015

Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor Hilary O’Kelly for her indispensable advice and encouragement while writing this thesis.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations 5 Introduction 6

Chapter 1: Design and Manufacture

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Chapter 2: Retail and Marketing

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Chapter 3: Consumption and Disposal

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Conclusion 52 Bibliography 56

Illustrations

Figure 1 - Off cuts collected from my own final project of third year in my undergraduate degree. p.7 Figure 2 - Aerial photograph of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse of 2013. p.8 Figure 3 - Endurance zero-waste shirt designed by Timo Rissanen as part of his Ph.D. thesis. p.21 Figure 4 - Laser Line jacket designed by Kate Goldsworthy. p.24 Figure 5 - Image from a Cosmopolitan Magazine online article “5 Trends That Are Making You Look Cheap AF.” p.28 Figure 6 - Still shot from Joseph A Bank television advertisement selling men’s suits. p.29 Figure 7 - Photograph of mob shopping in a Victoria’s Secret shop at midnight in Pittsburgh, PA. p.31 Figure 8 - Textile landfill site in Syria. p.39 Figure 9 - Catalytic Clothing dress by Helen Storey. p.41 Figure 10 - Jackets made from kombucha fabric designed by Suzanne Lee. p.42 Figure 11 - Three Stage Jacket worn by its owner, captured by Kate Fletcher for her Local Wisdom project. p.49

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Introduction

When I began researching this thesis, my intention was to thoroughly educate myself on the Zero Waste Fashion Design movement. I wished to find out for myself, in a practice based approach, what the scaling of zero waste pattern cutting to mass production would look like. In attempting to find out the problems and opportunities for solutions in this field I realised the importance of a holistic change in industry if we are to enjoy permanent ethical and environmental improvements. For this reason, I decided to take a broader look at the different sectors through which a garment moves in its lifetime. Zero-waste garments became the inspiration for me to know all I could about zero-waste systems, and through this realisation it dawned on me that to understand a product, one must understand the systems under which it exists.

As an Afrikaans South African expatriate, I had always been taught to never waste anything useful. Afrikaner culture as I know it, is one of austerity and frugality - likely a trickle down from the Calvinist principles of the Boere who much of my ancestry consists of. As a child I remember my mum teaching me to use every bit of food cooked, never letting anything go off, always making a creative and delicious dish from left overs. I lived on a farm for five years in my childhood and delighted in growing my own

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vegetables, picking fruits from the trees in our garden and planting seeds from the used produce to grow replacements. The peels from our vegetables would be mixed in with feed for our chickens, ducks, pigs, and rabbits. The same idea went for clothing. My mother made clothes for me from off cuts of garments she had made before, and I wore my brother’s hand-me-downs.

One particularly practical example of unsentimental ingenuity is when my mother used her wedding dress to make a formal suit for my brother as a baby. We hardly ever used the bin, because we didn’t need to. However, when we did, our refuse would have to be thrown into a hole far away from the house and burnt. In this way I saw first hand what the waste I created was doing to the beautiful environment where I lived. My experiences and lessons on that farm instilled in me a habit of ensuring everything I use retains as much value as possible and to constantly make sure that nothing I do would poison the environment. What I didn’t know then is that we existed as an almost circular economy. Thus when I emigrated to Ireland at the age of twelve on the invitation of the Celtic Tiger and saw the throw-away culture growing in Europe, I was rather appalled by the ignorance displayed by the average First World Citizen.

After more than a decade of living in Ireland now, I have become too used to the convenience of

Fig. 1. Off-cuts collected from my final third year project

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disposal. It’s easy to throw anything into a bin and forget about it, before it’s exported to foreign landfills or burnt in an incinerator out of sight. These habits of waste have become too easy to slip into. My practice as a fashion design student has brought these issues into focus as I prepare to scale my design ideas to industrial proportions. It is time to relearn the habits of my childhood and upgrade my practice in sustainability. This thesis aims to be a self-educating exercise in current and potential solutions to the far reaching problem of fashion industry waste - a restrengthening in the principles of stewardship to the earth.

This thesis aims to investigate the occurrence of waste in all its forms created by the fashion industry, from the inception of a garment to the end of its useful life. It endeavours to address the huge scale of the fashion value chain, it’s complicated interconnectedness, and the potentials which lie within it. It aims to find the opportunities in mass scale production to introduce circular models to current production lines. The importance of waste reduction is indisputable. Inefficient and exhausting methods throughout the fashion industry are destroying the lives and livelihoods of countless garment workers, as revealed by the Bangladeshi factory fires and collapse of 2013, in one example. (Butler, 2013)

Fig. 2. Aerial photograph of Rana Plaza Collapse of 2013 8

Calls for change have come from a wide array of fashion and environmentalist leaders. These cannot go ignored for much longer.

The subject of waste was recently discussed at COP21 seminar Changing Fashion for the Sake of the Climate, presented by Corinne Lepage, former French Minister for Environment and current European Deputy. (QuĂŠhĂŠ, 2015) It discussed many of the issues that this thesis will deal with. It is an encouraging sight, to say the least, that the issue has become so globally visible. It has been revealed over and over that the planet is continuously disintegrating due to human industrial activity and ecological interference which is affecting the climate adversely.

A lot has been written on the subject of sustainability in fashion and this thesis aims to analyse and filter through some ideas which may be appropriate for mass-produced fashion. A huge inspiration for the subject and resources for this thesis was the release of the documentary film The True Cost (2015) directed by Andrew Morgan. The film travels across the world and reveals the global reach of the fashion industry and inadvertent butterfly effect that consumer activity can have on garment workers. Some main resources for this thesis include: Cradle to Cradle (2002), a book by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, served as precedence for the idea that waste is not necessary and that design could eradicate its presence. Lucy Siegle’s To Die For (2011) is a passionate investigation into the lives of garments. Siegle travels to far off countries to provide a first hand account of the places our clothes come from and where they are eventually disposed of. In this thesis To Die For is used as reference, as well as inspiration for serious investigation into the habits and realities of fashion 9

consumption. Emotionally Durable Design (2007) by Jonathan Chapman deals with ecological concerns in the human-made world. Chapman covers the influencing factors of human-object relationships and explores external as well as psychological circumstances. This thesis uses Chapman’s piece to analyse causes and opportunities of fashion consumer behaviour. These are the most prevalently used books among a large variety of written and online resources.

In Chapter 1 I will discuss the responsibility of designers to consider the end of a garment’s life cycle and every process preceding it while designing for production. This chapter will also look at how the manufacturing step in the fashion cycle could be exploited in a more eco-efficient way. Chapter 2 will deal with the retail and marketing of clothing, how it has become such a voracious consumer breeding machine, and how we could convert the energy used to promote over-consumption into campaigns for circularity. This chapter will present some of the over all positive effects that can be enjoyed by a company working towards complete sustainability. It will also briefly discuss the holistic view retailers should take when pursuing sustainable practice. Chapter 3 is centred around the role of the consumer in the life of a garment and how a designer can influence the behaviour of the consumer in the most positive way. This final chapter will also explore the potential for converting waste back into resources for industry.

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Chapter 1

Design and Manufacture

“Waste is design gone wrong” Sophie Thomas, Director of Circular Economy at Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Intention and Intelligence Design is a signal of intention. It can also be an unfortunate signal of thoughtlessness in design, and may signify to us very clearly what system a designer is choosing to work in. The capitalist, consumerist economy the ‘Western world’ currently functions in seems to display an endless stream of products that lack design intelligence, and worse, can sometimes be intentionally designed to fail. It is the responsibility of a conscientious designer to consider and work through entirely positive intentions, putting a focus on the consequences of their decisions for the future of a product.

(McDonough & Braungart, 2002, p.10) The intelligent and compassionate designer will consider what happens to a garment throughout its entire life.

When choosing materials for their design, they will take into account the production of raw materials to make the fibres, the processes to make the fabrics, the systems through which garments are put together, the logistics of where all these things take place, the ergonomic experience of the end 11

user, longevity, repairability, and finally the death of a garment when it is finally worn out and where it goes in its afterlife. As well as this, the intelligent designer will consider the well-being of every person involved in this supply chain. In our current reality this is a long and complicated global process which all mass produced garments go through, and for the most part it is near impossible to keep track of.

