Adaptable apparel: a sustainable design solution for excess apparel consumption problem

Abstract

Purpose – Excess consumption of apparel is driven by the apparel industry to offer more styles at lower prices in shorter time and the consumers’ desire to change fashion. The purpose of this paper is to apply adaptable design in apparel as a sustainable design solution for excess consumption problem. Design/methodology/approach – Guided by sustainable apparel design model C2CAD, two adaptable apparel prototypes for female college students were designed and developed. Focus group discussion and wear test were conducted with female college students to evaluate users’ acceptance, fit, comfort, and adaptability of the two prototypes. Findings – Both prototypes were comfortable to wear by users with different sizes, indicating the users could wear the garment when she changed size. The adaptations and conversions were easily and enjoyably figured out by the users. The users would keep and use the adaptable apparel for a long time. The users would also buy fewer apparel if they were to own the adaptable apparel. Adaptable apparel would increase apparel utilization, eliminate the need to purchase unnecessary additional amount of clothing, and reduce excess consumption. Originality/value – This research provided a pilot study on adaptable apparel design as an innovative approach to help solve excessive consumption problem. The adaptable garment prototypes would allow the fashion-forward female college student to easily change the function, fit, and style of the environmentally friendly garments.

Consumer attitudes and communication in circular fashion

“…The global textile fibre production, consumption of textiles and amount of textile waste are constantly growing (Dahlbo et al , 2017). The clothing industry offers more styles at lower prices in shorter time cycles and the consumers desire to change their style (Cao et al , 2014). Fast fashion is a successful and increasingly prevalent business model in which fashion retailers create cheap, throwaway goods at much lower costs and have multiple seasons instead of the traditional two collections per year (Birtwistle and Moore, 2007).…”

“…There are several ways to decrease inconsistency between sustainability and fashion. Cao et al (2014) found out that consumers would keep and use adaptable garments for a long time and buy fewer new ones when they were able to utilise the same garments in different ways. Alongside fast fashion, the so-called slow fashion has become a more popular, socially conscious movement that shifts consumers’ mindsets from quantity to quality.…”

Applying a sustainability performance measurement tool in designing and developing automotive employee uniforms

“…Gam, Cao, Farr, and Heine (2009) applied the cradle-to-cradle design model (McDonough & Braungart, 2002) in apparel to develop a sustainable apparel design and production model C2CAD, and implemented the model in children's knitwear design and production. Sustainable design strategies used in other industries, including the automotive industry, such as design for disassembly and adaptable design were also applied in apparel design and development (Cao et al, 2014;Gam, Cao, Bennett, Helmkamp, & Farr, 2011). Key areas of research regarding social responsibility have focused on measures to improve working conditions in apparel production, including adoption and enforcement of codes of conduct, development of internal policies, practices, and accountability mechanisms; improvement of wages; increased transparency and public reporting, and improved buyer-supplier partnerships (Dickson, 2013).…”

Multifunctional Children Clothing Design Process Based on the Eco-Fashion Design Model

“…Gam [1] found that women with at least one child are interested in sustainable and eco-friendly products that are beneficial for their children, which also inspires parents to act in an environmentally responsible manner. Previous researches mainly focused on design strategies for multifunctional clothing concerning sustainable development in the fashion market [2][3][4][5]. The design of multifunctional clothing incorporates the application of ergonomic concepts and in-depth analysis of aesthetics and practicality to achieve the objectives of children's clothing and to promote harmonious growth in society.…”