Kirsi Laitala

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University

Textiles release fibres to the environment during production, use, and at end-of-life disposal. Approximately two-thirds of all textile items are now synthetic, dominated by petroleum-based organic polymers such as polyester, polyamide and acrylic. Plastic microfibres (<5 mm) and nanofibres (<100 nm) have been identified in ecosystems in all region...

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 tha...

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 clot...

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 rep...

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, Ge...

Caring includes various activities that are undertaken to sustain ourselves, other people, objects, as well as the environment in our everyday lives. We take good care of what we value and cherish. This applies to clothes, things, and people. Care of clothing encompasses various practices such as how we touch, wear, store, and hang up our clothes a...

Wealthy cities are the primary hubs for excessive consumption and disposal of fashion and textiles. As such, cities have the power to support urban transitions toward more circular and sufficient consumption patterns. However, there is a lack of research and data around the topic of post-consumer textiles, which results in lagging policy and action...

Reducing the environmental impact of clothing is dependent on the reduction of the produced volume. This chapter discusses how mode and volumes of acquisition impact the lifetimes of clothing. Based on our scoping review and reanalysis of international wardrobe audit data, we find that the number of garments that are acquired has most impact, makin...

The consumer purchases act is one of the cornerstones for ensuring that businesses are liable for defective or faulty products that do not meet the minimum requirements for lifespans. However, this right is too seldom used by consumers. This paper discusses the reasons for not complaining based on six consumer focus groups, where in total 36 consum...

Textile fibers have become a major issue in the debate on sustainable fashion and clothing consumption. While consumers are encouraged to choose more sustainable and circular textile materials, studies have indicated that a reduction in production and consumption has the greatest potential to reduce the total environmental impact. This can be consi...

The operationalization of circular economy (CE) strategies requires consumer involvement in the acquisition, use, and disposal of products and services. However, encouraging sustainable consumption patterns and CE-oriented consumer behavior to enable the CE in practice is complex and in its infancy stage. This study aims to clarify, frame, and meas...

This thematic issue seeks to bring the field of science on poverty and social inclusion/exclusion of children and youth beyond the state‐of‐the‐art, empirically, theoretically, and methodologically. This editorial briefly presents the topic and summarizes the different articles published in the issue.

The textile industry is characterized by global mass production and has an immense impact on the environment. One garment can travel around the world through an extensive value chain before reaching its final consumption destination. The consumer receives little information about how the item was produced due to a lack of policy regulation. In this...

Comparing fibres in the discussion surrounding environmental issues has for many years been a numbers game where the aim has been to set them up against each other in order to cherry-pick which fibre is the best to use to save the Planet. Counter-intuitively, natural fibres have received the lowest scores and synthetic fibres have stood out as the...

In this last chapter, we will summarise with a view to the future, to a possible (textile) fibre diet that is compatible with the Earth’s Planetary Boundaries and that works with nature, not against it. Instead of the constant cry for innovation and technological solutions, we will show how ‘old knowledge’ can be leveraged to solve the current wick...

European clothing consumption has increased dramatically in recent decades, leading to a current average of 26 kg of textiles annually purchased per capita (EEA, 2019). While garments (and most of clothing’s environmental impacts) are produced in other parts of the world, European municipalities face a problem of increasing volumes of textile waste...

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 becaus...

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...

Consumers play an essential role in efforts to extend product lifetimes (PL) and consumers' practices can determine how long and active lives products get. Applying the framework of Social Practice Theory, this paper argues that in order to suggest changes to how consumers can contribute to longer product lifespans, research needs to focus on consu...

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 g...

PurposeThe 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 in...

This report looks at the meaning and role of decorations, gifts, clothing and food in the Christmas ritual. The results show that the way we celebrate Christmas in Norway is characterized by stability and small changes. The vast majority of people attend the Christmas celebration. Seven out of ten stated that Christmas was important to them. Social...

Making a living of repair? A study of financial aspects in repair services for clothing and white goods Summary in English: This report explores repairs services for clothing and white goods by looking at financial aspects and drivers and barriers for service development. It is important to gain a broader understanding of the drivers and Barriers...