The focus of this thesis is on the waste created by the production and consumption of clothing and the effects this has on the humans and the environment involved by the fashion system. Potentially, if waste is prepared for well enough at the design stage, the problem could eventually be completely eradicated. The idea of a so-called Circular Economy is not a new one. Cradle-to-cradle design, a phrase coined by Swiss architect Walter R. Stahel in the 1970s, has been rebooted, extensively explored and championed since 2002 by a fellow architect William McDonough and his chemist partner Michael Braungart, most notably in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things.

Cradle-to-cradle design means that a garment must have the ability to be recycled without deterioration of quality. It aims to eradicate ‘down cycling’: a process through which materials are re-used for a purpose they were never designed for, often causing degradation and loss of value, whether it be monetary or physical. Down-cycling may postpone, but always ultimately results in a final destination of landfill or incineration. Cradle-to-cradle opposes the old attitudes around the myth that mother earth is repetitively regenerative and would absorb all things and continue to grow (McDonough & Braungart, 2002, p.25) 12

Design should always be fit for purpose and should consult the people involved in the use of such design. It is important to remember that humans are not machines and should never be treated as such. Besides the inhumanity of over-working and underpaying people, bad treatment of a worker will certainly mean a missed opportunity in getting the most out of them and their humanness. Instead of battling against human employees, the fashion industry could learn how to champion them.

A designer must nowadays choose very carefully what their intentions are.

Do they place the most value on profit or on the short and long term effects their decisions will have on the earth, and those living on it? As a designer, one must carefully assess one’s priorities. A powerful choice to make is what company one works with and whether the designer agrees fully with the ethos of a company. The only way to change the industry is from within.

It can be said that the job of a fashion designer is to help you look like the person you feel you are inside. The ethical designer will aim to extend this idea to its truest meaning. Many of us try our best to be ethical consumers, we try to make a difference with our buying choices. Consumers who are trying their best to buy only humane and environmentally good products can only do this if designers are affording them these choices. Buying a garment on one side of the planet should not cause suffering for a string of other people on the other side of the production line. As Lucy Siegle has so eloquently remarked, we as designers must match our ethics to our aesthetics.

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Current model In 2011 around eighty billion garments were produced worldwide. (Siegle, 2011, p.ix) This figure has only been expanding in the years since. Inditex, the parent company of Zara, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, among others, produces 840 million garments each year, all with virgin fibre. It boasts the fastest mass production line of all clothing retailers. It does so by producing small quantities of each style, allowing for it to replenish its retail stock each week with a constant stream of new designs. (Ideas at the House, panel discussion, 2014) This model is conducive to quickly producing and selling inherently transient fashion: the clothing equivalent of planned obsolescence.

The fast fashion model is a broken system. It doesn’t work for the underpaid garment workers in Bangladesh, it doesn’t help the over-worked designers who are pushed to design more and more, and it doesn’t work for the Earth. Furthermore, it only works for the short term gains of the buyer-consumer, as their purchased garments quickly wear out or go out of fashion. The only people this industry is really working for are the faceless, profiteering, company owners. It’s not showing any real signs of disappearing soon, hence we need to find solutions to make it ‘less bad’ as quickly as possible and to make it sustainable to the bone as we progress into the future. This may seem like a hard sell to the high street. Real changes in production lines cost a lot of money, which parent companies are reluctant to part with if not proven absolutely necessary. The second chapter will further explore how the circular philosophy could benefit retailers and their parent companies, but for now, we will focus on how design affects them.

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Slowing down the process Once the closed loop textiles industry becomes prolific and affordable enough for mass industry, the fast fashion market can become a much less harmful institution. Ideally, however, slowing down fashion is the best route to take, so that people involved in the production can be treated with more respect. The fashion system must slow down as soon as possible in order for fashion designers to address these pressing issues; important human rights issues that are not just about highest selling rate at lowest cost. It is up to the designer to reject wilful negligence which favours profit over people. Many luxury designers have been raising their voices against the unsustainable speed that collections and production lines are increasing at. In the wake of Raf Simons’s departure from Dior, an October 2015 article by Women’s Wear Daily sheds some light on the feelings of top luxury designers on the pace of the fashion industry. Some, like Karl Lagerfeld, for example, claim to be happy with the rising speed and scope of popularity and production in fashion, but is the promotion of such attitudes going to change anything for the better? Many other successful designers have expressed frustration at the superfluous hype around fashion. In the same article, Livia Firth, founder of Green Carpet Challenge and creative director of Eco-Age, offers her view: Since I started focusing on the fashion industry a few years ago, I keep hearing the voices of designers and journalists all saying the same thing: The fashion cycle has become mental. Too many shows, too many collections, too many looks, styles, pressure.

The result? Designers’ creativity is compromised, journalists are running on empty and we — the famous consumers — are bombarded day and night with the ‘latest thing we must have’ if we want to be cool. (Women’s Wear Daily, 2015) 15

What has been left unsaid here, is the butterfly effect it has on the trickle down system of fast, cheap fashion and its workers.

A New Revolution In the fashion industry, materials are considered expensive, but people are considered cheap and flexible. This results in a demand that the humans who are part of the garment industry must bend to suit it’s needs and the decisions of those industry owners who profit from them. The Industrial Revolution is very much to blame for many of these flaws in our current situation. Though not entirely planned, the intentions of the Revolution were ultimately driven by the desire for acquisition of capital. (McDonough & Braungart, 2002, p.21) The fundamental flaws of the Industrial Revolution were devastating to the earth and the workforce involved in it. Unfortunately the conditions notorious in work houses during the 19th Century are not too far removed from those currently experienced by garment workers in places like Bangladesh, Turkey and China. The same tragedy is true for landfill workers who have to deal with the prolific consequences of bad design. Due to a lack of efforts and systems in place to prevent such an unnaturally damaging ‘solution’ to the waste issue, unseen corners of the world are saddled with many tonnes of waste, including 2 million kilograms of textile waste each year. (Ideas at the House panel discussion, 2014) A current prevalence of unintelligent design fortified by a string of bad decisions will be affecting many future generations to come. This is a sort of ‘cross-generational terrorism’ due to the shortsightedness and selfish actions of those currently in charge of the fashion industry. (p.43, McDonough & Braungart, 2002) Inconsiderate design is much 16

more dangerous than one can imagine. It is the responsibility of clothing companies to set out policies, hire and regulate designers and analysts all geared toward projecting the environmental effects of their choices. There is a duty of care to ensure that a frivolous trend in a high street retail context isn’t responsible for the systematic harm of any person working in either end of the production line or waste management. Big Industry is in need for a new revolution.

The attitude among eco activists is that industry is inherently bad. I would argue that because of its widespread scale globalization could mean that we have the channels open now to fix the problems it caused for itself - an opportunity for reflexivity. If industry and activism joined forces, both earth and industry could benefit.

A case for open source

Originally, the meaning of the term open source was used almost

exclusively in regard to computer software for which the original source code was made freely available for use, redistribution, and modification; usually online on related forums. The term has since been appropriated to several information sectors. In the world of design, the term open design may take its place when a particular work or design is shared for licence free use. The type of ‘open source’ this chapter addresses is a combination of such and will therefore simply be referred to as open source.

One of the most undeniable facts regarding the fashion and garment industry is the complex interconnectedness it has brought upon each person working in this vast global system. It is a full spectrum industry ranging from the procurement of raw materials – natural and synthetic, cotton farmers 17

to oil refineries, through the production of textiles, design and manufacture of garments, retail, marketing, and finally waste management. This web of networks could work to its own advantage with an adjustment of policies.

