THE PULSECRITICAL THE BLIND SPOTS OF CLOTHING REUSE WHAT CAN CONSUMER DO - SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE BUYER’S PERSPECTIVE FASHION CHARITY PARADOX THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FASHION BRAND www.thecriticalpulse.comthecriticalpulse SeptemberISSUE2022NO.5 Artwork by: Sandra Jäger
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Welcome to the fifth issue!
We hope you enjoy this issue and that you join us in disrupting the current fashion practices.
Pulse will continue to look at themes concerning the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will continue to address sustainability and social justice, as well as ethics, inclusivity, diversity, intersectional feminism, and decoloniality because we want to see a transformation in the fashion system and fashion education.
TheCritical Pulse
EDITORS’ LETTER
With contributions by Anna Schmedes Kok, Frederikke Strandgaard Jakobsen, Sara Bay Panduro, Nanna Kristensen, Sofie Staal Rundstrøm, Lærke Per nille Linneberg Bæk, Søren Erichsen, Laila Amani Ali Youssef Pedersen, and Sara Olivia Arkil. A special thanks for the illustrations and visuals to Sandra Rosenkranz Jäger and Sarah Trahan.
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This issue is a special edition made in collaboration with MA students from Design Studies and Design Management programs at SDU Kolding. This issue is centered around sustainability and diversity, focusing on global brands, upcoming designers, smaller businesses, and creative inventions. We hope to spark your interest in different and new ways of using and understanding these concepts and approaches to sustainable and diverse fashion.
This issue was also inspired by the various research projects in Dr. Kat Sark’s “Fashion and Creativity” course at SDU in the Fall of The2021.Critical
We welcome contributions, such as reviews of books, films, current events, and other relevant topics. Through studying the dis course of design, fashion, and economics, we want to empower and amplify marginalized voices of creatives and young profession als. We only publish well-researched, and well-analyzed information. We hope that our different views give you an objective and critical perspective of the fashion industry, creating a desire to push views, traditions, and conditions forward.
Sincerely, the editorial team of The Critical Pulse Robin Chantree, Jacob Krebs, Nanna Kristensen, Mia Petersen, Sandra Rosenkranz Jäger, Emilie Thomsen, Sarah Trahan, and Bjørn Utoft Sørensen,
Mentored and inspired by Dr. Kat Sark
linen fabrics
Multicolored
Content The Blind Spots of Clothing Reuse What Can Consumer DoSustainability From the Buyer’s Perspective Fashion Charity Paradox 10 12 18 20 26 30 36 The creative process of creating a sustainable fashionbrand
Photo by Andreas Fickl
Photo Essay –“How are Project
6 10 12 18 20 26 30 36 Exhibition: The most essential bag Review: A sustainable perspective on Adidas sneakers
Review of The Minimalists: Less is Now
you today?”
The Secondhand Platform Tise
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By: Anna Schmedes Kok
The secondhand platform, Tise, testifies that this is not the case. It seems obvious that reuse platforms are fundamentally built upon environmentally sus tainable narratives, but nonetheless these platforms reveal and generate less sustainable consumer pra ctices. Tise is a Norwegian-based software company that is a social, online marketplace in which users can sell and consume secondhand items. Therefo re, Tise is an intermediary in the reuse practice. Tise has existed since 2013 and has today expanded to 1.3 million connected user3. Tise is a product of the evolution of the reuse marketplace; its first app earance was in the eighteenth century and nine teenth century. Clothing reuse decreased in popu larity and stigma in the twentieth century; the 21st century marks the renewed popularity and de-stig matization of this field4.
Tise’s website, 13 items were described as “barely used” or “completely unused”, with a price tag. This can be explained using the concept of conspicuous waste by Thorstein Veblen (1899). This refers to the disposal of clothes, not owing to lack of usability, but because the clothing is no longer in style5. Con sidering this, platforms such as Tise and the easy access to resale they contribute to, have resulted in consumption without consequences. The opti on to resell an item can easily compensate for an impulse purchase. As the market of resold clothing grows rapidly, so does the market of new clothing, or fast fashion6. It is paradoxical how the handling of clothing in such a wasteful manner can persist despite increased awareness of environmental ly friendly consumption and the popularization of sustainable trends. This article argues that no consumer practice is, in itself, sustainable. How ever, the way in which we consume is decisive for whether an item of clothing is, in fact, sustainable.
It is paradoxical how the handling of clothing in such a wasteful manner can persist despite in creased awareness of environmentally friendly consumption and the popularization of sustaina ble trends.
Blind Spots of Clothing
Reuse
The Danish environmental activist and owner of the consulting company Continual, formerly Second hand First, Tanja Gottharsden, sheds light on how recycling is ambiguously sustainable when she asks the question: “Do you shop reused clothing while having a fast-fashion mindset?”7. The comparison lies in the price-friendly nature of both fast fashion and reuse, which enables greater consumption. With this question, Gotthardsen highlights that the con sumption of reused clothing does involve inevitable environmental consequences. One example of this is the transport of resale. Transportation entails en vironmental impacts that outweigh the benefits of possibly avoided production, unless the application phase of the clothing is sufficiently long8. Tise, as an example, demonstrates exactly these short applica tion phases of clothing, which contradict reuse as a sustainable practice. Additionally, another problem
Clothing reuse is often included in the discourse of the perfect sustainable business model, and there is no doubt that reusing has a positive environmental impact. In a study by the recycling platform Thredup, it was revealed that if everyo ne bought a used piece of clothing rather than a new one, it would reduce the emission of 2.5 bil lion kilos of CO2. In addition, it would save two million kilos of garbage equivalent to 18,700 truckloads1. Based on a summary of 41 studies on the environmental impact of the recycling and reuse of textiles, it was found that recycling and reuse reduce the overall environmental impact of textiles compared to incineration and landfill. However, these benefits mainly arise with the assumption that the production of new products will be avoided2, which is currently not the case.
Of the top 30 ads under the section “trending” on
if everyone bought a used piece of clothing rather than a new one, it would reduce the emission of 2.5 billion kilos of CO2. In addition, it would save two million kilos of garbage equivalent to 18,700 truckloads
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ethos of reused clothing is based on a general lack of transparency in the re circulation process between consumers. Social mar ketplaces, such as Tise, encourage open communi
It is relevant to investigate how Tise urges unsustai nable consumer practices in their online promoti on. Here, the concept of fetishism is applicable. This concept originates from Marxist theory concerning the alienation that arises from material culture. The individuals in a society characterized by capitalism and mass production are, according to Karl Marx, not able to recognize themselves in material goods, which leads to a state of alienation. Fetishism refers to the act of hiding the manual labour attached to the production of a certain object, and instead the object is given a mysterious or magical character. As a result of this, we perceive the world as objects, and these objects symbolize our social relations10.
clothesofpackagesTwoPhotobyKatSark
arises as the sale of one’s used clothes might also motivate the desire to consume new clothing9
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Fetishism refers to the act of hiding the manual labour attached to the production of a certain object, and instead the object is given a mysterious or magical character. As a result of this, we perceive the world as objects, and these objects sym bolize our social relations .
in the picture imbues the shoes with human qua lities, reflected in the emotional goodbye as well as the mentioning of the shoes as “friends.” When the shoes afterward enter the Tise marketplace, the use-value of the shoes is not actually realized. The shoes become an invaluable opportunity for buying oneself into the influencer’s success. As a result, the supply chain that the shoes are a part of becomes more obscured than when we encounter the same pair of shoes in the store. This results in a surplus va lue added to the shoe, due to their previous owner.
