How has "fast fashion" changed our relationship to clothing? What are the ecological and social consequences? And how do we sort items of clothing? In her research, cultural scientist and ethnologist Heike Derwanz takes a close look at people and how they deal with clothing
Hamburg, Schanzenviertel neighbourhood. Heike Derwanz discovers a pile of clothes in front of a house. She picks out a grey cardigan with large holes under the arms, paint stains on the hem and obviously shrunk. Today, four years later, the cardigan lies on an office table at the Institute of Material Culture and is part of Derwanz's research: in her project "Clothing in Abundance", the junior professor for the mediation of material culture is investigating how fast fashion - ever cheaper clothing that is replaced at ever faster intervals - has changed our relationship to clothing. Derwanz is primarily interested in the consumption of clothing, what we do with it after we buy it - and what happens to the items we no longer want to wear. This always involves the question: what value do we attach to clothing?
"If I were to ask people how much they buy or throw away, many would give a measure that seems 'socially desirable' to them - but that doesn't necessarily correspond to reality," explains Derwanz. "How we care for our clothes, whether we have broken pieces repaired, in what condition a piece is still wearable for us or not - these are all everyday phenomena that run under our radar and are related to what clothes are worth to us."
Exploring everyday practices
To get to the bottom of these everyday practices, the scientist primarily uses ethnographic methods in her research, such as participant observation or qualitative interviews in everyday situations. In wardrobe interviews, for example, she asks people to explain how they sort out their clothes and for what purpose - for online second-hand platforms such as Kleiderkreisel, the flea market or the give-away box on the street. She goes to parties where private individuals swap the clothes they have brought with them, and spends days helping out at clothing centres that accept and sort clothing donations and distribute them to people in need.
"When I help sort clothes, I learn a lot about what criteria are important for the people sorting them - for the private individual who is clearing out their wardrobe or for the organisation that recycles the old clothes," says Derwanz. At traditional clothing banks, such as the German Red Cross or Caritas, everything is passed on for textile recycling as soon as a small stain or a tiny hole can be seen. Even a Chanel suit that could be sold for good money in a second-hand shop.
"This shows how different the demands we place on clothing are and what we consider normal," says Derwanz. Especially as what is normal for us is constantly changing: "Our everyday practices change with the things and technologies we deal with. Conversely, our practices influence how technologies develop." Before there were washing machines, for example, trousers and jumpers were rarely washed and more often simply aired out. Today, we often wash T-shirts after just one wear - and washing machines have more and more short programmes.
Minimalists as multipliers of sustainable ideas
Similarly, clothing today is often less durable and available in larger quantities and at very favourable prices, says the cultural scientist. For many young people, it is normal for a T-shirt bought cheaply in spring to be ruined by autumn.
For Derwanz, the trend towards minimalism is closely linked to the development of fast fashion. This has dominated fashion for several years, but also other areas of life such as living space and furnishings. In her project "Textile Minimalists. Pioneers of sustainable practice", funded by the German Research Foundation, she is investigating what drives the self-declared minimalists and how they go about it.
An interesting observation for the scientist: these people often do not come from the eco-movement, but from the centre of mass culture. "For the first time, this trend is making them consciously consider the origin of their clothing: Where is the plastic everywhere? Who am I actually supporting when I consume a certain product?" Derwanz does not believe that minimalists can stop the fast fashion trend. However, she sees them as the best multipliers for new, sustainable practices and ideas when it comes to clothing, "because they do it on their own initiative."
Sustainability education in textiles lessons
The scientist is also concerned with this question: How can people - especially children and young people - be sensitised to a more sustainable approach to clothing? "Many young people today are interested in vegan food or how to avoid plastic in everyday life. I would like to put fast fashion right next to fast food, because the ecological and social consequences are also huge," explains Derwanz. She is convinced that textile lessons in schools in particular could provide important educational work here.
On the one hand, classic textile techniques such as sewing, knitting or crocheting offer children and young people a balance in an everyday life that is heavily characterised by digital technologies: "Textile techniques have a lot to do with mindfulness and creativity. These are skills that can be stimulated and conveyed through textile lessons," says Derwanz. She hopes that young people who have mastered textile techniques themselves and know how high-quality materials feel, for example, will develop a more appreciative attitude towards clothing and treat it more consciously.
On the other hand, a lot can be taught about global connections through an examination of clothing - and thus tie in with other school subjects such as values and norms or geography, says the scientist. To this end, she is planning to develop a box of educational games on fast fashion and sustainable clothing consumption that teachers can use in the classroom. To this end, she is working closely with her colleague at the institute, chemist Norbert Henzel, who was involved in the development of the "organic cotton learning box" a few years ago.
Derwanz says that her own approach to clothing has also changed a lot since she started researching the topic: "Once you've gone down in the rubbish heap of a large clothing store, you come out a different person. It no longer bothers me when I wear clothes that don't fit me perfectly and that don't fully express me. You become more flexible and creative." She even regularly wears the tattered grey cardigan from the Schanzenviertel district to lectures. Also to make a statement.