The failures of one industry leader could be aided and remedied by open collaboration. An example, in the case of Shannon May; who, while completing a Ph.D. in Anthropology, was allowed to live in William McDonough’s much hyped, but sadly failed Huangbaiyu concept village in China. The idea was that the entire village could be self sufficient and exist on a cradle-to-cradle economy principle, creating no waste. During her almost two year residence, May unfortunately discovered many flaws in McDonough’s designs which, when reported, went unchanged. These problems were apparently due to a lack of knowledge of how the villagers lived. The backyards were too small for the crops that residents would need to grow in them to sustain a living. The houses were all built with garages, regardless of the fact that only four of the 1400 prospective inhabitants owned cars. Perhaps the most problematic, uninformed mistake, was that the renewable energy systems which were built to power the village were planned to run on agricultural waste of corncobs and stalks. These were however, already needed to feed the cashmere goats which turned out to be the leading source of income for the area. The village was clearly designed without the villagers in mind. One can’t help but wonder if with an openness and conversational relationship to the design process, this prototype might have been improved and expanded. (Sacks, 2008) If applied to the fashion industry, an open source approach to the requirements of farmers, factories and their workers, designers, retailers etc. could improve the relationships between them.

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Free online access to information on materials and production processes, and contact details of suppliers and manufacturers, could all ease the transitional process to sustainability. A platform such as this would be an incredible resource; a place where ideas can be tested and reported upon, and perhaps improved by someone else along the line. (Wanders, 2009, p.102) Initiatives to change Despite all the gloom, there are many inspiring initiatives springing up in the sustainable design community to combat waste and help improve standards of work and life. There has been an encouragingly visible disruption in the idea that productivity is measured by how few people are needed to run a system. (p.18, McDonough & Braungart, 2002) Lack of employment, less compensation and much longer hours for those who are working are all side effects of this capitalistic idea. The result is an overloaded system with far too many products being made and consumed and an increase in the suffering of those working to make all our garments.

An early initiative to steer away from this change, which has unfortunately not been taken on board by today’s garment industry owners, was that of Henry Ford who raised the wages of his factory workers by almost double their previous income once his business took off. His reasoning was that “cars can’t buy cars”. It is well known these days that garment workers are notoriously low waged. There is something wrong when the people whose hard work goes into a product, find that product is completely inaccessible to them.

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Zero Waste Fashion Design One of the most promising initiatives which is slowly gaining momentum, is the culture and design practice of zero-waste. Outside the context of the fashion industry, many people are beginning to minimise the waste they create. Notably, Lauren Singer, writer and creator of the website Trash is for Tossers, has transitioned her every day lifestyle to creating no landfill waste. Her blog shows how she lives a no plastic, no waste life while living in New York City. (trashisfortossers.com) There are also appearances of zero-waste supermarkets, for example, Original Unverpackt (OU) in Berlin, making headway toward the eradication of waste pollution by eliminating any packaging in their store. Customers are invited to bring their own reusable containers – glass jars, bottles, baskets, boxes, bags, to store their produce and eliminate the need to even recycle packaging. (original-unverpackt.de) If this model is possible for Lauren, and for OU, it seems that with enough dedication and effort, this could be true for the fashion industry eventually if all intentions and efforts are put towards it.

Designing for Zero-Waste Zero Waste Pattern Cutting (ZWPC) or Zero Waste Fashion Design (ZWFD) as it may be referred to by different practitioners, is the technique of designing garments which, when cut, use up every piece of a standard width of fabric at a chosen length. One of the leading names in zero-waste design is Timo Rissanen. Assistant Professor of Fashion Design at Parson’s New School for Design in New York, Rissanen is a tireless proponent for the development of sustainable fashion design, his own Ph.D. thesis being 20

entirely practice based zero-waste pattern cutting and design. Rissanen generously shares his research, clearly supportive of an open source economy in developing a solution for the waste crisis.

During the design process in industry, there are designers who sketch garment ideas and pattern cutters who translate

Fig. 3. Endurance shirt by Timo Rissanen with its pattern showing zero textile waste

these 3D imagined garments into two dimensional shapes in fabric. The pattern cutter has little choice in the aesthetic and shape, thus there are restrictions on the alterations they can make for material efficiency when creating patterns. Depending on the size of the company, these two parts of the process can end up taking part in completely separate locations, where the designer never even sees the material waste created by their sketch. In his writings, Rissanen proposes that fashion designers and pattern cutters should work very closely together, even merging the role into a single job in order to pursue a zero-waste ethos. This role amalgamation may be problematic, in that a zero-waste pattern design usually takes much longer to make, than working through the prevalent method of design sketching. The benefits of zero-waste may outweigh the negatives, in my view. Financially it would probably cost around the same to hire two designer-pattern makers as it would to employ one designer and one pattern cutter. The work may slow down, but the positives gained from creating absolutely zero textile waste are priceless. Another issue raised by Rissanen which needs to be overcome is the business of pattern grading. Conventional pattern grading in zero-waste design is almost 21

impossible, however Rissanen has some proposals for solutions – treating each garment separately, and designing holistically to suit each garment.

Zero-waste, however perfectly designed and graded, cannot be pure zero-waste if we do not design for the eventuality of disposal. The ultimate goal of zero-waste is to avoid ever using landfill or incineration. The end of a garment’s useful life should not result in pollution or degradation. Considering this intention, zero-waste would best be developed in conjunction with the circular textiles and materials which are becoming increasingly available.

Circular models Fortunately for designers who are starting out, there are quite a few businesses setting precedence in cradle-to-cradle fashion design. As we progress closer to the concept of global zero-waste, there are current, tangible solutions to the waste problem. Swedish menswear company Nudie Jeans, which was founded in 2001, is one such entity. They have designed their garments and services to deal with damage during garment use and post-consumer textile waste responsibly. The longevity of a pair of Nudie jeans is promoted and extended by the company as their life-long guarantee is to repair your garment free of charge, or send out a free repair kit for you to repair it yourself. When a garment is completely worn out, they will take it back and recycle the denim back into new garments. (Muthus, 2015, p.463) The building blocks of this brand were made from the very beginning to consider the whole life span of a garment and they have integrated the limitations and possibilities of their garments right down into the fibre of the clothes. As we learned in the documentary, The True Cost (2015), denim uses huge amounts of water to produce, but it is also one of the most 22

recyclable textiles, assuring that the valuable resources that have gone into making the denim are respected and not wasted. The experience and responsibility of the consumer is also explicitly part of the brand message.

Their message is clear: a pair of Nudie Jeans should last a lifetime, and when that lifetime is over, they must not damage the earth.

Nudie Jeans is not alone in it’s successes; many established clothing companies are starting to change parts of their processes to improve their environmental footprint too. Sportswear brand Puma is taking great steps to reduce the waste caused by their company. They have designed clever solutions to overcome the problem of over-packaging their products.

These kinds of solutions are good as a fast fix for the excessive amount of landfill created by the fashion industry, but they do not hold a candle to true circularity.

True circularity As mentioned previously, absolute sustainability calls for a change in the materials used in garment making. Currently there are far too many types of fabrics that are made with varying degrees of harm to the planet.

Typically, textile factories will use a lot of water. Clean water will enter the process and it will leave the factory contaminated with fabric dyes, which may contain toxic chemicals like cobalt, zirconium, other heavy metals, and finishing chemicals. (McDonough & Braungart, 2002, p.81) Clothing is normally designed using more than one type of material, which makes it a difficult to manage in terms of recycling. This normally means that discarded clothes end up being shredded as ‘shoddy’ for mattress stuffing or car door insulation. Circular systems require the design of products to either be mono23

material, or easily disassembled. Better still would be the exclusive use of circular textiles. This new family of materials can be endlessly recycled without the loss of quality present in conventional recycling. Examples of circular textiles include Miscanthus fibre and Teijin’s circular polyester.

Materials like Miscanthus fibre could change the way we consume fashion.

It was invented by Dutch brand aWEARness and is made using Miscanthus grass and bacteria. The production of Miscanthus fabric is reported to have a low impact on the environment, can be grown abundantly in numerous climates, is repeatedly recyclable, and also has a variety of other uses such as biofuel and construction material. (Jenkin, 2015) Teijin, a Chinese textile manufacturer, have developed a regenerative polyester which can be recycled infinitely without degradation; it can consistently be returned to its original purpose and quality.

Polyester is currently the most used textile on the market.

Replacing all virgin polyester with recycled polyester could greatly improve the waste crisis. Though polyester is a synthetic material which is made from non-renewable Fig. 4 Laser line jacket by Kate Goldsworthy made from mono-material circular Polyester 24

materials, it can also be made from Polyethylene terephthalate or PET. (teijin.co.th) This

application is discussed further in Chapter 3. These are only two of many exciting innovations in circular textiles for fashion, some applications of which will be discussed later in this thesis.

