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Abstract

Increasing the length of clothing lifespans is crucial for reducing the total environmental impacts. This article discusses which factors contribute to the length of garment lifespans by studying how long garments are used, how many times they are worn, and by how many users. The analysis is based on quantitative wardrobe survey data from China, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the USA. Variables were divided into four blocks related respectively to the garment, user, garment use, and clothing practices, and used in two hierarchical multiple regressions and two binary logistic regressions. The models explain between 11% and 43% of the variation in clothing lifespans. The garment use block was most indicative for the number of wears, while garment related properties contribute most to variation in the number of users. For lifespans measured in years, all four aspects were almost equally important. Some aspects that affect the lifespans of clothing cannot be easily changed (e.g., the consumer's income, nationality, and age) but they can be used to identify where different measures can have the largest benefits. Several of the other conditions that affect lifespans can be changed (e.g., garment price and attitudes towards fashion) through quality management, marketing strategies, information, and improved consumer policies. ; This work was supported by Australian wool growers and the Australian government through Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI), contract number 4500012208, and the Research Council of Norway, project number 303080. ; publishedVersion

non-peer-reviewed ; Reuse of clothing is a central strategy in circular economy for keeping the resources and materials in the loop longer. This paper studies the correlation between clothing service lifespans measured in years, number of wears and number of users, and whether there is a difference in length of lifespans between new and preowned garments. The analysis is based on an international quantitative wardrobe survey conducted in China, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA with 53 461 registered garments. Results show that newer garments are used more actively than the older garments. Garments that are less than two years old are used about 30 times per year, while garments that are over 15 years old are only used about 3 times a year. Second-hand garments are worn on average 30% times less by the current user than garments that were acquired as new. Garments that the user anticipates donating or selling are worn 22% times less than garments that are planned to be discarded. The results show that reuse is beneficial for increasing the clothing lifespans, but it does not increase the active wear as much as expected. These findings have theoretical, managerial and political implications on which measures contribute to the longest garment lifespans with the least environmental impact and which kind of measures could help to implement these changes. This should be considered in life cycle assessments where various disposal methods are compared, as well as in policy development where in increasing the lifespan with first user should be focused more on.

Abstract
One of the possibilities consumers have for more sustainable clothing acquisition is to select pre-owned products. This article explores consumers' motivations for clothing reuse: why they choose or do not choose to acquire second-hand clothing. First, a taxonomy of motivation categories based on previous studies is presented. This demonstrates that similar properties can be used as arguments both for and against acquisition of second-hand clothing. An analysis of a representative sample of Norwegian consumers shows that both environmental and economic reasons are important for those who take part in informal clothing circulation. Uniqueness and style are more important for those who buy second-hand clothing. Those who do not take part in any of the forms of acquisition of used clothing, use vague and open justifications, as well as contextual aspects; hygiene, health and intimacy. Previous studies have mostly been based on how clothing is reused as part of a market exchange, and therefore the motives have been embedded with a rational choice understanding of consumption. Studies of the private exchange of clothing should also address additional reasons such as routinized practices and established rituals, family ties, feelings, friendship and love. The article concludes with an invitation for further research to explore several possible motivations that are more relevant for private circulation of clothes.

Abstract
Reuse organized by non-profit and commercial actors is a sustainability strategy that recently received a lot of attention. This article discusses the question: what do we know about the amount of clothes that circulate outside the pecuniary markets? And is this amount increasing or declining? The questions are answered based on quantitative material from Norway. Almost twice as many had received used clothing as those who had bought used clothing, and our material do not indicate that this is declining. At the same time, 59 per cent of Norwegian adults had neither received nor bought used clothing for themselves during the past two years. For children, inheritance is very common and the younger the children are, the more they inherit. The amount of the private clothing exchange is greater than the formal market in Norway. Therefore, when the goal is a more sustainable clothing consumption, we need to include the parts of consumption that are not only related to money.

Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Abbreviations -- List of Figures -- 1 KRUSing into the Future: Restoring a Local Value Chain Through Cooperation -- A Brief History of Wool Labelling -- Textile History and Product Development -- Other 'Black Sheep' in the Wool Industry -- Old Norse Sheep-The 'Wildest' Wool -- New Warps and Wefts Weave a Future -- Updating Breed Standards for Wool -- Projections and Failure -- Serendipitous Cooperation -- Local Clothing -- References -- 2 The Fate of Natural Fibres in Environmental Evaluations: A Question of Volume -- The Focus on Fibres -- Evaluations and Comparisons -- Plastic as a Blessing -- Microplastics -- The Variation in Materials -- Natural Material's Significance for Biological and Cultural Diversity -- The Use Phase -- Who Has the Credibility to Talk About Fibres? -- A Question of Volume or Quality -- References -- 3 Upping the WOOLUME: Waste Prevention Based on Optimal Use of Materials -- The Proud History of Polish Wool -- WOOLUME-The Best Use of Raw Materials -- Breeds Vary as Product-Focus Differ -- Waste Prevention in a New Light -- Making Better Use of Wool -- Labelling as a Strategy -- Worthy Wool -- References -- 4 Slow and Indigenous Approaches to Textiles Arts -- Our World Today -- Textile Traditions -- Community Taking Centre Stage -- Considerations of Material in Relation to Culture -- Cultural Sustainability: Looking to the Sámi -- Cultural Pride and Identity in Relation to Textile Traditions -- Connecting Beyond the Surface -- Intangible Cultural Heritage -- References -- 5 Setting a New Stage: Small Scale as a Way Forward -- A Place to Call Home -- A Circle of Collaboration -- The Nordic Region -- Communities for Change -- References -- 6 Rethinking the (Wool) Economy -- Environmental Problems: A Biophysical Economy Perspective -- Wool Inputs and Outputs.

1. KRUSing into the Future: Restoring a Local Value Chain Through Cooperation -- 2. The Fate of Natural Fibres in Environmental Evaluations: A Question of Volume -- 3. Upping the WOOLUME: Waste Prevention Based on Optimal Use of Materials -- 4. Slow and Indigenous Approaches to Textile Arts -- 5. Setting a New Stage: Small-Scale as a Way Forward -- 6. Rethinking the (Wool) Economy -- 7. A Fashion Future: Fibre Diet.

Intro -- Contents -- Summary -- Preface -- Introduction -- Definitions and limitations -- Abbreviations -- 1. Inspiration -- 1.1 The four Rs -- 1.1.1 REPLACE: DDT (Design Destined forTrash) with W2W (Wonderful to Wear) -- 1.1.2 REDUCE: CWCW (Chemicals, Water, CO2 and Waste), implement IRS (Intelligent Resource Stewardship) -- 1.1.3 REDIRECT: OSG (Off-shoring globally) to OSL (On-shoring locally) -- 1.1.4 RETHINK: ED (Excluding design), implementing ID (Including design) -- 1.2 Replace -- 1.2.1 Discussion and Dilemmas -- 1.3 Reduce -- 1.3.1 Discussion and dilemmas -- 1.4 Redirect -- 1.4.1 Discussion and dilemmas -- 1.5 Rethink -- 1.5.1 Discussion and dilemmas -- 1.6 Conclusions -- 2. Stakeholder views -- 2.1 Important findings -- 2.3.1 Ability, knowledge and willingness to change -- 2.3.2 Acquisition -- 2.3.3 Disposal phase -- 2.4 Consumer perspectives in five European countries -- 2.4.1 Consumer preferences and intentions -- 2.4.2 Reported practices -- 2.4.3 Best strategies -- 2.4.4 Main findings -- 2.5 Other stakeholders -- 2.5.1 Conclusion: Sustainability in the textile value chain -- 2.6 Quality requirements in eco-labels -- 3. Methodology development -- 3.1 Framework of focus areas -- 3.1.1 Sustainable Textiles Landscape -- 3.2 Initiative Matrix Template -- 3.2.1 Evaluation overview -- 3.2.2 Methodology for Evaluation A -- 3.2.3 Methodology for Evaluation C -- 3.2.4 The Initiative Matrix Template -- 4. Mapping of initiatives -- 4.1 Limitations -- 4.2 International -- 4.2.1 Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) -- 4.2.2 Higgs Index -- 4.2.3 Roadmap to Zero Discharge of harmful Chemicals (Ø ZDHC) -- 4.2.4 Better Mill Initiative (New initiative) -- 4.2.5 ECO TLC -- 4.2.6 Natural Capital Coalition (NCC) -- 4.2.7 UN Global Compact Sector Specific Code of Conduct -- 4.2.8 LAUNCH and LAUNCH Nordic -- 4.2.9 The Sustainable Consortium.