The case mentioned above involves two problems in terms of both the sale and the consumption of reused clothing as a sustainable consumer practice. Fetishization is considered to increase consumpti on, as seen in the light that Tise’s livelihood is based on sales. The company gains profit on all transacti ons made through Tise via surcharges on sales and purchases. Even though the business model of Tise holds a basic sustainable intention, it is still part of a fashion industry that is driven by a growth ideology, i.e., where success is measured in economic growth. The ideals of sustainability and economic success may seem incompatible. The name Tise originates from the English word “advertise” in that the essen tial purpose of an advertisement is to lead to action, such as a Secondly,purchase11,12.the“reset”
Tise uses influencers and celebrities to promote their platform. A common achievement of these ce lebrities is their perceived success in various fields. I will argue that their successful status supports the creation of desired objects, defined by a magical character. It is an exaggerated example of the per sonification of a pair of shoes. The Danish influencer
Tise & Fetishism
Where does all the unsold clothing go?
When investigating Tise, the question of what hap pens to all the clothes we are not able to sell arises. In Denmark, more than 60% of collected textiles are exported abroad and then disappear into a non-transparent system14. As Tansy Hoskins hig hlights in her new book, Foot Work, the recycling of clothing is truly a deficient system based on social injustice and an imperialistic legacy15. She describes post-consumption waste as a grey area, in which the global north tends to use the global south as their landfill. Clothes that are not dome stically burned will be shipped to Eastern Europe, Africa, India, or Pakistan. In addition to this, con sumers must educate themselves and understand their own consumption habits as part of an inter connected system. The reuse of clothing cannot justify or outweigh the consumption of fast-fas hion products, as the degraded quality that most often characterizes these products results in a vast portion of this clothing not being recyclable. Con sequently, the clothes end up in landfills or burned in other regions of the world 16.
TheCritical Pulse
ClothesuponClothes lachRonbyPhoto
cation about clothing materials, production, etc., which allows an informed basis for consumer de cision-making. This makes it even more complex for the consumers of recycled fashion to make sustainable choices. Nike has most recently been accused of violating labor rights by failing to pay suppliers during the Corona pandemic13. It seems paradoxical how an object produced under inhu mane conditions can circulate as a sustainable pro duct. Despite issues like these, companies like Tise must also be recognized for their effort in expan ding awareness of reuse practices, as well as repo sitioning reused clothing as socially acceptable. However, the issues concerning reused clothing do not only involve unsustainable consumption practices but also involve the entire value chain.
Moreover, the reuse system has major socio-eco nomic consequences. As an example, the system is partly to blame for the collapse of the clothing production of East Africa. During the rebuilding
Where does all the unsold clothing go?
The solutions to the issues are not without chal lenges. It would require radical structural trans formations as well as distancing oneself from an individualistic consumptive practice. Then the fu ture of the fashion industry might be within reach. One could imagine that larger fashion companies’ override linear and traditional concepts to become pure recycling concepts. However, this necessita tes that the industry rejects the ideals of economic growth. As long as this mindset prevails and the production of new products continues to be easier and cheaper than supporting recycling, a sincere sustainable recycling practice entails tough condi tions.
of their own clothing production, the East African Community (EAC) wanted to ban the import of used clothing. In response, the U.S. government, the world’s largest exporter of second-hand clo thing, threatened to suspend Africa’s easy access to U.S. markets. This caused several countries of the EAC to give up the boycott in fear of losing clo thing and textiles from their U.S market17. This de monstrates the economic exploitation enforced by privileged nations. In a historical comparison, the creators of the Cradle to Cradle principle, Braun gart and McDonough, describe how servants in ancient Rome carried waste away from the public space and piled it up outside the city. Additionally, they refer to the Roman saying “Pecunia non olet,” translated to “money does not smell” 18. There are great similarities between today’s society and the thousand-year-old system facilitated by globaliza tion and the economic exploitation perpetrated by wealthy western nations.
As Tansy Hoskins highlights in her new book, Foot Work, the recycling of clothing is truly a deficient system based on so cial injustice and an imperialistic legacy.
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The Minimalists: Less is Now is a 2021 documentary created for and available on Netflix. The story is based on the two childhood friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus who started a movement called The Minimalists. As the documentary argues, people in modern consumer society have become too addicted to stuff, and Millburn and Nicodemus want to inspire people to live a simpler life by not buying stuff to add value and meaning to life. Minimalism is all about getting rid of all the non-essentials and using available resour
By: Laila Amani Pedersen
Theces.
The Minimalists: Less is Now on Netflix
storyline centers around the two protagonists who recount how and why several events in their lives have contributed to their minimalist lifestyle. Growing up in poverty led them to pursuing the ”American Dream,” a dream that even if it comes true, does not make them happy. These personal stories are combined with testimonials from former shoppers, who report how life has improved after they have become minimalists. Furthermore, the idea of minimalism is backed up with facts about the negative aspects of consumerism and the digital age. Towards the end, Millburn and Nicodemus describe their personal principles as methods, and the viewer should be ready to go minimalist.
The clips with the testimonials work less well as these are based on success stories that only go skin deep, and are therefore not entirely convincing. In terms of consumerism and the digital age, these help to convey several messages within the documentary. The viewer learns about how companies manipulate consumers through deficit advertisements that make people feel inadequate to convince them to buy more stuff. The Minimalists tell of an identity associated with stuff – an identity which rather should be found in communities, in which precisely the minimalist movement could be an alternative solution. As Millburn and Nicodemus state: now is time for less - a time that is more about people and less about stuff. Therefore, the documentary works well as a part of Netflix’s Together for Our Planet, a collaboration with the team behind the United Nations’ COP2 International Climate Con ference to curate a collection of sustainability stories. The Minimalists can certainly be re commended to anyone who wants to learn how to reduce their consumption or just learn more about minimalism.
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Less is Now Arkwork by Emilie Thomsen
Can A Consumer DoSustainability From the Buyer’s Perspective
Clothing consumption has increased globally as consumers approximately purchase 60% more clothes than 15 years ago.
A sustainability paradox arises when consumers accuse the fashion industry of overproduction whi le fashion companies accuse consumers of overcon sumption3. The German sociologist Niklas Luhmann describes the concept of paradox as how “every system produces its own blind spot”4, only to ob serve the contradictions and realize the unseen. Ele na Esposito argues that “the nature of the fashion industry is inherently paradoxical”5 and fashion as a phenomenon itself is contracting; “an individual should do what others do in order to be an individu al”6. This demonstrates a classic view of the fashion Paradoxicalsystem.
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By: Frederikke Strandgaard Jakobsen
tensions arise between overproducti on and overconsumption. Fashion companies will not acknowledge overproduction and maintain a perspective that they are simply meeting the con sumers’ demand. Industry professionals believe it is the consumers’ dependency on cheap clothes and their extensive consumption habits that are the causes of overconsumption7. On the contrary, researchers maintain that the lack of government regulation of the fashion industry fosters overpro duction. Essentially, there is a lack of cooperation between the fashion industry, governments, and the general public to move towards making change in this broken industry8.
The fashion industry’s methods of mass produc tion, exploitation of vulnerable workers, and ex cessive consumer consumption habits make it one of the most polluting industries in the world. This article investigates consumption patterns and why consumers are important for re-defi ning discourse within the fashion industry. The prevailing culture in the fashion industry and in society helps to maintain an unsustainable industry both from an organizational perspective and a consumer perspective. I investigate the current paradox between companies and consumers.
The sustainability paradox
productionclothingtoduewaterPollutedPhotobyKatSark
Every year, more than 150 billion garments are pro duced. Clothing consumption has increased glo bally as consumers approximately purchase 60% more clothes than 15 years ago1. This change over time indicates a radical development in the wrong direction. One of the main reasons why consump tion has increased is fast fashion, whose business model is based on a rapidly changing supply of cheap clothing where the quality often is poor2.