Thanks to initiatives like the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which was set up by William McDonough, companies who are pursuing circular economies in their production lines can now have their products evaluated and certified to basic, bronze, silver, gold, or platinum standard. Perfect circularity in a product is identified by their website as the implementation of abundant, non-toxic materials, using minimal resources to make. The product requires good physical properties, meeting or exceeding regulations, with good end of life options and which is widely affordable.

Certification criteria are evaluated under material health, material reutilisation, renewable energy use, water stewardship, and social fairness.

Design is the first step in creating a system and the rest of this thesis will address how design can influence other sectors in the fashion chain.

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Chapter 2

Retail and Marketing

Retail therapy!

Most of us have felt the joyous satisfaction of getting that brand new outfit that makes us look and feel exactly like the person we dream of being. The emotional reaction associated with acquiring new things is known as neomania, a term coined by Roland Barthes in 1975, and is the cornerstone of consumer-capitalism. (Danesi, 2004, p.256) Since the early 1920s advertisers have developed and honed techniques for exploiting the emotional reactions of those exposed to advertising. Marketing has been utilised to manipulate people into desiring and purchasing more and more new things. The concept of having ‘enough’ has been completely overridden thanks to an insidious combination of the Industrial Revolution and the inception of capitalist structures in our society. Mass-production has ensured that we can all own anything we desire at a much lower cost than ever before. It has created the illusion that each of us has an entitlement to everything we want. This delusion has become more and more of a reality as market-leaders drive the costs of their products ever lower, regardless of the cost to those producing them and to the environment.

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The American advertising executive Earnest Elmo Calkins is well known for his theories on consumer engineering. He was a pioneer of the ‘soft sell’ - an impressionistic type of advertising which doesn’t necessarily advertise a product, but rather promises a lifestyle surrounding the product and fosters an emotional connection with a brand. He is also revered among advertisers for his business strategies which promoted the rather alarming use of dynamic obsolescence to increase economic cash flow. He is quoted as saying: Goods fall into two classes: those that we use, such as motor cars or safety razors, and those that we use up, such as toothpaste or soda biscuits. Consumer engineering must see to it that we use up the kind of goods we now merely use. Would any change in the goods or habits of people speed up their consumption? Can they be displaced by newer models: Can artificial obsolescence be created? Consumer engineering does not end until we can consume all we can make. (Clowney and Mosto, 2009, p.404) Calkins is here referring to the paradoxical dilemma that post Industrial Revolution factories still experience: their productivity had increased to such a rate that consumption could not keep up. What does a producer do when there is no need to keep buying their product? The only way to satisfy the ever growing mass production monster was by creating the need for it.

Paul Mazur, a 1950s propagator of consumerism and partner of Wall Street investment houses, wrote about the failures of businesses in the United States recession to stimulate sales and shift the stock from their overladen warehouses. Consumption during the depression could simply not keep up with the rapid rates of assembly lines. J. Walter Thompson, chief economist of the then largest advertising agency in the world, claimed that the public would need to increase their consumption by sixteen billion dollars per year to keep pace with production ability. He echoed Calkins’s concepts 27

of marketing, conceiving that the “real opportunity” of the over-producing industrial world just needed consumer “activation by advertising” to ensure continuous growth. (Packard, 1960, p.23) The planned obsolescence championed by Calkins and his peers can be divided into three categories. Obsolescence of function, where a product becomes outmoded by a newer product which performs a function better, obsolescence of quality, which is when a product breaks down or wears out, normally in a short amount of time, and most prevalent in fashion advertising, obsolescence of desirability, where a product is worn out only in the mind of the consumer because of a change in style. This is where the advertising of trends becomes most nasty and insidious. Advertising of this kind can range from the subtle nudge of depictions of an unattainable lifestyle to the outrageously insulting.

“Why would you want last year’s hand bag when this year’s hand bag is so much more attractive? . . . . Does there seem to be a sad waste in this process? Not at all. Wearing things out does not produce prosperity. Buying things does.” (Usui, 2008, p.99)

Fig. 5. A Cosmopolitan Magazine online article depicting which kinds of clothing deserved derision in the eyes of the writer.

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Price and Value In “Why We Hate Cheap Things” (2015) philosopher Alain de Botton explains how the appreciation of expensive objects may have created the idea that price is the only indicator of value. This, however, means that perceived value is stripped from less expensive items, though the labour and resources used to make the cheaper product might be just as complex, sometimes even identical, to that of the higher priced article. Price, only being an indicator of what something costs to make, has in effect dulled our responses to the inexpensive world. (The School of Life, informational video, 2015) Imagine the value of excitement that a small child may get out of an inexpensive bouncy ball compared to the value they may perceive of an expensive well crafted wooden toy. No doubt the ball would seem a much better choice, regardless of the cost. Children lack the understanding of the value of money and therefore they can more clearly see the worth in cheap things. As we grow up to understand currency, our admirations are skewed by the external appraisals that products receive. In the fashion world, the perception of a garment’s worth has unfortunately collapsed as prices have plummetted. The fast fashion system has replaced human value and worth with purely financial calculations.

The consequences of Fig. 6. Advertisement for men’s suits by Joseph A Bank in which an actress is seen humorously pulling a suit from a dispenser, claiming they are “effectively cheaper than paper towels.”

our perceived right and ability to own almost everything we want, and

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the disregard for low priced products combines to form a society of overconsuming and ever discarding servants of capitalism. This comes more to light when regarding the way in which people treat cheap garments as completely disposable. In Lucy Siegle’s book To Die For she shares an anecdote from a friend who witnessed a woman leaving the notoriously under-priced retail shop, Primark, with two bags of newly bought clothes. On this day the rain was pouring heavily which caused one of her paper bags to rip and spill its contents onto the street. The value of these new purchases was so little to this consumer that she ended up abandoning the wet, unused garments on the street without batting an eyelid. (Siegle, 2011, p.)

Fashion Capital What is capital? When we talk about capital, especially in industry, it seems the assumption is that the only capital that matters is financial.

Retailers and consumers alike must be made aware of their actions on human capital and natural capital. For the past 20 or so years, fast fashion has been gaining ever more momentum, speeding up fashion seasons and shortening garment lives immeasurably. This is a completely unsustainable position for any industry to find itself in. This proliferation of production has given rise to countless issues within each stage of the supply chain which need to be dealt with in order to not only protect our planet and fellow humans, but to repair destruction already committed. (Black, 2008, p.11) It may seem obvious that constant over-consumption of this scale must be avoided at all cost, but rational thinking is easily disrupted by the immediate temptations to acquire. Described rather comically by Gilles Deleuze as a delirium of libidinal-unconscious desire, a “disinterested�

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love for the oppressive machine of capitalism, it’s unfortunate how easily and surreptitiously the “depressed and weak impose their mode of life upon us all”. (Deleuze and Guattari, 1995, p. 217) Desire does not equate to happiness, and happiness cannot be acquired by purchasing objects.

Searching for happiness through these means can leave one feeling more empty and dissatisfied, leading to more shopping. Guattari elaborates that capitalism is a: “. . . .formidable desiring machine. The monetary flux, the means of production, of manpower, of new markets, are all flows of desire. It’s enough to consider the sum of contingencies at the origin of capitalism to see to what degree it has been a crossroads of desire and that its infrastructure, even its economy has been inseparable from the phenomenon of desire.(Deleuze and Guattari, 1995, p.215-220) The role of the advertising and marketing world, in this case, is to provide plausible excuses for consumers to act in completely irrational ways, buying far more than they need. Strategies of psychological trickery and soft sell tactics have doubled and tripled sales of fashion and grooming products to women for decades. Swimsuits, nail varnish, eyeglasses, even Kleenex facial tissues, increased their sales by convincing the customer that they ‘needed’ one to match each mood, each situation they could find themselves in.

(Packard, 1960, p.30) The argument for slowing down consumption, however necessary, seems perhaps a touch too idealistic,

Fig. 7. Mob shopping at Victoria’s Secret at midnight in Pittsburgh, USA.