The present food system faces major challenges in terms of sustainable development along social, economic and environmental dimensions. These challenges are often associated with industrialised production processes and longer and less transparent distribution chains. Thus, closer distribution systems through Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) may be...

Consumer electronics are made of a wide range of materials, including precious metals and critical minerals with limited global reserves. Ensuring the recycling of these materials is essential for future use, especially since many renewable energy solutions are based on them. In addition, improper end-of-life treatments of these products cause harm...

Download as Open Access: https://www.idunn.no/inclusive_consumption

This article discusses what kind of strategies people with a stoma or various chronic skin conditions, such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis, use to find clothes that fit and enable them to fit in. Based on qualitative interviews in Norway, we study how they manage to dress with a demanding body, a poor market and limited economic resources. This...

This thematic issue aims at developing and disseminating knowledge about how consumption can promote and inhibit social participation and social inclusion through increased access to and use of marketplaces, goods and services. This editorial briefly presents the topic and summarises the different articles published in the issue.

Mending, re-design, and altering are alternatives for prolonging the use period of clothing. It is a common assumption that nobody mends clothing anymore in Western societies. This paper studies Norwegian consumers’ clothing mending and making practices. We ask how common the different mending and making activities are, has this changed during the...

På oppdrag fra Arbeids- og sosialdepartementet har SIFO gjennomført en kartlegging av ekstrautgifter knyttet til grunnstønadsordningen. Prosjektet består av to delprosjekter. Formålet med det første delprosjektet er å undersøke hvorvidt matutgiftene ved et kosthold for personer med cøliaki eller andre diagnosegrupper som fordrer at de lever på en g...

Several tools have been developed to compare the environmental impact of textiles. The most widely used are Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) and MADE-BY Fiber Benchmark. They use data from production to evaluate the environmental impacts of textiles differentiated by fiber type. The use phase is excluded from both tools. This article discu...

This chapter takes a close look at the different forms of sharing based on empirical material on leisure clothing in Norwegian families. We ask what forms of sharing are practiced, which terms are used, and how consumers draw distinctions between them. We find that the forms are numerous and have an established place in Norwegian clothing culture....

The article discusses the importance of local clothing for the survival of the Norwegian textile industry. It draws upon stakeholder interviews, as well as desktop research. Local clothes are discussed as they are understood by consumers, as knitted sweaters, bunads (Norwegian national costumes), and home-made clothing. The review shows how these p...

Dette er ett av fire notater utarbeidet på oppdrag fra Barne- og Likestillingsdepartementets som underlag i arbeidet med en ny NOU om forbrukerpolitikk. Notatet er skrevet i samarbeid med kolleger på Forbruksforskningsinstituttet SIFO ved OsloMet. Grønt skifte betegner en forandring i mer miljøvennlig retning. Det har ingen klar definisjon, men er...

This report presents a literature review of clothing use phase. The purpose is to support improved methodological development for accounting for the use phase in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of apparel. All relevant textile fibres are included in the review. However, the main focus is on wool. We ask whether the use of wool has different environment...

This paper presents results from a literature review on use phase of clothing with focus on wool. The aim of the review is to study if there is empirical grounding for assuming that the use phase is different for clothes made of different fibres, and if this information could be used in modelling the use phase. We will answer this question based on...

Test of material properties of textiles and clothing based on standardised methods in a laboratory

Interviews about clothing habits, combined with a systematic inventory of all clothes that are retired from use within a certain period of time.

Testing the odour properties of clothing items by a panel of users

Achieving knowledge of how clothes are perceived and used in wear situations

Examining the relationship between subjectively and objectively measured clothing properties

This article discusses laundering practices around the world including alternative methods such as washing by hand, airing, steaming, and dry-cleaning. These methods, which have received little attention in research, are often more suited to products made of wool, silk or other materials able to be cleaned using gentler techniques than more commonl...

Er vi blitt mer miljøbevisste når vi handler? er spørsmålet Gunnar Vittersø og Kirsi Laitala stiller i denne presentasjonen. Forfatterne nærmer seg dette spørsmålet ved å se på endringer i bruken av miljømerker i perioden 2005-2017. Helt siden Svanemerket ble lansert av Nordisk ministerråd i 1989 har miljømerking vært sett på som et verktøy for å i...