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The fashion industry produces new collections every week, resulting in a continuous and repeat ed stimulation of the consumers’ desire to con sume.
In Else Skjold’s PhD thesis, ”The Daily Selection,” she developed a wardrobe analysis method in col laboration with researchers at the Design School Kolding12. This method combines studies of indi viduals’ daily clothing practices with greater social understandings13. The following explanation of this wardrobe analysis is based on the book Klæd dig
A sustainability paradox arises when consumers accuse the fashion industry of overproduction while fashion companies accuse consumers of overconsumption.
sweatersWool shevtsovaDariabyPhoto
Consumption Patterns
Wardrobe analysis
Skjold and Stenstrup suggest three motives behind the purchase of clothes: 1) to explore a new iden tity, 2) to meet a concrete need, and 3) as an enjo yable social activity9. They emphasize that when consumers purchase new clothes it is often becau se they have been influenced by something or so meone to try something new. This translates into a general tendency that consumers are not simply purchasing new clothes. Consumers visually assess the clothing, meaning they “scan” the clothes to get a visual impression of the clothes prior to purcha sing. Thus, some clothes are immediately captured by this “scan,” which leads to more spontaneous and unstructured consumption10.
The current fashion industry narrative is about purchasing more, more, and more. The conversa tion and topics highlighted in fashion magazines and social media often point to new trends in the fashion industry and call for more consumption. Consumption is about satisfying needs and experi encing pleasure. The individual consumer can posi tion themselves in society by using consumption as a tool for interpretation and communication of the specific fashion clothes purchased. We use fashion to express ourselves in multiple ways.
Thebedre14.purpose
tool recently developed for creating this awareness is the wardrobe analysis by Else Skjold.
The fashion industry produces new collections every week, resulting in a continuous and repeated sti mulation of the consumers’ desire to consume. With weekly updates of new clothes and trends, many consumers feel pressured to renew themselves and follow new fashionable trends. The individual’s ac tual need for purchasing new clothes is often over ruled by societal expectations and the fashion in dustry’s practice of mass production. This makes it difficult for the consumer to be able to identify if it is truly their own need to purchase new clothes11. It is essential that the consumer is aware of their perso nal consumption patterns to be able to create more sustainable consumption patterns globally. One
of the wardrobe analysis is to under stand yourself and your clothes, to create an aware ness of your choices and habits relating to clothes. As a consumer, one of the basic criteria for a sus tainable wardrobe is to limit clothing waste. There is a synergy between consumption patterns, usage of clothes, and sustainable practices. Even if the fas hion industry introduces sustainable initiatives, the goals will always be about generating profit. The refore, we as consumers must investigate our own wardrobes. We need to identify which of our clothes we are comfortable with and what materials, colou rs, and patterns we prefer. Next, the clothes must be divided into three categories, wardrobe favourites, the passive, and clothes with affection value. War
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Applying the concept of “enclothed cognition” to a person’s wardrobe includes identifying the sym bolic meaning each item of clothes might have.
The logic of fashion has always been to value ”the new” in an attempt to resemble the ideal. According to Else Skjold, fashion is an idealization and reflec tion of contemporary societal development. How ever, she argues that the logic of the twenty-first century is reversed, with the single individual at the center17. Therefore, it is important for the individual consumer to analyze their wardrobe practices to un derstand what fashion and clothes mean to them.
Greater consumer awareness of personal clothing preferences will arguably reduce the number of ex cess purchases significantly. Moreover, if consumers truly come to understand and apply the pheno menon “enclothed cognition” to their own clothing choices, it could result in a positive psychological effect and improve their well-being. Sustainability in terms of the fashion industry is about better un derstanding your individual consumption patterns and wardrobe. A sustainable wardrobe is finding the clothes that make you happy in the long run.
Through three studies, Adam and Galinsky found that 1) clothes carry a symbolic meaning, 2) the in fluence of clothes depends on how often the clo thes are worn, and 3) clothes invoke connotations in people’s psychological schemas. Thus, the person must actively attribute the clothes a symbolic mea ning and then wear the clothes16.
Superpowers of enclothed cognition
drobe favourites are defined as your favourite clo thes, items you love and always choose when you have a clothing crisis. These clothes fit your life, your body, and make you happy. The clothes that belong to wardrobe favorites form the best wardrobe for you and for the environment15. Passive clothes are at the bottom of the pile or at the back of the closet. Clothes with an affection value are items that hold a special emotional meaning. The wardrobe analysis demonstrates why some clothes are used again and again, while other clothes move further and further down the pile.
The term “enclothed cognition” coined by Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky (2012) is the effect that clothes have on a person’s mental process and the way they think, feel, and function in areas like atten tion and confidence.
Conclusion: Sustainable wardrobe practices
Skjold and Stenstrup argue that wearing wardrobe favorites gives the wearer superpowers and brings joy, which equals a sustainable wardrobe. Using Else Skjold’s theoretical framework for analyzing the wardrobe, you can improve your consumption habits, increase happiness, and thereby contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry.
Applying the concept of “enclothed cognition” to a person’s wardrobe includes identifying the symbo lic meaning each item of clothes might have. Once you have identified the symbolic meanings of your clothes, you can use ”enclothed cognition” to your advantage and improve your wardrobe choices by always wearing the clothes that have a positive psy chological effect. Combining both wardrobe ana lysis and “enclothed cognition” produces the most optimal framework for sustainable wardrobe prac tices.
The purpose of the wardrobe analysis is to un derstand yourself and your clothes, to create an awareness of your choices and habits relating to clothes.
Photo by Ron Lach
Pile of clothes
PhotoPlasticbyHarry Cooke
Essay –
My “How are you today?” project seeks to challenge the status quo about mental health through fashi on and creativity. With this project I want to demonstrate fashion’s ability to be an emotionally charged phenomenon that does not focus on profit or trends, but on its potential impact to change society for the better. This creative fashion intervention makes a serious problem approachable and contributes to more openness about mental health.
Fashion & Mental Health
“How are you today?” Project
Idea & Inspiration
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Lærke Pernille Linneberg Bæk
The fashion industry is not exactly known for promoting positive mental health. On the contrary, it has demonstrated that it has little thoughtfulness for its workers. From a consumer point of view, the fashi on industry also has a negative effect on mental health by disseminating fashion images that promote unrealistic body expectations, objectification, and exclusion. This can lead to consumers developing low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, compulsive shopping behaviour and addiction (Mair 2018). Yet, fashion is an important social, cultural, and political phenomenon that has the potential to bring societal change if given political agency. Because fashion is also an emotionally charged pheno menon, it can also bring pleasure, incite, and transmit affects, as well as disturb authoritarian tendencies (Bartlett 2019). By understanding the impact of fashion and human behaviour, it is possible to use fashion to generate and improve mental well-being. In that sense clothing, fashion and the fashion industry can affect our mental health and psychological well-being (Mair 2018). Therefore, I believe that fashion can be used to unite rather than segregate us.
The question “How are you today?” acts as a creative fashion intervention to make it easier to articulate mental health and to prevent people from being afraid of asking and opening about how they feel daily. The statement works as the visual carrier of the project, being physically manifested through craft on an upcycled fashion item. In a feminist spirit this project embraces all levels of creativity to make an inclusive community. The idea is that everybody can contribute by using and activating their own creativity to inter pret the statement visually crafted on an upcycled fashion item. The “How are you today?” project consists of four criteria that ensure a merging of creativity, craft-psychology, fashion, and sustainability.