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though, to immediately introduce to such a desire driven consumerist society.

Brands like Nudie Jeans are successfully functioning on systems of repair and prolonged use of products, but this lifestyle doesn’t appeal to the majority of fashion consumers yet. Other solutions must be sought to immediately remediate the major damage ongoing in the production line, keeping in mind a long-term goal of circularity. The pleasure of novelty seems like it will always be an easy way to exploit a market, and this must be recognised in sustainable thinking. As Calkins taught us, the cornerstone of retail is always offering something new. This researcher believes that it does not have to mean that this ‘something new’ must be made from virgin fibre. The idea that fashion can become not only ‘less-bad’, but completely circular, does not need to be dragged down with the impossible fight against capitalism.

The role of language Just as Calkins and his like were able to convince generations of buyers since the 1930s that they wanted more than they needed, so too could semiotics work to redress the damage done by irresponsible designers, producers, and retailers. The steady rise in socially conscious end users is an encouraging sight. It means there is an audience to receive and enable the paradigm shift needed to reverse the harmful actions of previous generations.

The current generation, familiar with the benefits of veganism, Fair Trade certification, organic production and recycling, among sustainability efforts, are the perfect catalyst and vehicle to eradicate the “empty myth of speed” as ultimate satisfaction. Already it is clear that the new generation value better quality of life over quantity of belongings. (Richetti, 2012, p.43) Perhaps the outdated criticisms we are still facing as being a generation 32

of shallow, brand addicted, easily influenced, and uninformed narcissists has encouraged engagement in social affairs. Exposure to the ugliness of pollution and climate change has meant that there is more of an acknowledgement of the solidity and permanence of the objects surrounding us. The intelligent contemporary consumer is no longer convinced of the transience of products that advertisers would like us to believe in. New media has been central to the spread of information and imagery revealing the processes that garments go through to be made, bringing us back to a tangible reality, and furthering the discourse away from the dreamland created by marketers. Here lies an opportunity to continue using online media and social networking to educate more and more mainstream consumers.

Fortunately, the average fashion consumer of today receives their fashion content primarily through online sources, whether it be the likes of Facebook, Instagram, or Vogue Runway. The possibilities for new media have meant that consumers can feel a closer connection with a company or individual, sometimes even being able to converse directly via social platforms with those working for particular brands. The failure of many brands to fully connect with consumers online, missing the opportunities that are presented in a conduit that is not mono-directional, can serve as a lesson that adapting to contemporary methods is an absolute must when pursuing a loyal and supportive customer base. Brand visibility is an irrefutable factor in success for the fashion industry. For the future of sustainable fashion the same is becoming true for visibility of credibility - credible ethics, intentions and actions. New media can be utilised to foster and promote these connections.

(Richetti, 2012, p.39)

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Fortunately for the sustainability camp, the current Zeitgeist, which has ridden the wave of speed, compression culture and technology, has been for more than a decade now increasingly ‘plugged in’, connected and thoroughly informed. (Raymond, 2001, p.221) Initiatives like the social media hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes created by Fashion Revolution is one example of tech savvy users calling out fashion brands, creating a conversation about ethics which points out complacency and opacity as an object of utter embarrassment. There is a built in audience here to market to in a way that is sincere and transparent. Honesty is appreciated and greenwashing (a deceptive marketing technique, which aims to convince its target that the company it is advertising adheres to environmentally friendly practices) is easily spotted by the discerning buyer. It seems likely that an increase in this conversational interaction between companies and critical consumers will mean that no company can ignore these issues. Eventually a cultural change will come through the discourse surrounding fashion. Adherence to social and environmental standards will become inherent and fundamental. For the time being, however, eco-awareness is still a selling point and should be exploited by companies who are making real changes toward sustainability in their production lines.

Ethics and Aesthetics Just as the language surrounding a brand or product can impact the sales a company enjoys, so too does the aesthetic value of the products. A common criticism of more ethically produced garments is that they are made in styles that do not appeal to the fashion conscious consumer. They tend to bring to mind a culture where clothing is purely functional and completely 34

removed from the fashion world. This has created an unfortunate automatic assumption that anyone interested in sustainable garments is an overly self righteous ‘hippie’ who longs to remove themselves from society and all its sinful excitement. This is a dangerous assumption made by a large section of the consumerist population. Contemporary fashion retail is built upon the idea that dress is an expression of personal identity and of individual creativity. The key is to engage contemporary designers who are producing popular styles and trends, to incorporate circular textiles and processes into their practice. A fashion follower will pay more for a special looking garment with a brand name attached to it, but they sadly cannot be expected to buy something less attractive for a fairer price. As sociologist Francesco Morace articulates, we must therefore “change the idea that one must give something up to be sustainable, but rather add something enjoyable and new to inject a sense of enjoyment by adding the extra positive value of aesthetic taste.”

(Richetti, 2012, p.39) Taste makers are important in the conception of a paradigm shift. Their participation means the focus on sustainability can become a permanent idea and not just a trend.

Visibility and Credibility As the complexity of fashion has demonstrated before, convincing one part of the puzzle that sustainability is the only way forward will not solve the crisis. The solution may lie in the answer to the question: How do we convince retailers that investment in sustainability and circularity is worth it? It’s no secret that the main aim of a business is to generate profits and any suggestion to slow incoming capital is likely to be met with reluctance.

Though some studies have shown negative effects of sustainability efforts 35

on the financial situations of fashion retailers, the truth is that these studies rarely take into account all the factors of value. We must ask, what is being measured? The benefits of going green are in actuality far more rewarding than merely ridding yourself of the disquieting feeling that you are profiting from the suffering of another human being.

Marco Richetti, an Italian fashion economist, explains how fashion companies can increase profits in the long run by taking serious steps towards perfect sustainability. When a retailer practices responsible ethics and shows true and continuous efforts to improve the environment and lives of its workers it has a positive influence on the relationship that company shares with its customer. A circle of customers who are passionate about a brand can mean much more for the visibility of a product than any ad campaign could hope for. Brand loyalty, in this case coupled with loyalty to a cause, means exponential increase in sales for a retailer. When given the goal of circular economy within a business, one can expect a boost in internal innovations. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Innovation driven by sustainability will intrinsically lower costs as energy consumption is reduced and efficiency is boosted. Sustainability also requires a curtailment of waste, which means a reduction in wasted resources and money. There are many benefits to the happiness and health of people who work under good codes of ethics, well designed procedure and acknowledgement of responsibility - not least of which means an increase in quality of work and productivity of workers.(Tunda, 2012, pp.43-44) In short, these improvements can be referred to as triple target sustainability. This means that the factors that are generating sales, reducing 36

expenses, and strengthening the relationships with diverse stakeholders all point in a unified direction toward more permanent successful environmental and ethical practice. (Luke, 2008, p.87) Fear of the new Retailers are well aware of the reality that brand reputation is undermined by irresponsible practices. They go to extreme lengths to protect their reputations. Waste is not confined to the beginning and end of a product’s expected life cycle. Contrary to what might seem obvious, the life of a garment is threatened even before it is sold to a consumer. The retail sector is home to the prevalence of overstock incineration; an ecological crime that H&M and most of its peers are guilty of. This is a tragic practice which means that clothing that is overstocked in a store gets destroyed before any consumer ever touches it in order to preserve the exclusivity (and label) of a retailer. (Siegle, 2011, p.232) These practices are testament to the priorities of the retail sector.

There is also a connected fear of introducing new methods in the production line, lest they not turn a profit. Focussing on sustainability is a way of reducing the occurrence of risks. Strategies implemented to avoid pollution and wasted material, and increase efficiency, can be extended to the management of design studios and retail locations, highlighting how a holistic change is needed throughout the industry and all it’s stages. Every small change is a step in the right direction. Companies pursuing sustainability can rest assured: those who have the most advanced practices in the field of environmental sustainability are also those that exercise the most influence over decisions concerning future standards. This results in the advantage 37

of the pioneers – a point for a positive form of competitive business, a competition that leaves the environment and its inhabitants ever more better off. (Tunda, 2012, pp.43-44) Fashion has a deep love of innovation and change. This reputation can be used to positively change the way we think about clothes again, as has happened many times throughout history. The retail sector, while making these superficial changes might also consider a complete change in their system and relationship with customers. Instead of a make, sell, consume narrative, would it be possible to create a product-service industry? This concept will be further explored in the next chapter.