Increasing the use of each product, most often called longer lifespans, is an effective environmental strategy. This article discusses how garment lifespans can be described in order to be measured and compared. It answers two sub-questions: (1) what to measure (units), and (2) how to measure (methods). We introduce and define terms related to clothing lifespans and contribute to discussions about an appropriate functional unit for garments in life cycle assessments (LCA) and other environmental accounting tools. We use a global wardrobe survey to exemplify the units and methods. Clothing lifespans can be described and measured in years, the number of wears, cleaning cycles, and users. All have an independent value that show different and central aspects of clothing lifespans. A functional unit for LCAs should emphasise both the number of wears for all users as well as the service lifespan in years. Number of wears is the best measure for regular clothing, while number of years is most suited for occasion wear, because it is important to account for the need of more garments to cover all the relevant occasions during a specified time period. It is possible to study lifespan via carefully constructed surveys, providing key data relating to actual garment use. ; This work was supported by Australian wool growers and the Australian Government through Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI), contract number 4500012208, and the Research Council of Norway, project number 303080. ; publishedVersion

Clothing maintenance is necessary for keeping clothing and textiles functional and socially acceptable, but it has environmental consequences due to the use of energy, water and chemicals. This article discusses whether clothes made of different materials are cleaned in different ways and have different environmental impacts. It fills a knowledge gap needed in environmental assessments that evaluate the impacts based on the function of a garment by giving detailed information on the use phase. The article is based on a quantitative wardrobe survey and qualitative laundry diary data from China, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA. The largest potential for environmental improvement exists in reducing laundering frequency and in the selection of washing and drying processes, and through a transition to fibres that are washed less frequently, such as wool. Adopting best practice garment care would give larger benefits in countries like the US where the consumption values were the highest, mainly due to extensive use of clothes dryers and less efficient washing machines combined with frequent cleaning. These variations should be considered in environmental assessments of clothing and when forming sustainability policies. The results indicate the benefits of focusing future environmental work on consumer habits and culture and not only technologies. ; This work was supported by Australian wool growers and the Australian government through Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI), contract number 4500012208, and the Research Council of Norway, project number 303080. ; publishedVersion

Increasing product lifespans is one of the most effective environmental strategies and therefore repair is a part of the circular economy approach that aims to keep products and materials longer in use. This article explores drivers and barriers for repair from consumers' and commercial repair actors' viewpoints, in order to understand how the repair rates of household appliances, mobile phones and clothing could be increased. The study is based on a consumer survey of 1196 respondents in Norway, and 15 qualitative interviews with actors in the commercial repair industry working with repairs of household consumer goods. A surprisingly high share of repairs was conducted by consumers themselves. The main barrier is the consistently low price of new products, and often of poor quality, which contributes to low profitability in repair work for businesses and low motivation from consumers. Furthermore, access to competent personnel is a major challenge for the repair industry, a need which is expected to increase in the coming years. Both the industry and consumers agree that better quality of products is a starting point for increased product lifespans, and this will also increase the motivation and the number of profitable repairs. These results have political implications on how to promote longer product lifespans through repair such as increased utilization and knowledge of consumers' complaint and warranty rights. ; The research project was supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families. Article writing was supported by the Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Oslo Metropolitan University and Research Council of Norway [grant number 303080]. ; publishedVersion

Purpose: Garment production and use generate substantial environmental impacts, and the care and use are key determinants of cradle-to-grave impacts. The present study investigated the potential to reduce environmental impacts by applying best practices for garment care combined with increased garment use. A wool sweater is used as an example because wool garments have particular attributes that favour reduced environmental impacts in the use phase. Methods: A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare six plausible best and worst-case practice scenarios for use and care of a wool sweater, relative to current practices. These focussed on options available to consumers to reduce impacts, including reduced washing frequency, use of more efficient washing machines, reduced use of machine clothing dryers, garment reuse by multiple users, and increasing number of garment wears before disposal. A sixth scenario combined all options. Worst practices took the worst plausible alternative for each option investigated. Impacts were reported per wear in Western Europe for climate change, fossil energy demand, water stress and freshwater consumption. Results and discussion: Washing less frequently reduced impacts by between 4 and 20%, while using more efficient washing machines at capacity reduced impacts by 1 to 6%, depending on the impact category. Reduced use of machine dryer reduced impacts by < 5% across all indicators. Reusing garments by multiple users increased life span and reduced impacts by 25–28% across all indicators. Increasing wears from 109 to 400 per garment lifespan had the largest effect, decreasing impacts by 60% to 68% depending on the impact category. Best practice care, where garment use was maximised and care practices focussed on the minimum practical requirements, resulted in a ~ 75% reduction in impacts across all indicators. Unsurprisingly, worst-case scenarios increased impacts dramatically: using the garment once before disposal increased GHG impacts over 100 times. Conclusions: Wool sweaters have potential for long life and low environmental impact in use, but there are substantial differences between the best, current and worst-case scenarios. Detailed information about garment care and lifespans is needed to understand and reduce environmental impacts. Opportunities exist for consumers to rapidly and dramatically reduce these impacts. The fashion industry can facilitate this through garment design and marketing that promotes and enables long wear life and minimal care. ; This research was funded by Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) with matching research and development funding from the Australian government under project number OF-00490. ; publishedVersion