1.Inclusive: Everybody can join this project, no matter their level of creative skills. This project embraces all levels of creativity to create an inclusive community that embraces people from a diverse range of abi lities, ages, races and genders.
2. Upcycle: The fashion item used to interpret the statement visually must be upcycled. We must be en vironmentally conscious, reinforcing the idea that we already have enough clothing on this planet. This project does not wish to contribute to further capitalist overconsumption. So, whether it is an old t-shirt, tote bag or jacket - giving an old fashion item some new life with this creative makeover is key.
The aim of the project was to explore how fashion, creativity, sustainability, and activism could bring awareness to mental health struggles. I wanted to use these four components to make a physical and vi sual manifestation of global everyday activism for social change. The initial idea of the project originates from the Pussyhat that spread worldwide as a global symbol of solidarity for women’s rights and political activism during the global Women’s Marches. The Pussyhat became a great source of motivation because it demonstrates how creativity and fashion can make a difference in addressing conflicts.
How are you today?
The finished pieces
4. Wear and Share: Wear your “How are you today?” project and use the question to speak up and ask people around you how they feel as an intervention to bring awareness to mental health in an everyday setting. Share the aim of this project and inspire others to contribute with their own creative statement item to make positive individual trails for promoting and improving positive mental health, thereby calling for social change through creativity.
Photo by Lærke Pernille Linneberg Bæk
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3. Create: The statement ‘How are you today?’ must be written on the selected upcycled item by any creative means. Whether crafted by embroidery, paint, pearls, beads, pen, patchwork, knit etc. The most important thing is to embrace creative energy and let it flow. There is no right or wrong in this process. Just as there is nothing wrong with addressing mental well-being. <3
ProcessCreativiteThe HallBraheKatrinebyPhoto
ProcessCreativiteThe HallBraheKatrinebyPhoto
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ProcessCreativiteThe BækLinnebergPernilleLærkebyPhoto
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Another misleading assumption is that our donated clothes are freely distributed to countries in need. While these garments may originate as charitable donations through organizations such as the Sal
From the 1960s to the early 1980s, the fashion indu stries in East Africa were thriving. They were produ cing for both local and export markets and emplo yed thousands of people in this industry, where value chains in the textile sector were established from production of raw materials to the finished garment5. This changed in 1982, when the interna tional debt crisis began in Latin America, followed by a collapse in clothing and textile prices. The cri sis deeply affected the trade deficit in Africa, and since the crisis, international banks have declined to lend money to African nations6. African govern ments were forced to liberalize their economies un der pressure from banks in the West, to whom they owed immense interest repayments. These econo mic reforms to the market resulted in the removal of barriers on import taxes and quotas, which had previously protected local factories. Once the fra gile economies of the EAC (East African Countries) were open to imports in favour of the West, these countries were flooded with SHC (Secondhand Clo thing)7. The availability and inexpensiveness of the se imported clothes resulted in a local textile indu stry now incapable of competing with the prices of
The truth is that only about 10-20% of these gar ments are actually sold.
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Sara Bay Panduro
What really happens when you donate your clothes
There seems to be a collective understanding that donating your clothes to charity is a good thing. The charitable element of helping the less fortunate through donating your clothes has an appeal. But the journey of our unwanted clothes is not as clear cut as we think. Fashion charity is actually a very complex system. In this article, I investigate the complexity of the fashion charity, or second-hand textile industry and how it af fects the global South. My focus is on the sub-Sa haran African countries, mainly East African Countries (EAC). I argue that the Western world’s fast fashion consumption habits are compromi sing the fashion industries in developing coun tries, such as the EAC, and keeping these countries in poverty. My main objective is to analyze how previous cultural systems have affected our understanding of the second-hand fashion industry today. Second-hand clothing is a proble matic system that deeply infiltrates developing countries and denies them both economic and cultural development.
CHARITY AS A PARADOX
One of the main misconceptions of the second-hand clothing industry is that most of the garments do nated are re-sold at local charity shops. The truth is that only about 10-20% of these garments are ac tually sold. In actuality, only “fit-for-sale” items (1020%) are selected for local shops, whilst the remai ning 80% are sent to a recycling facility. From there, about 45% of the remaining garments are exported for money to countries outside the West1. Approxi mately 70% of clothing donations end up in East African countries, which in 2015 imported $151 mil lion dollars’ worth of clothing, mostly from the US and Europe 2.
vation Army and Oxfam, once these garments have been sorted, they are instead sold to independent traders. These traders will then resell them to organi zations in developing countries3. These “donations” travel through a total supply chain, where they be come commercialized by independent companies before they end up for sale at local markets in Afri ca. This means that the current fashion charity sy stem is actually an industry that financially benefits Western countries that export their second-hand clothing to the global South. In 2016 alone, the US exported used clothing for a total of $575 million dollars4. As a result, most Western countries can dis pose of their unwanted garments and make a fortu ne in the process.
How the second-hand imports destroy local fashion economies
Most Western countries can dispose of their unwanted garments and make a fortune in the process.
In response, a group of countries from East Africa joined forces in 2016 to collectively propose a ban on imports of used clothing9. The proposed ban did not only serve as an effort to support the develop ment of their local textile industries, but also as a means to renegotiate the international trade re strictions that caused a disproportionate import of SHC. SHC imports had, quite literally, turned these countries into fast fashion dumping grounds. But the wealthier nations of the West, particularly the US, stand to lose billions of dollars if a ban on SHC imports were to be put in place. As a response to the proposed ban, the US threatened to withdraw the memberships of these countries to the Afri can Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA is a US Trade Act which offers economic incentives for African countries in exchange for building free markets and eliminating barriers to US trade and in vestment10. The threat of an import ban meant that several of the countries previously supporting the proposed ban have withdrawn from the proposal due to pressure from the US.
Western “donations.” This caused a massive regres sion of local textile industries and since the 1980s, there has been a 40-50%. decline in domestic texti le production and employment of textile workers in East African nations8.
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Neo-Colonialism
One of the nations still supporting the SHC im port ban is Rwanda. Their president is convinced that this is the only way forward, if the country is to grow local economies and achieve a balance in trade.
But the wealthier nations of the West, particularly the US, stand to lose billions of dollars if a ban on SHC imports were to be put in place. As a response to the proposed ban, the US threatened to withdraw the memberships of these countries to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Colonialism is a practice of domination, which in volves the subjugation of one people by another.
Colonialism is a practice of domination, which in volves the subjugation of one people by another12. Historically, the African continent has been highly subjected to colonialism, where most of the conti nent has spent over two generations under colonial rule13. Under colonial rule, different regimes exploi ted the African people, by stripping them of their natural resources and exporting them back to the West14. This was all legitimized through the racist rhetoric of colonization being a “civilizing mission” that characterized colonialism as a temporary peri od of political dependence, which was “necessary” in order for “uncivilized” societies to progress to the point where they were capable of sustaining liberal self-government, tailored to Western standards15.
African governments were forced to liberalize their economies under pressure from banks in the West, to whom they owed immense interest repay ments. These economic reforms to the market re sulted in the removal of barriers on import taxes and quotas, which had previously protected local factories.
One of the nations still supporting the SHC import ban is Rwanda. Their president is convinced that this is the only way forward, if the country is to grow local economies and achieve a balance in trade11 This is not simply a matter of having the right to rebuild a textile industry, but a matter of having the right to control the destiny of your own economy.
clothingoffullTruckPhotobyKatSark
Cage with clothing
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
In the aftermath of the colonial era, post-colonial theorists have investigated whether colonialism has in fact assisted in the development of colonized countries. The result of their research indicates the opposite. In actuality, Africa is poorer today than it would have been had colonialism not occurred16. This demonstrates how colonialism is not just an isolated phase in history that has come to an end and is in the past. Instead, colonialism and its effe cts persist as a structural problem that infiltrates our entire understanding of the world, both past and present. The white-supremasist perception of the “civilized” vs. the “uncivilized” still very much persists today. The faulted system of fashion “charity” stands as an example of that. The West is still exercising economic control over and suppressing postcoloni al nations today, only in a less obvious manner.