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Chapter 3

Consumption and Disposal

What’s so bad about landfill?

As indicated in previous chapters, the fashion industry produces billions of unnecessary garments each year that end up being used by the consumer for only a very short amount of time, compared to their material lifespan. The textiles in question are made up of innumerable and inseparable types of materials and chemicals. The so-called material health of the 80 thousand chemicals used in industry today is of questionable quality. Only a small percentage have been properly tested to see if they are hazardous to human health. Frequently, companies won’t even know what they put in their products themselves.

(McDonough & Braungart, 2002, p.63) This is where material health certification, such as those provided by

Fig. 8. Textile landfill site near Syria

the Cradle To Cradle Product

Innovations Institute, becomes imperative. When textiles are not recycled, they can survive for centuries in landfills, or alternately are dealt with through incineration; thus being converted into poison and expelled into our 39

atmosphere. The quest for longevity of use and alternately short-use-shortlife garments might be won through changing the consumption habits of fashion consumers.

The majority of the resources harvested from the earth become landfill waste within just three months. Most of this is made up of plastic, metal, and other synthetics which can take up to 4000 years to decompose. Even biodegradable waste can be denied it’s path to compost as it is mixed in with synthetic waste and can not degrade without the right combination of oxygen, water, and light. (Chapman, 2007, p.8) This is a major problem which could be counteracted through many approaches to alternate means of consumption and disposal of clothing. This chapter means to outline a few methods, accompanied with working examples of each, which could be further implemented and exploited. Can we re-envision consumption as a positive thing? Not only for the bank accounts of the one percent, but for those who make, use, or even have nothing to do with the product.

Better growth The ever growing landfills of waste will only continue to grow if the producers thereof do not change their methods. Of course for the commercial stakeholders, a slowing of growth probably doesn’t seem particularly enticing.

With the help of committed researches there could be a way to align the interests of business with that of the natural planet. Instead of trying to stop the speeding train of growth in its tracks, why not divert it towards better growth? They key is to pursue design which replenishes, restores, and nourishes the world rather than diminishing it. Companies could aim to increase health, hygiene, diversity, intelligence, and abundance through their 40

manufacturing processes. This is a difficult, not impossible, yet completely imperative task to repair the world for future generations. The responsibility of this will most likely fall on passionate small scale design operations and early adopting consumers to support such initiatives.

One example of such an invention is oxygen purifying cotton. A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of attending a lecture in NCAD where artist and designer Professor Helen Storey presented a project developed by her and a collaborator, chemist Tony Ryan, which is part of her Catalytic Clothing initiative. It consisted of a dress made from fabric which incorporated existing nano-technology and which was able to purify a cubic metre of air around it. This fabric not only did not create pollutive emissions, but improved the environment for the wearer and those around them. (Calderin, Stoehrer, et al, 2013, p.208)

Fig. 9. Catalytic Clothing dress by Helen Storey

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Economic growth versus natural growth “Growth for growth’s sake is a cancerous madness.”

Edward Abbey, writer and environmental advocate (McDonough & Braungart, 2002, p.77) Imagine a symbiotic partnership between fast fashion and agriculture.

Could increasing the speed at which something decomposes mean positive things for the earth? The material used in a garment could be grown by a farmer and from compostable substances that could become food for plants and animals and nutrient for soil when it is returned. Experimental versions of this exist already, for example the kombucha-based vegetable leather and fabric made by Suzanne Lee under the BioCouture project initiative. The fabric is made from a type of fungus, also known as a SCOBY or symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, grown in a green tea solution. The fungus can be grown into garment pattern shapes which eliminates the existence of off cuts in this making process. It can be moulded before drying to create hardened three dimensional shapes. Separate pieces can be joined by simply placing the seams on top of each other, smoothing them down, and allowing them to dry, which will knit the material into a single piece, therefore eliminating the need for conventional sewing.

It’s extreme absorbency makes Fig. 10. Garments designed by Suzanne Lee, made from kombucha-based fabric 42

it a good material for dyeing, as it takes 10-18 times less

dye to reach a certain colour saturation than in conventional fabrics. It is easily coloured with fruit or vegetable stains, and indigo, which also acts as an anti-bacterial agent. The fabric is as of yet still not fully developed, as it has not been made waterproof and therefore cannot be worn in the rain where it will become waterlogged as soon as it comes in contact with moisture. (Lee, 2011) In the spirit of resourcefulness, this limitation could be exploited to become a strength. The entirety of a garment could be made from kombucha fabric, paper or leather (the texture depending on the recipe), making it a mono-material and biodegradable garment – a total asset to the fast fashion narrative. A kombucha-material garment could be as extravagant and frivolous as the wearer could dare to dress on a particular occasion with no regard for repeat use or longevity of style. A biodegradable garment might be the most exciting fast fashion cure possible. The process would also lend itself to mass-production more easily than most, as it needs very few things to grow; i.e. space for growth tanks, tea, sugar, yeast, acetic acid, and SCOBYs (which are re-usable). The process of SCOBY clothing growth is fortunately also being developed and improved by a German start-up company called ScobyTec. They are, in their own words, “exploring sustainable symbiotic and intelligent future materials for smart products and wearable technology.” They are currently working on microbial cellulose leathers and ‘bio-polymers’. Perhaps we can be hopeful that their developments could result in more durable versions of microbial clothing that may also be operated on the cradle-to-cradle principles. (scobytec.tumblr. com) This kombucha fabric serves as an example of sustainable fashion which could participate in the capitalist fast fashion model without causing harm to the environment.

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Product-Service Systems In a circular model, waste is a valuable resource. The whole concept of consumption and waste could be totally rewritten for the fashion value chain.

The concept of the product-service is an alternative method of consumption which already has some precedence in sectors other than the fashion industry. A simple example of this is the Coca Cola Company’s glass bottle service which still runs in a number of countries, including, as I found out on a recent visit during 2015, South Africa. It functions on a very simple circular structure. The system was developed due to the need for a bottle which was of a strong enough quality to withstand the pressure of carbonation. This bottle was a valuable resource for the company, worth retrieving and reusing.

The soft drink is purchased in sturdy glass bottles, which are retained as the property of the company. The consumer uses up the contents of the bottle, and are incentivised to return the bottle to the point of purchase by offering them small monetary rewards as reimbursement. The process is also eased by the presence of crates that can be used free of charge in which one can collect these bottles at home and keep them safely intact before returning them to your local shop en masse. The bottles are then sterilised and reused, saving the cost of recycling damaged glass, and the cost of producing new bottles. Sadly this product-service system is coming to an end in a rising number of countries as it is “no longer a sound business decision�. This is due to the higher profit margins associated with one of the most prolific litter producing products: plastic bottled beverages. (Buczynski, 2012)

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If this circular product-service system could be harnessed in the fashion industry, the planet would be saved from tonnes of harmful textile waste. The question arises here, how would a company design their garments if they were required to take it back at the end of it’s relationship with the consumer?

The process would undoubtedly be more complicated than the steriliseand-reuse system that the Coca Cola Company were able to follow. This approach would be completely driven by the designer-retailer which means that the control of every aspect lies in their responsibility. The incentive for consumers to return products lies in the design of the product and service itself. It can safely be said that designers would give a lot more consideration to the retention of value. Clothing retailers have already begun doing this.

Patagonia is an inspiring sight on the retail landscape who seem to combine many of the solutions this thesis has discussed. They are an outdoor clothing brand who (much like Nudie Jeans, mentioned in previous chapters) repair garments for free and will take back worn out gear to recycle them back into resources for new garments. They have developed a closed loop polyester which can be made by recycling old polyester, but can also be made anew using discarded PET bottles, which are in plentiful supply thanks to the bottled water and soft drinks industry. In this way, Patagonia have not only ensured their customers have an incentive to return old products to them – thus being able to mine their value, but also have saved the environment from absorbing tonnes of surplus plastic waste.