Artikkelen «Billige og dårlige klær – og få klager av Standal Bøyum, Laitala og Klepp tar sitt utgangspunkt i at prisene på klær har falt betydelig de siste tiårene og at vi stadig kjøper mer klær. Omsetningen foregår i kjedebutikker med fokus på salg og salgsvarer og ikke på fagkunnskap. Billige klær gjør det lettere for forbrukerne å kjøpe klær s...

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 materi...

This paper discusses consumers’ wool washing habits and the possibilities for improving the laundering process with the aim of reducing the total environmental impacts of clothing consumption. Wool has great potential when compared to other fibres, such as cotton, especially when the energy per day of use is compared to energy per washing cycle. Wo...

Artikkelen «Ullne» fakta om strikking og klær. Hjemmeproduksjon og gamle klær i velstands Norge» av Ingun Klepp og Kirsi Laitala inngår i et større prosjekt om grønn vekst gjennom kunnskap om bærekraftige klær i lokale verdikjeder med fokus på utnyttelse av norsk ull (KRUS). Studien viser at bruk av ull er utbredt i hele befolkningen. Det er imidle...

AbstractCotton is the "Natural" choice and the dominating material in bed linen and sleepwear in Norway as in many other European countries. Regulation of temperature and humidity are important for good sleep, but they are not cotton's strong points. There must have been other than the functional reasons which made cotton the winner in the bedding...

Sport and fitness are increasing in popularity, and so is awareness of body odor. Both are aspects people wish to gain control over, as promised by the marketing of sportswear with odor-controlling properties. This article discusses how the heightened awareness of body odor has developed, and how unpleasant odor varies between textiles made of diff...

This paper addresses a main challenge for natural fibres; falling prices and increased focus on quantity versus quality. This is a challenge not only related to economic issues and profit, but is also unsustainable in an environmental perspective and in light of the challenges the textile sector and the world face. The paper uses wool as an example...

Et av de mest fremtredende trekkene ved de siste 50 års tekstilforbruk er veksten i mengde. Import av klær har økt med 67 % i de siste tjue årene, og ligger nå på 15 kg per innbygger i Norge (SSB, 2014). Vi vet lite om denne veksten, men at den henger sammen med en nedgang i priser og en oppgang i kjøpekraft er åpenbar. I samme periode har andelen...

We have studied Norwegian and Swedish consumers’ experiences and perceptions related to using wool in bedlinen and sleepwear. We have used a variety of research methods including a web-based survey, qualitative interviews, a material test where informants commented various fabric samples, as well as user trials where informants tested sleeping in m...

Daglig blir vi minnet om de alvorlige miljø- og klimaproblemene. Det gir bekymring for fremtiden. I hvilken tilstand er det vi overlater kloden til de kommende generasjonene? Et håp er at vi får til et grønt skifte som kan bringe oss over til et mer bærekraftig samfunn. Denne boka er et resultat av arbeidet med et satsingsområde ved Forbruksforskni...

Consumers’ decisions in the disposal phase of clothing are crucial from an environmental point of view, as they affect the lifespan of clothing, as well as the potential for reuse and recycling. This chapter discusses the effects of different end-of-life scenarios to the life cycle assessment (LCA) calculations. In doing this, examples of Norwegian...

This article discusses the extent it is possible to delay clothing disposal through improved design, thus reducing negative environmental impacts. This has been done by including user centered design methods into more traditional quantitative consumer research to give new insights for design. Empirical data on reasons for disposal of 620 clothing i...

The purpose of this paper is to provide data on clothing concerning life span and length of active use period, as very little information is available. The article is based on a study of 620 clothing items that 16 households (35 people) disposed of during six months. A wardrobe study method was used, which included clothing registrations and in-dep...

I artikkelen «Lokale klær og lokal mat – forbrukerholdninger» drøfter Ingun G. Klepp, Kirsi Laitala og Gunnar Vittersø forbrukernes holdninger til norske råvarer (opprinnelse) og til å kjøpe lokale råvarer innen mat og klær. Mens det har vært stort fokus på lokal mat, opprinnelsesmerking og sertifiserings-ordninger for mat, er det ingen tilsvarende...