Denial of cultural heritage
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cal fashion industry in Rwanda. This is done through the perspective of Rwandan citizens; everything is designed and produced in Kigali by local designers, tailors, and seamstresses. Creative Director Josely ne Umutoniwase is striving to create a brand that empowers Rwandan aesthetics and changes the world’s perception of African fashion (Rwanda Clo thing). The brand currently does not have a webs hop, which means that these items can only be purchased in Kigali, or one can have garments cust om-made to order. This arrangement gives Rwanda Clothing the opportunity to control the narrative of their clothing and maintain their local anchor. The case of Rwanda Clothing cannot singlehandedly solve the imbalance created by the second-hand import colonialism. In the current economic climate of EAC, most people are simply not financially able to buy locally produced garments, and therefore they find it necessary to choose second-hand over new, local garments.
Howties.
do we then solve the paradoxical problem of fashion “charity”? We must reform the current sy stems, and in doing so, it is paramount to dismantle our perception of ourselves, and thereby our per ception of others. We cannot continue to maintain the status quo, which includes our consumption and “donation” practices. The concept of decoloni zation is the most sustainable way to do that. It is no longer acceptable for the sub-Saharan African countries to have to live with the effects of exploita tive colonial legacies.
Conclusion: Decolonizing fashion
Anthropologist Sandra Niessen argues that decolo nizing fashion is the only way to build a more just perception of fashion. She argues that “As our fas hion grows, theirs [non-western nations] become obsolete… it’s time to put our Western clothing systems in a universal perspective”17. This is exact ly what is at stake in the SHC industry, and accor ding to Niessen, putting our Western clothing sy stems into a global perspective is inevitable, if we want to understand the racism that has infiltrated the foundations of our systems. Essentially, these developing countries and the people who inhabit them are simply seen as not as valuable as Western institutions. A bad mix of colonialism and capitalism stands as the main obstacle for sustainable and fair fashion system change in favour of EAC communi
To demonstrate how it is possible to sustain the cul tural identity in East Africa, I researched a Rwandan fashion brand. Rwanda Clothing is a local fashion retailer located in the nation capital of Kigali. The brand was founded in 2012 by native fashion desig ner Joselyne Umutoniwase (Rwanda Clothing). This is a brand that aspires to support and develop the lo
What happens when a nation is predominantly dres sed in clothes that are designed to fit and express the identity of a foreign culture? This is a problem that is currently not given a great deal of attenti on. Clothing is an essential element in expressing one’s identity and culture both as a group and as an individual. Therefore, clothing is ultimately a com munication of culture. In my research, I came across a Google image of a young African child wearing a Sesame Street t-shirt with the words “me so hung ry” on the front. A simple and otherwise humorous t-shirt suddenly has a very different meaning when it appears in a different context. Another image portrays a group of young students from a school in Kenya dressed in “leftover” shirts from the Republi can politician Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. These shirts were donated by a Romney campaign organization in Tennessee. It will be difficult for the se children to develop an independent sense of their cultural identity, if they have been dressed in clothes which do not reflect their cultural heritage.
Africa is poorer today than it would have been had colonialism not occurred (Heldring & Robinson 2013)
Rwanda Clothing
Yarn bundles
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
The Danish nurse Elise Sørensen invented the stoma bag in 1954 at the age of 50, when Elise’s sister Thora got sick with cancer at the age of 32 and needed care. Elise, who was working as a visiting nurse, invented a bag to catch bodily fluids that could easily be attached to the skin without any demanding bandages. When presenting the idea to the medical industry, Elise presented her idea to Aage Louis-Hansen and his wife Johanne Louis-Hansen, who were the owners of the company Dansk Plastisk Emballage (Danish Plastic Packaging). At first Aage was skeptical about the idea but was persuaded by his wife since Johanne was a trained nurse herself and could see the potential of this invention. The first 1000 bags produced were made by hand as they were quickly in high demand, and by 1957 the company Coloplast was founded. Two years later, more than two-thirds of their production was exported.1 This article will outline a proposal for a design exhibition on this topic, which was first created by the two authors of this article during a cura tion workshop. When brainstorming ideas in the workshop we focused on crafting an exhibition with the goal of debunking the socio-cultural taboos connected to the stoma bag.
The Most Essential Bag - The Colostomy Bag and Its Users
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This exhibition will put its focus on women who don’t fall into the standard body type that is usually prominent in the fashion industry. That standard body type is typically tall and lean with no visible phy sical disabilities. We aim to change the typical fashion discourse through this exhibition about different
By: Sofie Staal Rundstrøm and Nanna Kristensen
The exhibition is relevant for all ages and backgrounds, but our target audience are teenagers and young people. Young people are the ones changing the world of tomorrow and diversity is such an important topic to address in public conversation. In our research, we found that younger generations are more open to talk about these kinds of different, and sometimes stigmatized, topics. Additionally, Crohn’s disease, one of the most common reasons for colostomy, often hits in the age of 15 to 30. As studies show, the younger generations in Denmark don’t go to museums quite as often as the rest of the population3. Since museums have a duty to showcase diverse cultures across the population, it is therefore important to focus on ca tching young people’s attention and interest. The study “Young People’s use of Museums - a target group examination of museums young users and non-users” from DAMVAD and the Center of Museology at Aar hus University shows that some young people tend to be intimidated by museum rules, such as being quiet and of keeping a distance to the objects on display4. The study also showed that both museum users and non-users want to be involved and want to participate in exhibitions through storytelling, touching and using the objects on display. Furthermore, the study shows that young people have a distinct focus on the present and the future, and it is therefore essential that exhibitions envision the present in order for them to be relevant to younger people. Our proposal tries to accommodate this with its direct focus on interlinking the past with the present and by using sensorial and interactive elements.
Debunking the stigma through social media
Different bodies, different stories
With mega-trends like body positivity that focus on breaking stigmas against different types of bodies (not just variants of size), we discovered that users of apps such as TikTok used their private social media platforms to debunk and break stigmas of using a stoma bag. The creators would showcase how the stoma bag doesn’t affect their life quality negatively and model ways to break stigmas by wearing and showing off the bag. Hannah Witton, a sex-positive YouTuber and social media content creator, uses her platform to showcase her journey with a stoma bag. Instead of hiding it, she shows her audience how to style and feel empowered with the stoma bag.2 In our research, seeing users like Hannah on these different social media platforms catalyzed our brainstorming and an idea started to take form. We decided that the personal sto ries of the users of stoma bags would be the driving force in our design exhibition.
Young people want to be involved
posterMissionArtworkbySofieStaalRundstrøm
Our proposal for the exhibition “The Most Essential Bag, the colostomy bag and its users” focuses on nor malizing the stoma bag and its relation to clothing and fashion, in order to try to understand and debunk the taboos connected to the stoma bag and the people that are using it. We also aim to celebrate and make more visible female contributions to Danish design. It is important for us to underline that as curators, we aim to not put ourselves in a central position, where we are the ones controlling the narrative. We are crea ting a structure for the stories being told and wish to both showcase and center the voices and stories from women living with stoma-bags. They are the main focus. Our exhibition will consist of four main elements, “Elise Sørensen – A name to remember,” “The act of getting dressed - video installations,” “Clothes are like our second skin – interactive sensory installation,” “Small bag huge potential – design contributions.”