Purpose The textiles industry is a substantial contributor to environmental impacts through the production, processing, use, and end-of-life of garments. Wool is a high value, natural, and renewable fibre that is used to produce a wide range of garments, from active leisure wear to formal wear, and represents a small segment of the global fashion industry. Woollen garments are produced by long, global value chains extending from the production of 'greasy' wool on sheep farms, through processing to garment make-up, retail, consumer use, and end-of-life. To date, there have been limited life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on the environmental impacts of the full supply chain or use phase of garments, with the majority of wool LCA studies focusing on a segment of the supply chain. This study aimed to address this knowledge gap via a cradle-to-grave LCA of a woollen garment. Methods This study investigated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fossil fuel energy, and water stress associated with the production, use, and end-of-life of a lightweight woollen sweater (300-g wool), together with inventory results for freshwater consumption and land occupation. Primary datasets were used for the wool production and wool processing stages, while primary datasets relating to consumer garment use were supplemented with literature data. Impacts were calculated and reported per garment wear event. Results and discussion Impacts per wear were 0.17 (± 0.02) kg CO2-e GHG, 0.88 (± 0.18) MJ fossil energy, and 0.96 (± 0.42) H2O-e water stress. Fossil fuel energy was dominated by wool processing, with substantial contributions of energy also arising from retail and garment care. Greenhouse gas emissions from wool production (farming) contributed the highest proportion of impacts, followed by lower contributions from processing and garment care. Contributions to water stress varied less across the supply chain, with major contributions arising from production, processing, and garment use. Conclusions Opportunities to improve the efficiency of production, processing, and garment care exist, which could also reduce resource use and impacts from wool. However, the number of garment wear events and length of garment lifetime was found to be the most influential factor in determining garment impacts. This indicated that consumers have the largest capacity to influence the sustainability of their woollen garments by maximising the active garment lifespan which will reduce overall impacts. ; This research is funded by Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) which receives matching R&D funding from the Australian Government. ; publishedVersion

This report aims to chart a plan for a coordinated Nordic effort towards sustainable development in textiles and identify ongoing initiatives in the area. The aim was an ambitious plan with a potential for significant reductions in environmental pressures, but also green growth. To reach these goals, we staked out four regions a Nordic plan should include. 1) Replace fast fashion. The key to achieving an environmentally significant effect is to reduce the amount of textiles in circulation. This will reduce the production of waste and the use of chemicals. 2) Reduce resource input. The perspective is all about reducing inputs in textiles value chain. This includes various forms of circulatory thinking, material efficiency, as well as commercial forms of recycling and waste management. 3) Redirect global vs local. Locally produced textiles, with emphasis on ingredients, traditions, uniqueness and innovation, is a new and positive measure that can easily get attention outside environmentally conscious circles. A greater appreciation for good ingredients, and why quality costs, are required to compete with "fast fashion" and shift towards lasting value. Local production has the potential to create green growth and jobs in the region. 4) Rethink for whom Nordic countries are at their best an example of inclusive and democratic societies. The fashion industry however, has marketed itself towards the young and thin. An ethical approach to fashion encompasses not only how clothing is produced, but also who they are produced for and how clothing affects the ability for self-expression and participation in an open society. Ongoing initiatives. The mapping showed that there were many ongoing initiatives in the Nordic. The work has mainly focused on the perspective of so-called "reducing resource use." The more established an initiative is, the more likely it is to be low on innovation. An important dilemma surfaces when attention is on better utilization of waste, as this may indirectly contribute to increased growth in volume.