Wintec researcher wants to know about your most loved and worn items of clothing!
Photo by Daniel Lee from Pexels
Rebekah Harman, Wintec | Te Pūkenga tutor, postgraduate supervisor and researcher from the School of Media Arts has been researching ways to reduce the environmental footprint of fast fashion for over six years.
Waste within the fashion industry in Aotearoa New Zealand is high, with more than 190,000 tonnes going to landfills in 2019 (Casey, 2021). Here in the Waikato region Harman, and her research collaborator Emily Russell, want to better understand what clothing people love and hold onto for an extended period.
“There is a gap in current research that doesn’t consider reasons why we choose to hold onto clothing. A small study we did a few years ago showed us that people have precious stories attached to certain items of clothing that they loved, and we really want to build on this to fill in that gap,” said Harman.
The research duo has launched into a new research project to learn more about people’s most loved and most worn items of clothing, how these items have lasted and where and how they have worn. They are launching “Worn well: sustainable clothing survey”, which will open to anyone in the Waikato who wants to participate until early April 2024.
Harman continues, “it’s all about trying to figure out ways we can reduce the environmental footprint of fashion and design for longevity, and we want to hear from as many people in the Waikato as we can.”
If you are interested in participating in this research, click here to do the Worn well: sustainable clothing survey. In addition to the online survey, if you would like to be photographed with your loved clothing, please add your details on the final page of the survey.
Join us in better understanding loved clothing. This knowledge could help designers create clothing that is specifically designed for longevity.
The Worn well: sustainable clothing survey will be running until early April 2024.