“The act of getting dressed - video installations” will focus on social media trends, where young stoma bag users try to break taboos connected to stoma bags and make them more fashionable. This part of the exhibition will consist of large video installations of diverse girls with stoma bags, showing and talking about their relationship to the bag and how to get dressed with it. This part of the exhibition will focus on how the colostomy bag is a part of the fashion identity of the users.
“Clothes are like our second skin – an interactive and sensory installation” will work as an interactive element, where the guest can try to dress themselves with a stoma bag attached. The bag will be attached with tape and give the guest a feeling of how it feels against their skin and what kind of considerations they themselves would do when getting dressed if they had a colostomy bag. This part of the exhibiti on wishes to make people engage and wonder, and to address that fashion is something quite personal
“Elise Sørensen – A name to remember” is the introduction to the exhibition and an introduction to Elise Sørensen and her history as the inventor of the colostomy bag. It will showcase Elise as a female designer who made important contributions to Danish design and focus on the taboo connected to getting dres sed with a stoma bag. In order for this part of the exhibition to be not only informative but also sensory, we propose the use of video, audio and touchable examples of materials used to make the colostomy bag throughout its history.
bodies in the hopes that it will result in a more diverse set of women being able to identify themselves as being included within the fashion industry. Sissel Karneskog talks about this in the article “A degree in Humanswear?”5 Sissel’s graduation exam, entitled “I am THEM,” broke typical categories of fashion (i.e. menswear and womenswear) and shifted to more diverse categories to be more inclusive and to decon struct fashion’s typical way of presenting clothing. This shift was student made and the Royal College of Arts in London adapted to include these new and different categories. This way of collaboration between educators and students is also taking place at other universities. Ilya Parkins, from the University of British Columbia in Okanagan in Canada, wants to link feminist theory to practice, meaning her students are allowed to connect with literary material through their lived experien ces, making the students able to connect with feminists concepts met in their every-day life. With connections between this topic, theory and lived experiences, we can understand that clothes on human bodies are not just reserved for standard body types and able-bodied consumers within the cur rent fashion discourse. This discourse is opening up to include all kinds of people in the fashion story. When breaking free of a limited understanding of what a body should look like in the fashion industry, an opportunity arises to make room for and include people who share diverse stories and lived experiences. Naturally, our design exhibition will follow this viewpoint. Elise Sørensen’s story is the introduction and starting point to the exhibition. As the inventor of the stoma bag, her story will start the visitor on a journey through a diverse array of experiences of being a stoma-bag user. Just as the different students from the universities outlined in “A degree in Humanswear?,” it is impor tant to emphasize that the stories and stakeholders for this exhibition are the users themselves. Besides the unique history of the stoma bag, the design exhibition focuses on different ways to dress while wea ring a stoma bag. Examples of diverse design contributions, in the form of experimental fashion clothing, will amplify the importance of having collaborative communication between colostomy bag users and fashion designers. An example of this could be covers for the stoma bags made out of upcycled fabrics, or clothing pieces made out of stoma bag material.
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Exhibition - Interlinking the past with the present
“Small bag huge potential – design contributions” is the last element in our exhibition and will con sist of contributions from fashion designers, both in the form of stoma bag covers made from up-cycled fabrics, and in the form of conceptual fashion pieces designed purely out of stoma bag material which will be displayed on mannequins. The conceptual fashion angle aims to push boundaries and engage the viewer’s imagination. The viewer is invited to change their way of thinking when the stoma-bag, normally a hidden object, now becomes clothing itself.
posterExhibitionArtworkbySofieStaalRundstrøm
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which we all wear so close to our body. But for some people, they have something even closer to their skin, the stoma bag, and this part of the exhibition shows how they have considerations whether to use fashion to cover it or show it.
The stoma bag on display Exhibitions like this one are important because we aim to debunk the stigma and mystery around the stoma bag and highlight the contributions of women to Danish design history. By putting something as private as the stoma bag on public display, this exhibition will provoke and educate visitors’ views on this object in the context of fashion. The goal is to display how different women live their life and showcase how all bodies should be relevant and how they all carry a story. We as curators are driven by a desire to change the view of women and fashion through sharing personal stories, involving visitors through acti vating their senses and highlighting Danish designer Elise Sørensen. Her invention of the stoma bag was life-changing and it is now used worldwide in everyday medical care. We feel this achievement in design should be acknowledged and celebrated.
The collection aims for a creative use of waste mate rials to contribute to preserving the environment. It is therefore a creative way of reusing, transforming, and giving unwanted products a new life.
The line of 1-of-1 designs mixes upcycled mate rials which are hand-patched into a design where you can sense the origin of the materials. The col lection aims for a creative use of waste materials to contribute to preserving the environment. It is the refore a creative way of reusing, transforming, and giving unwanted products a new life. According to Schou a crucial part of the design process for the upcycled line was when they sourced the second hand materials because this was where the creative design process started. The secondhand materials
Photo by Benjamin Sejbjerg
Søren Erichsen
Søren Schou & Thomas Bak
Schou and Bak’s graduation project is based on cre ating a sustainable high-end brand that reflects more than just the environmental aspect of sustainable fashion, but also the social and aesthetic components.
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Schou and Bak’s graduation project is based on creating a sustainable high-end brand that reflects more than just the environmental aspect of sustai nable fashion, but also the social and aesthetic com ponents. Their collection merges Schou and Bak’s different interests in culture, music, art, and sports, which fueled a common vision for their brand “TBN & SSN.” Their collection consists of two lines, a rea dy-to-wear basic line, and a line with unique 1-of-1 designs. The two lines have a consistent style using oversized and soft silhouettes. Schou and Bak point out that comfort plays a major role for this collecti on, which is manifested through drawing on sporty and urban references.
The40Creative Process of Creating a Sustainable Fashion Brand
The line of basicwear pushes the boundaries of bamboo-composed deadstock fabrics, as Schou and Bak have sourced their material from an over production of sustainably made bamboo. Accor ding to Schou, bamboo is a very soft and breathable
material which aligns with their priority for comfort. Schou points out that bamboo is often used for pro duction of underwear and socks, but they wanted to experiment with the natural material and try to apply it in new innovative ways by using it for spor ty tracksuits as seen in the left outfit of the sketch (Figure 2).
The sustainable collection
This article investigates how designers can incor porate sustainability into the creative process, with a focus on environmental, social, and aesthetic de signs. I analyze a sustainable fashion collection de signed in 2021 by two Danish graduate students, Søren Schou Nielsen and Thomas Bak Nielsen with a bachelor’s degree in Design and Business at VIA University College. Schou and Bak were selected to participate in a talent program along with a hand ful of other graduating students, in which they got the opportunity to show their collection at Copen hagen Fashion Week, but because of COVID-19 the graduation projects were presented through a vir tual app called “SUSTAIN:AR.” Schou and Bak were also invited to present their graduation project at Conscious Fashion Fair in Aarhus, where they won the “COFF Brand Award” for their high standard of sustainability and consciousness1.