The product-service concept has further been explored by the likes of clothing libraries like LENA in Amsterdam. The library allows for customers to pay a monthly subscription to be entitled to borrow specially selected clothing 45

in their collection. This co-operative system allows for the library to purchase sustainable clothing that may be out of the price bracket of most consumers, and be shared among many. (lena-library.com This cuts down on the waste that a consumer may have caused by buying fast fashion, and instead, invests that money and energy into promoting good. Their success has been a great victory and inspiration to sustainability initiatives globally, with similar start-ups like Nu. springing up even here in Dublin.

Experience design Experience design, which has only recently been formally recognised, plays a huge part in the consumption stage of a garment’s life. (Chapman, 2007, p.92) In our clothing there exists a hidden importance of emotional connection. When a consumer dresses themselves in a particular garment, there are many experiences at play. What the wearer sees and feels physically are relevant, but may be completely different from what the wearer experiences emotionally. One may, for example, walk into a luxury designer store and try on a plain white dress shirt. How the material feels and fits will most likely be of greater quality than a cheaper retailer, or may in fact, be entirely similar. The emotional connection with the garment will, for the majority of people, be a much more powerful interaction, regardless of the similarity in appearance. One might acquire a sense of power, luxury, confidence, or feel as though one fits into a desired lifestyle. This is all caused by the context in which the garment is appreciated. The userexperience is a wonderful tool to predict, or control, to a certain extent, how the product will be treated throughout it’s life-cycle. The work done by a brand in it’s retail and marketing, in conjunction with the truth behind the 46

manufacture and design of a garment, can create an empathy for the object and potentially also for those who made the product. (Chapman, 2007, p.19) This is a potential opportunity which sustainable thinking should maximise.

A positive shift in modes of consumption, if sustained for long enough, could change the way in which things are made and therefore experienced, due to the customer’s buying power which would hopefully reflect the need for more ethical and less wasteful practice. The key to fostering durable relationships with durable objects lies in the empathetic connection. Waste is little more than a failure of the relationship between the user and the object. In the case of excessive waste, the empathy needed for an emotional responsibility towards the object is lacking, and this leads to an unceremonious discarding of still-functioning products.

Anthropocentric thinking, a practice that can turn out to be rather dangerous. It puts humans and their needs at the forefront of ecological thinking. This means that when we focus on the experience of humans we may be left blind to the effects of our industries on the other inhabitants of the earth, and the earth in its own right. What happens to our waste after we get rid of it undoubtedly means that a creature somewhere else might suffer an ever shrinking habitat, or might even be directly trapped by a discarded product. (Chapman, 2007, p22) Now that we are aware of the issues of human-centric thinking, perhaps we could use this to our advantage. Perhaps designing more human-centrically in an ergonomic, and emotionally durable way, in order to sell successfully, but also to counteract this with the design of eco-centric design of systems at the production end of garment-life. The behaviour behind why people throw away garments should be addressed in a better way, we should try to look deeper at the why and change that, 47

rather than simply scrambling to find ways in which to recycle, re-use, and repurpose abandoned textiles.

Self expression and self improvement has always been a central driving force for the consumption of fashion. Recognition that the main motivation of a fashion consumer is the appearance of their identity, can be harnessed if the consumer is faced with the right questions regularly enough. Are you the type of person who would wear something made by a worker under coercion? Are you comfortable saving money on your single purchase by denying a worker a living wage and a safe environment? The answer would hopefully be a resounding no! Though the search for a personal identity through consumption is led by complex interconnected motivations and desires, perhaps educating a consumer as to the benefits of ethical buying can be relatively simple. Make the world a better place with your choices.

(Chapman, 2007, p.30)

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Alternate ways of consumption “The availability of products in incredible masses shouldn’t determine what one wears or uses.” (Wanders, 2009, p.97) A problem that has arisen from the prevalence of mass production is that as consumers, our perception has changed about where clothing comes from, and with this has come a change in the perception of its worth. Very few consumers take the DIY approach and attempt to make their own garments, and therefore do not appreciate the skill that goes into sewing a garment. (Wanders, 2009, p.97) It may be argued that if a consumer is successfully convinced to attempt a small bit of craftsmanship they may be encouraged to have a higher opinion of their clothing, therefore treating it with greater care. The inclusion of patches and repair kits with garments may be one such approach. I would argue that once a customer has applied their own handwork to a garment they may be under the spell of a cognitive bias otherwise known as the “IKEA effect”. This effect is essentially an increase in perceived value due to partial participation in the assembly of a product.

Fig. 11. Three Stage Jacket. A forty year old garment mended and altered by its owner to change with him over the years. An excellent example of prolonged ownership and alternative consumption.

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This is contrary to what one may surmise of a consumer who is asked to assume some of the production costs, but instead there is a willingness to pay more than usual for such an interactive product. The power of this effect somehow also seems to be equally powerful in both practiced and novice assemblers. This is all due to a number of complex psychological occurrences including the factor of “effort justification” which concludes that the more effort a consumer has to put into the acquisition of a product, the more they come to value it. (Ariely, et al, 2012, p.453.) The question here is: to what extent could a retailer expect their consumer to engage in the making of a garment? Could an IKEA-esque approach lead to the same overvaluing of garments simply because of their “home-made” final assembly. This increase in perception of value may be exactly what a sustainability-pursuing brand needs. It is sometimes difficult for customers to accept higher costs in their products, even when faced with the labels and reasons behind organic or fair trade premiums.

Political purchasing Impulsive shopping hardly ever translates into sartorial longevity. It is, however, a much propagated activity in advertising and social habits. What the average impulse shopper may not realise, however, is that there is an implicit political dimension to our behaviour as consumers. Societies are generally controlled by dominant economic groups. In the case of capitalism this means that corporations and big businesses are in control of the economic behaviour of the mainstream population. The truth is that ecological awareness and activity operates on a margin between the natural, social, and cultural. Social and cultural norms may pressurise individuals, 50

without their explicit knowledge of the fact, to act in ways set up for them by the businesses purported to serve their needs. (Conley, 1997, p.110) This leaves the natural world under great pressure to provide for the ever growing desires of the consumer. In particularly repressive societies, such as the current culture of capitalism and consumption, the consumer can only be expected to act against the mainstream with great political agency. A true change in global consumptive habits can only happen with the support of numerous consumers who choose to consider and act upon their beliefs while shopping. The political dimension of buying could be enacted when choosing to buy carefully vetted products made by eco-conscious brands.

The power of the consumer can however also be practiced when one chooses not to buy a product at all. Alternative consumption could include making ones own apparel or re-using second hand clothing and accessories.

Sharing economies, alteration and mending culture, and clothing libraries are steps towards empowered alternative consumption. A consumer has the opportunity to realise that they are the inventors of their own living. It is entirely the responsibility of the individual what they choose to cultivate in their lifestyle.

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Conclusion

It bares repeating that the existence of waste is a symptom of failed design. This thesis was undertaken as a necessity of education. The importance of integrating sustainability into every design process is undeniable when regarding the damage that has been done by industry to the earth, it’s climate, and the people who live here. This thesis covered the presence and creation of waste in each stage of a garment’s life.

The first chapter centred around the critical design and manufacture stage, where it is most important to create intelligent systems that would prepare for the end of a garment’s life. Circularity is the most effective method of design to protect the environment. Designers are the origin of products and thus are responsible for any waste created by them. The widely used phrase, most famously said by Barack Obama springs to mind: “We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.”

The first and last chapters proved how product-service systems like Nudie Jeans and Patagonia are successful ethical models which fashion designers should consider and potentially improve upon in order to reach perfect circularity. There is an importance in viewing products through the broader lens of the systems in which they are created. A designer should 52

understand each part of the process in order to make a product completely fit for purpose to all steps in a system, and ultimately to suit the needs of a customer as effectively as possible. The fact remains that a design can influence the behaviour of the consumer. The first chapter also explained how a greater understanding of processes, suppliers, manufacturers, etc. could be aided through the help of open source and open design platforms. Cooperation among designers will be integral to the success of the sustainability movement in fashion and beyond.