Eivind Stø likes a tell an illustrative once told a story about his mother who went through World War II with only one dress due to rationing. Today women have many dresses; more than we can wear out in 5 years. Since 1990, Norway’s clothing imports have almost doubled (Statistics Norway, 2014) and we did not lack clothing in 1990. This chapter dis...

“This is old – and that is old”, says Davinder as she makes a face and points to the folded salwar kameezes laid on the bed in her mother Balwinder’s bedroom. “They have been used three times and now they are only suitable for wearing in the house”, Balwinder explains. Her twenty-two-year-old son sits on the bedside, and clarifies: “People have alr...

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...

Clothing production and consumption have significant negative environmental impacts. This thesis explores whether an interdisciplinary method triangulation that combines studies of material and behavioural aspects of clothing consumption can give a better understanding of consumers’ clothing consumption practices, and further, if this knowledge can...

Consumer decisions on clothing disposal are important from an environmental point of view, as they have an effect on the lifespan of clothing, as well as the potential for reuse and recycling. This article summarizes what is known about consumers' clothing disposal behaviour based on empirical literature published during the past 30 years. The goal...

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-287-110-7_5 The sustainability challenges facing the textile and clothing industry are substantial, but both the international and the national regulations of the textile industry are low. Consumers have, therefore, been passed a significant share of the responsibility for ensuring the sustainability...

Norwegian consumers know little about eco-labeled garments as almost none are available on the market. Therefore, consumers who want to make environmentally sound choiceshave to act based on other information. This article discusses the environmental and ethicalperceptions of Norwegian consumers that are related to fiber content, maintenance, size,...

Wool has been called the white gold and has warmed and brought joy to the Norwegian population throughout history. It is also a textile fibre with many unused features. The starting point of the project Valuing Norwegian Wool is a desire to help Norwegian agriculture, wool based industry, and design to exploit the potential inherent in Norwegian wo...

Fabric softeners are mainly used to reduce roughness and static electricity of textiles, as well as adding a scent to them. In this paper we study how fabric softeners are related to odour properties on clothing. We combine a Norwegian consumer survey with a sensory test on odour development on four different materials used in sports clothing. Samp...

Many life cycle assessment studies document that the use period is the most resource-demanding phase during the clothing life cycle. In this paper, we discuss how design can help to reduce the environmental impacts of clothing. Motives behind clothing disposal, acquisition practices and maintenance habits are analysed based on two surveys, qualitat...

Maintenance is often the most energy-demanding stage during clothes' life cycle. Therefore, a shift towards more sustainable washing habits has great potential to reduce the consumption of energy, water and detergent. This paper discusses the change in laundering practices during the past 10 years in Norway and suggests strategies to help consumers...

The cleaning effect of soap nuts, laundry balls, washing pellets and laundry magnets has been tested and compared with washing with conventional compact powder detergent for coloured textiles, and washing with water only. The cleaning effect was evaluated by measuring the tristimulus Y reflection values of pre-soiled fabric strips after they were w...

The amount of clothing in circulation has increased steadily the past years. This is an environmental challenge which is often overlooked by producers and eco-labelling organisations that concentrate mainly in the manufacturing phase. Growth in material flows increases the need for transportation, storage space as well as the amount of waste. This...

Today’s clothing industry is based on a system where clothes are made in ready-to-wear sizes and meant to fit most people. Studies have pointed out that consumers are discontent with the use of these systems: size designations are not accurate enough to find clothing that fits, and different sizes are poorly available. This article discusses in dep...

Life cycle assessment studies on clothes, detergents and washing machines show that the use period is usually the most energy-demanding period during these products' life cycle, even higher than production or transportation phases. Laundering practices are constantly changing and influenced by social, cultural and moral norms. Even though the techn...

Lowering the washing temperature of laundry has environmental benefits, but consumers are reluctant to decrease the temperature in fear of not getting clean textiles. The objective of this study was to test eight leading laundry detergents for low temperature washing at 30 °C and at 40 °C. The cleaning effect was tested by measuring the reflection...

Consumers are increasingly given a larger and more complex ethical and moral responsibility, partially as a result of the political power shift from the classical political institutions to new arenas. We will approach one such arena: the international standardisation. In this article we will discuss the relationship between standardisation and the...