Introduction
BakThomas&SchouSørenbyArtwork collectionlineBasic SejbjergBenjaminbyPhoto
The first line of basicwear has a sustainable aesthetic expression because of the neutral and minimalistic colors and designs which fit into many contexts and lifestyles, and therefore this basic line can satisfy the needs of many different consumers. It contains a lasting harmonic beauty, that is not affected by trends, and can potentially be worn for many years. Schou and Bak think that it is important to create quality designs with an appealing expression that you want to wear and can wear for years. This ba sicwear line can therefore be described as a long-la sting aesthetic which goes against the norm of fast changing trends in the fashion industry because the consumer is able to keep wearing these minimali stic items despite trends changing. This contributes to a more sustainable world because it helps fight overconsumption. On the other hand, the upcycled
As a part of the graduation project Schou and Bak have created a lookbook for the collection which takes place in an old boxing gym. As shown in the lookbook, the designs of the collection are not in tended for a specific gender. The collection the refore also has an element of social sustainability because the items are inclusive of all genders. This unisex aspect of the collection is also sustainable in the sense that the number of items that are being designed and produced is smaller than other collec tions that have separate items for different genders.
This unisex aspect of the collection is also sustainable in the sense that the number of items that are being de signed and produced is smaller than other collections that have separate items for different genders.
A sustainable aesthetic
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According to Schou and Bak the purpose of the project was to create two lines that both express a sustainable aesthetic but in different ways. Schou and Bak’s aesthetic approach is inspired by Kristine Harper, author of Aesthetic Sustainability (2015). Schou and Bak’s goal for the sustainable collection was to distinguish between the joy of knowing that everything is as expected and the joy of knowing that nothing is as expected2. This can be seen in the aesthetic of the two lines, where the basic line
Handskecthes
appeals to the joy of knowing that everything is as expected, because of its simple, minimalistic, and universal designs. Meanwhile the 1-of-1 line appe als to the joy of knowing that nothing is as expected because of its unusual qualities such as asymmetri cal patterns, unexpected materials, and a merging of different references which challenge the expec tations of the observer or consumer.
The designs (Figure 5 and 6) evoke pleasure through their asymmetrical patterns made of unexpected materials that disrupt both color harmony and the user’s comfort zone. Schou and Bak point out that this concept seeks to break away from the notion of secondhand materials being poor quality and to show its potential in a more playful approach. The distinctive design catches the eye and has re ferences to urban subcultures (grunge, punk, and hip-hop) and sports (basketball and boxing). All these references are merged to create an origi nal design, a vest in the style of a bulletproof vest in contrasting tartan patterns and a boxing robe made from basketball jerseys, which can make one reflect about the content of meaning related to the designs. A common denominator for the references to subcultures and sports is that they are often as sociated with individuals who are eccentric, edgy, and expressive. For example, Schou describes how they wanted to use the iconic basketball player Al lan Iverson as a reference because of his hip-hop in fluenced style and rebellious attitude.
Schou and Bak have styled these models to show that the items can be used for different types of per sonal expressions and identities. They have chosen to use their friends as models because it represents their own community and culture, in which perso nal expression comes in many ways. These eccen trics represent diverse creative backgrounds in mu sic, acting and sports, which underlines Schou and Bak’s inspiration and the urban and sporty aspects within their own culture.
Throw-away culture is dominant today, but we need to be more aware of our consumption and the time that goes into making each product. There is a need to discover new ways to produce fashion and how to consume and care for clothes.
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1-of-1 line has a more complex, sublime expression because its aesthetic challenges the observer to be more contemplative. This kind of complex expres sion is more sustainable because it reflects and problematizes the collection’s content of meaning which makes one approach it again and again with a reflexive understanding attitude.
Schou and Bak point out that this concept seeks to break away from the notion of secondhand materials being poor quality and to show its potential in a more playful approach.
The collection demonstrates how aesthetic sustai nability can be expressed in several creative ways. On one hand the collections’ basicwear line shows items with an aesthetic that can easily blend into everyday life and don’t fit into a specific trend. On the other hand, the line of 1-of-1 pieces shows an aesthetic which stands out and is built on classic, timeless symbols of youth, rebellion, and creativity.
collectionlineBasic SejbjergBenjaminbyPhoto
Throw-away culture is dominant today, but we need to be more aware of our consumption and the time that goes into making each product. There is a need to discover new ways to produce fashion and how to consume and care for clothes. By incorporating sustainable methods, values, and aesthetics into a collection, like Schou and Bak have tried to do, con sumers can get the opportunity to be more sustai nable regarding their fashion consumption.
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Photo by Benjamin Sejbjerg
lookbookprojectfrompicture1-1PhotobyBenjaminSejbjerg picture from project lookbook
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Dazzle Study
Photo by Sara Trahan
Paradoxically, the loose threads are an unsustainable element of the sneakers because they will not patinate aesthetically through time but will instead become worn out and destroyed because of their constant contact with the ground. This makes the lifecycle of the sneakers significantly shorter in comparison with other sneakers that are not embroidered with loose threads. This illu minates the fact that sustainability is not only about production and materials but also about the durability of the actual product - if something is not made to last and stay intact for a long time, it is not Over-productionsustainable!is
A sustainable brand should be aware of their environmental footprint. This doesn’t just refer to their production process and the materials being used, but also to the marketing strategy and the purpose of their products. If sustainability is truly a goal for Adidas, then they need to address how their marketing encourages overconsumption.
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A Sustainable Perspective on Adidas Sneakers
This review analyzes the sportswear brand Adidas and their sustainable sneaker collaborations with Pharrell Williams and Sean Wotherspoon, who created a new version of the iconic “Superstar” sneaker with new sustainable materials. Adidas has been manufacturing sportswear, footwear, and other sports goods since 1949. As consumers’ interest in sustainable consumption grows and leads brands like Adidas to focus on sustainability in their products, and celebrity endorsements and collaborations increase the value and cultural capital of their products, consumers interact more with the brand and its significance rather than the individual products. Furthermore, these items are often hard to acquire because they are often released as limited editions. The sneaker designs by Williams and Wotherspoon both utilize semiotic signs to communicate sustainable meanings. Williams’ “Human Race Superstar” sneaker has a patchwork design to signal that the sneakers are made from recycled materials. The words “Human Race” are written on the heel, and this refers to Williams’ sustainable brand of the same title which is focused on equality, social and environmental sustainability.
Likewise, Wotherspoon’s “Superearth Superstar” is signaling sustainable production values with embroidered flowers and peace-signs which can be associated with nature and the hippie “flow er-power.” This aligns with the production of the shoe because it’s made from plant-based mate rials. The loose threads on the shoes resemble root systems, therefore referencing the earth and groundedness, as the consumer is symbolically grounded and connected to nature and the earth.
also a factor - consumers have a responsibility to be aware of their consump tion because the use of recycled materials alone is not enough to save the environment, con sumers also need to minimize their consumption. But because of these celebrity collaborations, consumers are incited to buy more because they base their value on this symbolism rather than accessing their value with regards to usability. In 2020 the Adidas Group globally produced 379 million pairs of shoes, but only approximately 60% of those were made sustainably. Their use of sustainability as a marketing tool is overshadowing the number of unsustainable products they actually produce, which is not something they are being completely transparent about through their marketing.
