Assessing the impact of design strategies on clothing lifetimes, usage and volumes: The case of product personalisation

This article, co-authored with my PhD supervisors, has been recently published at the Journal of Cleaner Production.

Abstract

Product lifetimes and obsolescence have been central points of discussion in the fashion field. In this context, design researchers and practitioners have proposed a variety of strategies to enable slower cycles of product replacement, leading to smaller volumes of clothing production and consumption. A previous review of these strategies, however, revealed that there is no empirical evidence of their efficacy in terms of lifetime extension or environmental sustainability. Therefore, this research takes a first step in covering this knowledge gap. It proposes methods to assess the impact of such approaches and applies them to the specific case of “product personalisation”, the strategy most frequently mentioned in literature.

Clothing has characteristics that are not present in other product categories common in lifetimes studies. These characteristics enable comparative analysis of products, diachronic studies over relatively short periods of time, and estimations of the environmental benefits of lifetime extension. Taking advantage of such particularities, the article evaluates the environmental gains of personalised products by comparing their performance with ready-made garments in terms of age, usage, influence on new product demand, and waste. The research is based on a series of wardrobe studies and company interviews.

The outcomes of these studies question the environmental benefits of product personalisation. When compared with ready-made garments, personalised garments were not kept for longer time, nor were they used more frequently. Moreover, no evidence of their contribution to reductions in new product demand and waste was found.

These findings confirm the need for more empirical research to understand the effect of this and other design strategies aimed at delaying clothing obsolescence and reducing production volumes and waste. Such enquiries can provide relevant feedback to practitioners developing creative solutions. In that way, empirical research and creative practice can benefit from each other's input and build iterative cycles that ensure effective actions. The methods advanced in this study aim at supporting this valuable line of research, leading to a more environmentally-sound apparel sector.

From “Things of Imitation” to “Devices of Differentiation”: Uncovering a Paradoxical History of Clothing (1950–2015)

This article, co-authored with Ragna Manz, has been recently published at the journal Fashion Theory.

Abstract

This article argues for an updated theoretical framework in fashion studies. It proposes that perspectives emphasizing the social role and the technological nature of dress should be considered complementary, and that their joint application can contribute to new understandings of fashion history. Employing ethnographic methods, this stance is explored through a comparative analysis of the sartorial practices of two groups of women living or working in Amsterdam during the 1950s and the 2010s. A theoretical framework integrating theories of identity (mainly based on the writings of Georg Simmel and Gabriel Tarde) and the philosophy of tech-nology (in this case the device paradigm of Albert Borgmann) allows us to uncover a paradoxical history of fashion in which clothing shifts roles, transforming from “things of imitation” into “devices of differentiation.”

KEYWORDS: fashion theory, history of dress, identity, materiality, philosophy of technology

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RESPONDENTS NEEDED FOR WARDROBE STUDIES

As part of my PhD research I am conducting a wardrobe study of people having 10 or more personalised garments in their wardrobe (men and women, any age). With “personalised garment” I mean clothes that have been made upon request with participation of the wearer in the process, for example made-to-measure clothes, self-made clothes, clothes made by family members or friends upon request, customised clothes, etc. This excludes ready-made clothes adjusted after purchase. 

I hope some of you (or other people in your network) are able to help me. Please contact me for more details at:

+31(0)650451478 

i.maldini@hva.nl

Please share this request with others. Thank you!

"Attachment, Durability and the Environmental Impact of Digital DIY" finally published!

After a couple of years waiting, this article was published at The Design Journal (Taylor & Francis) last month. This is the main outcome of the Embedded Research project "Object-user relationships in open design dynamics", a collaboration between Waag Society and VU University developed in 2012-2013. The full article can be downloaded for free here: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ynW9faES5IzKZ5Fii8Dz/full

Paper presented at the symposium "New Design, New Historians, New Histories of Design" Stichting Designgeschiedenis Nederland

From collective things to individual devices. Irene Maldini and Ragna Manz

Abstract:
Academic perspectives on fashion have been traditionally based on theories of identity, understanding sartorial practices as a permanent negotiation between social imitation and differentiation. These perspectives are mainly grounded on late 19th century and early 20th century analyses of modern society and they can still be seen at play today. However, we can recognize that sartorial practices and the role of fashion have changed since then. This article argues that a renovated theoretical and methodological approach can be useful to identify some of the aspects that have shifted; it specifically complements Georg Simmel and Gabriel Tarde’s theories of identity with Albert Borgmann’s philosophy of technology. Through this framework and using ethnographic methods we examine the sartorial habits of two groups of young women living and working in Amsterdam during the 1950s and 2010s. During the 1950s, when clothing was flexible and individual in its material construction, consumers’ articulation of identity was closely linked to explicit fashion trends. It was, to some extent, unidirectional. Today, we argue, clothes have become materially static artefacts and they are therefore less able to respond to the multidirectional construction of identity stressing individuality that characterises contemporary consumers. In sum, by combining views of clothing as social objects with perspectives of clothing as material artefacts, and exploring the potential of this approach through a case study, we are able to move beyond more traditional approaches to fashion and to uncover a paradoxical contemporary history of dress.

