Consumption of Raw Materials by Crafters

Abstract

Crafters are reliant upon raw materials in order to create craft projects; however, there is little research focused on understanding how the characteristics of raw materials or the retail environment affect the consumption of crafters. The purpose of this research was to describe why crafters choose to consume from certain craft businesses and what characteristics of yarn affected the consumption of crafters. The levels of design as described by Donald Norman and principles of the slow fashion movement provided the theoretical framework for the study. Data were gathered using an online survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. A total of 657 usable surveys were collected. Four themes emerged related to the characteristics of retail environments and raw materials, which influenced crafters to consume yarn: business factors, utilitarian requirements, visual/tactile requirements, and intangible requirements.

Made in New York: A Collaborative Model to Encourage Slow Fashion

“…Researchers can further explore the usage of the Sourcebook to help artisan consumers find farms, especially since crafters express difficulty finding fiber farmers from which to source yarn (Stannard & Mullet, 2017). Although yarns on each farm may change over time, the information in the Sourcebook provides baseline information for further inquiry about farm yarns.…”

“…Alpacas are relatively new fiber animals to the United States, with populations over 250,000 (Safley, 2007). Consumers increasingly convey interest in local and domestic fiber products associated with local farms (Cao et al, 2014;Peterson, Hustvedt, & Chen, 2012;Stannard & Mullet, 2017). However, these natural fibers vary in quality, which makes it essential to evaluate uses for these fibers to support the long-term sustainability of U.S. fiber farms and mills.…”