By: Sara Arkil
Multicolored shoes
Artwork by Bjørn Utoft
THE BLIND SPOTS OF CLOTHING REUSE
FASHION CHARITY AS A PARADOX
1 - Skjold, E., & Stenstrup, J. (2020). Klæd sig bedre: En guide til mindre tøjspild og mere garderobeglæde (1 ed.). København, Danmark: Gyldendal. | 2 - Gotthardsen, T. (2021, April 21). Fast fashion bliver aldrig bæredygtigt – here’s why. Retrieved May 2021, from Secondhandfirst: https://secondhandfirst.dk/fast-fashion-bliver-aldrig-baeredygtigt-heres-why/ | 3 - Sark, K. (2020, February 11). Sustainability Paradoxes. Retrieved May 2021, from Chic: https://anchor.fm/chic-pod cast/episodes/Episode-5---Sustainability-Paradox-eap4oq | 4,5,6 - Von De Peer, A. (2016). Niklas Luhmann – Fashion between the Fashionable and Old-fashioned. In A. Rocamora, & A. Smelik, Thinking trough Fashion: A Guide to Key Theorists (pp. 200-214). London: I.B. Tauris. | 7,8 - Sark, K. (2020, February 11). Sustainability Paradoxes. Retrieved May 2021, from Chic: https://anchor.fm/chic-podcast/episodes/Episode-5---Sustainability-Paradox-eap4oq | 9,10,11Skjold, E., & Stenstrup, J. (2020). Klæd sig bedre: En guide til mindre tøjspild og mere garderobeglæde (1 ed.). Kø benhavn, Danmark: Gyldendal. | 12 - Skjold, E. (2014). The Daily Selection. Copenhagen Business School and Design School Kolding. | 13 - Skjold, E. (n.d.). The Daily Selection. What we know about what we wear. Retrieved May 2021, from Designskolenkolding: https://www.designskolenkolding.dk/daily-selection-what-we-know-about-what-wewear | 14,15 - Skjold, E., & Stenstrup, J. (2020). Klæd sig bedre: En guide til mindre tøjspild og mere garderobeglæde (1 ed.). København, Danmark: Gyldendal. | 16 - Adam, H., & Galinsky, A. D. (2012). Enclothed cognition. Northwestern University. Evanston: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. | 17 - Skjold, E. (2018). Garderobens dybe landskab. In M. Nørgaard, & A. C. Persson, Dansk mode leksikon (pp. 138-141). Copenhagen: Gyldendal. |
1 - Thredup. (2020). 2020 RESALE REPORT. Thredup. | 2 - Sandin, G., & Peters, G. M. (27. Februar 2018). Environmen tal impact of textile reuse and recycling: A review. Elsevier, s. 353-365. | 3 - ? | 4 - Ferrato et. al. (22. Juli 2016). The role of fashionability in second-handshopping motivations. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, s. 262-268. | 5 - Tortora, P. G. (2015). Dress, Fashion and Technology: From Prehistory to the Present. London: Bloomsbury. | 6 - ? | 7 - Gotthardsen, T. (15. februar 2020). Shopper du genbrug med et fast fashion mindset?, Recieved May 2021 from Seconhand first: https://secondhandfirst.dk/shopper-du-genbrug-med-et-fast-fashion-mindset/ | 8 - Sandin, G., & Peters, G. M. (27. Februar 2018). Environmental impact of textile reuse and recycling: A review. Elsevier, s. 353-365. | 9 - ? | 10 - Sullivan, A. (2016). Karl Marx - Fashion and capitalism. I A. Rocamora, & A. Smelik, Thinking Through Fashion: a guide to key theorists (s. 28-45). London: I.B Tauris. | 11 - Tise. (u.d.). Facebook: Tiseapp. Hentet Oktober 2021 fra Tise: https://www.facebook.com/tiseapp | 12 - Hansen, K. T. (2015). Reklame - tegn,kultur og overtalelse. I P. S. Lauridsen, & E. Svendsen, Medieanalyse (s. 179). København: Sanfundslitteratur. | 13 - Clean Clothes Campaign. (28 . september 2020). Garment workers in H&M, Primark, and Nike’s supply chains need their full wages during a pandemic. Recieved from Clean Clothes : and-nikes-supply-chains-need-their-full-wages-during-a-pandemichttps://cleanclothes.org/news/2020/garment-workers-in-hm-primark-| 14 - Dakofa. (28. Juni 2019). Brugte tekstiler og tekstilaffald: mængderne stiger og kvaliteten falder! Recieved from Dakofa: https://dakofa.dk/element/brug te-tekstiler-og-tekstilaffald-maengderne-stiger-og-kvaliteten-falder/ | 15,16,17 - Hoskins, T. (2020). Footwork: what shoes are doing to the world . Weidenfeld & Nicolson. | 18 - Braungart, M., & Mcdonough, W. (2009). Rigdom og vækst uden affald - cradle to cradle. København: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Anold Busck. |
4 - Banigan, M. (25. January 2018). East Africa Doesn’t Want Your Hand-Me-Downs. Recieved April 2021 from racked.com: https://www.racked. com/2018/1/25/16923226/east-africa-used-clothing-ban | 5 - Katende-Magezi, E. (2017). The Impact of Second Hand Clothes and Shoes in East Africa. Geneva: CUTS International. | 6 - Banigan, M. (25. January 2018). East Africa Do esn’t Want Your Hand-Me-Downs. Hentet April 2021 fra racked.com: https://www.racked.com/2018/1/25/16923226/ east-africa-used-clothing-ban | 7 - Brooks, A. (2015). The hidden trade in our second-hand clothes given to charity. Recieved 2. June 2021 from The Guardian: on-blog/2015/feb/13/second-hand-clothes-charity-donations-africahttps://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashi| 8 - Katende-Magezi, E. (2017). The Impact of Second Hand Clothes and Shoes in East Africa. Geneva: CUTS International. | 9,10,11 - Banigan, M. (25. January 2018). East Africa Doesn’t Want Your Hand-Me-Downs. Recieved April 2021 from racked.com: https://www.racked. com/2018/1/25/16923226/east-africa-used-clothing-ban | 12 - Kohn, M., & Reddy, K. (2017). ”Colonialism”. (E. N. Zalta, Red.) The Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2017 Edition. Hentet fra The Standford. | 13 - Heldring, L., & Robinson, J. (2013). Colonialism and Development in Africa. Hentet June 2021 fra voxeu.org: https://voxeu.
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WHAT CAN A CONSUMER DO - SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE BUYER’S PERSPECTIVE
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org/article/colonialism-and-development-africa | 14 - Banigan, M. (25. January 2018). East Africa Doesn’t Want Your Hand-Me-Downs. Recieved April 2021 from racked.com: https://www.racked.com/2018/1/25/16923226/east-africaused-clothing-ban | 15 - Kohn, M., & Reddy, K. (2017). ”Colonialism”. (E. N. Zalta, Red.) The Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2017 Edition. Hentet fra The Standford. | 16 - Heldring, L., & Robinson, J. (2013). Colonialism and De velopment in Africa. Hentet June 2021 fra voxeu.org: https://voxeu.org/article/colonialism-and-development-africa | 17 - Sark, K. (2020). Episode 13 – Sandra Niessen on Decolonizing Fashion, Podcast series: Chic, Sourced: https:// www.listennotes.com/de/podcasts/chic-dr-kat-sark-PrJANgimYe3/ |
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1 - Kjeldsen, B. S (2013) “Historisk: Sygeplejerske fik en god ide - kolostomiposen var født” retrieved from dsr.dk: hjemmesygeplejerske%2C%20Elise%20S%C3%B8rensen,i%20tyktarmen%20og%20blev%20stomiopereretsygeplejersken/arkiv/sy-nr-2013-10/historisk-sygeplejerske-fik-en-god-ide-kolostomiposen-var-fodt#:~:text=En%20dansk%20https://dsr.dk/|
THE MOST ESSENTIAL BAG - THE COLOSTOMY BAG AND ITS USERS
A SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVE ON ADIDAS SNEAKERS
THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FASHION BRAND
40 of 40A podcast dedicated to Fashion, Design, Culture, Sustainability, Media, and Technology https://anchor.fm/chic-podcast
41 of 40 Episode 40 – Answering Your Questions – Part 2 Episode 38 – Moussa Mchangama from In Futurum Episode 39 – Answering Your Questions – Part 1 Episode 37 – Tansy https://anchor.fm/chic-podcastHoskins