Consumer participation in the design and realization stages of production: How self-production shapes consumer evaluations and relationships to products

Atakan, S. S., Bagozzi, R. P., & Yoon, C. (2014). Consumer participation in the design and realization stages of production: How self-production shapes consumer evaluations and relationships to products. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 31, 395–408. See paper here

My notes:

Quantitative study based on experiments, measures how user participation in design and production impacts the evaluation of the product and self-reflection immediately after the experiment.

Paper abstract: 
Psychological responses of consumers to specific stages of self-production activities are investigated in four studies. Findings reveal that consumer participation in the realization stage (physical production) enhances affective commitment to the product. However, physical production without opportunity to express choice or creativity during the production process does not change the symbolic meaning of the product (how self-expressive it is) and, therefore, does not result in identification with the product. Participation during the design stage (input-specification) enhances identification, leading to affective commitment, which in turn enhances evaluation of the self-made product. Finally, engaging consumers in both the realization and design stages of the production process does not create value for consumers over and above the main effects created by a high level of participation in either stage.

Embedded Research results

Readers interested on digital DIY, attachment and durability can now see a summary of our Embedded Research results at Waag Society's blog.

“Object-user relationships in open design dynamics” was an embedded research of the Faculty of Arts (VU University Amsterdam) in collaboration with Waag Society (Institute of Art, Science and Technology): 15/9/2012 – 15/6/2013. The academic article that resulted from this project is in process of publication at The Design Journal (Bloomsbury). A summary of the outcomes can be found here.

What Things Do: Philosophical Reflections On Technology, Agency, And Design

This book presents the post phenomenological point of view to analyze the role of technology. It reviews different theories and arrives to the post phenomenological approach in the last chapters. Finally, it considers the case of Eternally Yours and the durability of products in design from this point of view.

Author: Peter Paul Verbeek

Year: 2005

Emotional bonding with products

This book examines the attachment of users to products through several empirical studies, most of them developed with the scenarios technique. The relationship between product attachment and product satisfaction, the role of pleasure and the possibility of personalization of esthetic and functional elements are related to the eco-design strategy of products' durability.

Author: Ruth Mugge

Year: 2008

Autotopography: What can Physical Mementos tell us about Digital Memories?

Ethnographic approach of mementos: objects embedded with personal memory. 

Autobiographical methods for understanding special possessions. 

Autors: D. Petrelli, S. Whittaker, J. Brockmeier

Year: 2008.

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Family memories in the home: Contrasting physical and digital mementos.

Based on the same study of previous paper; this one compares the characteristics of physical and digital mementos (objects related to personal memories).

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Value creation by toolkits for user innovation and design: the case of the watch market

Study of the value (measured in WTP) of personalized products created through toolkits. Findings indicate that participating users attribute a high value increment to their own design activities.

Authors: Nikolaus Franke and Frank Piller

Year: 2004

Article

Product attachment and product lifetime: The role of personality congruity and fashion

Study of product ‘personality’ and fashion and their effect in product attachment and product lifetime. The method applied is scenario-approach and consultation via post in the sector of watchs. The findings imply that  a strong product attachment doesn’t necessarily result in a long –lasting relationship with the product.

Authors: Ruth Mugge, Hendrik NJ Schifferstein and Jan PL Schoormans.

Year: 2006

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After the new wears off: the temporal context of product involvement.

This article proposes two categories of involvement with product categories depending on their variation in time: situational involvement and enduring evolvement. The study is based on the sector of automobiles and the main method is mail survey.

Authors: Marsha L. Richins and Peter H. Bloch

Year: 1986

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The social psychology of material possessions

Book about possessions and the extension of the self

Author: Helga Dittmar
Year: 1992

Book

Valuing things, the public and private meanings of posessions

This paper shows the results of three studies, which lead to identify the difference and relationship between public and private meaning as a source of value. Meanings are cathegorized according to the source of value for its user. Objects' typologies are related to these categories.

Autor: Marsha L. Richins
Year: 1994

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The IKEA effect: when labor leads to love.

This working paper shows the results of three experiments aiming to understand the value of the process of making in products, meassured in WTP (willingness to pay).

Authors: Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon, Dan Ariely.
Year: 2011

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