Professor Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design, was quoted in an article by Oracle of Time about the impact of people’s clothing on the environment.
In the article, Professor Groves said: “Historically, people’s wardrobes were much smaller. People bought less, wore it longer, and took better care of their clothing…This created an emotional attachment to them as objects, and items of clothing were likely to be passed down through the family as a result.
He added: “Over the last 50 years, there has been a shift toward impulse purchasing of fashion rather than a more planned approach to consumption. This is due to an increase in readily-available credit to consumers and a real-term decrease in the product’s price on the shop floor.
“People thought more about the item they wanted to buy and whether it was worth it if they had to save for a few weeks before purchasing. It didn’t matter once clothing prices were low enough that you didn’t have to worry about those questions.
Talking about young designers who are championing sustainability, he said: “Almost all young designers want to create better, more sustainable products. The problem, I believe, is a lack of consumer knowledge about materials, their origins, and their environmental impact. If this was legislated to be much clearer, consumers would make better decisions, which would then feedback into the design process.”
Read the full article on the Oracle of Time website.
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