The presence of Timo Rissanen as a fashion educator in Parsons New School for Design is a great encouragement for future generations of zerowaste educated designers. Zero-waste design is a wonderful undertaking which could be a good immediate remedy to pre-consumer waste. There are many roadblocks associated with zero-waste designing, however, which makes it an unappealing practice for mass-producing fast fashion retailers.

Outlined in the first chapter were the issues of pattern grading, and the slowness of its design, both of which could be overcome with investment and continued research into zero-waste practice. The rise of zero-waste pattern designing, however innovative, will not be the most efficient technique for designers to implement. True circularity would mean that zero-waste design would be far less necessary, because recycling without degradation of materials would make off-cuts and discarded textiles a far lesser threat to the environment.

In the second chapter, the importance of language and perception surrounding the fashion industry was investigated. This chapter questioned the methods by which product manufacturers cultivate artificial needs among 53

customers in order to entice them to buy more than they “use up”. The origins of Industrial Revolution over-production, coupled with sales stimulations invented by American advertisers after the Great Depression in the USA shed much light on the methods by which advertising and marketing work in the contemporary world. This chapter also looked at the impact that perception and price can have on the value placed on garments. The effectiveness of persuasive language could be implemented more effectively by sustainable designers; as sustainability is still underdeveloped in the fashion sector, it could be a good selling point for truly ethical brands.

The final chapter of this thesis outlined the damaging effects that irresponsible disposal methods have on the earth. Thereafter, it dealt with a selection of ways in which designers and consumers can co-operate in order to avoid textile landfill. It proposed a combination of designed systems which could alter consumer behaviour to accommodate more ethical practice in the fashion industry. This chapter champions the opportunities within cradle-tocradle philosophy which could mean more than simply being “less bad” for the environment, and instead be a force for good. Industries could integrate better growth into their design methodologies, which would effectively use waste as valuable resources not to be discarded.

Fashion libraries, like LENA in Amsterdam, are put forward as leading examples of co-operative consumption and efficient fashion systems that are inherently designed with ethical intentions. The system overcomes some difficulties such as the out-of-reach costs of ethical products by using subscription based fees to stock their library, rather than selling garments once off. The most important part in this chapter is the encouragement, present in such systems, for people to realise that their purchases have 54

political power and that their behaviour as consumers affects more people than is immediately obvious. The chapter finally promotes the idea of alternative consumption and the responsibility of ownership with which each consumer can positively impact the landscape of clothing consumption. In all, this thesis has been an invaluable learning experience for me as an aspiring designer; one which I hope to build on as I continue into a career in one of the most wasteful industries on earth.

This thesis has taught me that however difficult sustainable design practice is currently, the effort will never be for nothing. Any small improvement is imperative, and will mean we come one step closer to preventing the destruction of the earth and reversing the effects of thoughtless, profit driven design of the past. The dream of the circular is not out of reach.

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McDonough, W., Braungart, M., (2002) Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, New York: North Point Press Muthu, S. S., (2015) Handbook of Sustainable Apparel Production, Boca Raton: CRC Press Packard, V., (1960) The Waste Makers: A Startling Revelation of Planned Wastefulness and Obsolescence in Industry Today, London: Lowe & Brydone Plumwood, V., (2002) Environmental Culture: The Ecological crisis of reason, London: Routledge Rivoli, P. (2009) The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade, New York: John Wiley & Sons Sheldon, R.; Arens, E., (1932) Consumer Engineering: A New Technique for Prosperity, New York: Harper & Row Siegle, L., (2011) To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World, The Fourth Estate: London Sternquist, B, (2007) International Retailing: Second Edition, New York: Fairchild Publications Timmerman, K., (2012) Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories and People That Make Our Clothes,Wiley: Hoboken Usui, K., (2008) The Development of Marketing Management: The Case of the USA, C.1910-1940, Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Wanders, A. T., (2009) Slow Fashion, Berlin: Niggli

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Films Morgan, A. (2015) The True Cost, Produced by Life Is My Movie Entertainment Company (in association with) Untold Creative, USA

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Hay, S., (2015) Why aren't fashion journalists doing more to address the industry's role in climate change? Available at: https://id.vice.com/en_gb/article/why-arent-fashion-journalists-doing- more-toaddress-the-industrys-role-in-climate-change? utm_source=idfbuk Accessed: 10 November 2015 Jenkin, M., (2015) 11 Things We Learned About Achieving a Zero-Waste Fashion Industry, Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainablebusiness/sustainable-fashion-blog/2015/jan/14/10-things-learned-zero-wastefashion-industry Accessed: 10 November 2015 Lee, S., (2011) Grow your own clothes, Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_lee_grow_your_own_clothes? language=en Accessed: 10 December 2015 Manning, C., (2015) 5 Trends That Are Making You Look Cheap AF, Available at: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/stylebeauty/fashion/advice/a37032/trends-that-make-you-look-cheap/ Accessed: 10 January 2016 McGregor, L. (2015) Are Closed Loop Textiles the Future of Fashion?

Available at: https://sourcingjournalonline.com/are-closed-loop-textiles-thefuture-of-fashion/ Accessed: 24 October 2015 Pollak, S. (2015) Black Friday: What and Where Are the Best Deals in Ireland?, Available at: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/blackfriday-what-and-where-are-the-best-deals-in-ireland-1.2444768 Accessed: 30 December 2015 QuĂŠhĂŠ, I., (2015) COP21: Changing Fashion for the Sake of the Climate, Available at: http://fashionrevolution.org/cop21-changing-fashion-for-thesake-of-the-climate/ Accessed on 15 December 2015.

Sacks, Danielle (2008) Green Guru Gone Wrong: William McDonough, Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/1042475/green-guru-gone-wrongwilliam-mcdonough Accessed: 14 November 2015 Thomas, S., (2013) Report 01: June 2013 Investigating the role of design in the circular economy Accessed 14 November 2015, Available at: http://www.circle-economy.com/library/books-reports/page/2/ WWD Staff, (2015) Overheated! Is Fashion Heading for a Burnout?, Women's Wear Daily Publications, Available at: http://wwd.com/fashionnews/fashion-features/fashion-designers-karl-lagerfeld-marc-jacobs10269092/ Accessed: 25 November 2015

Youtube videos Econolyst (2008) How Selective Laser Sintering Works Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxve3ZOmvc Accessed: 14 November 2015 Fashion Revolution (2015) Every Decision a Designer Makes Has an Impact Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCGRrhE2W4Q Accessed on: 20 November 2015 greatrecovery (2013) The Art of Textile Recycling at LMB Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH9-ECpdtoo Accessed: 14 November 2015

greatrecovery (2014) "This isn't just hippy recycling": Fast fashion & reprocessing Polyester Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_fBT-_xruJw Accessed: 14 November 2015 greatrecovery (2014) We can't afford cheap clothes Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn2x1rwNIJ8 Accessed 14 November 2015 greatrecovery (2014) The Tipping Point: Where design comes to die Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2VXnpIVKk4 Accessed: 14 November 2015 Ideas at the House (2014) Lucy Siegle - To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? (All About Women 2014) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=V0dw8SH0-jY Accessed: 14 November 2015 South Bank Centre (2014) WOW 2014 | Louboutins and Land fill: How to be a Sustainable Fashionista Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=zovDGuTqjiA Accessed: 14 November 2015 The School of Life (2015) Why We Hate Cheap Things, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFfHGGhCxCM Accessed 20 November 2015 ZeroWasteScotland (2015) Professor Rebecca Earley introduces Teds TEN, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ipR7Djz31o Accessed on 20 November 2015

Websites http://catalytic-clothing.org/who.html https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/cuttingedge/lifeCycle/03.htm http://.coca-cola.ie/stories/sustainability/environment/the-whole-package-ourrecycling-vision/ http://craftofuse.org/ https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~dforsyth/pubs/forsyth1980EPQ.pdf http://industriall-union.org/ http://lena-library.com/ http://www.nuethical.com/ http://textiletoolbox.com/exhibits/detail/denature/ http://tedresearch.net/research/detail/twice-upcycled/ http://trashisfortossers.com/ Lauren Singer http://tfrc.org.uk/research/laser-line/ http://timorissanen.com/ http://zerofabricwastefashion.blogspot.ie/