文献信息：

文献标题：Proactive Fashion Design for SustainableConsumption（可持续消费的具有前瞻性的服装设计）

国外作者：Kirsi Niinim?ki

文献出处：《Nordic Textile Journal》，2012，1:60-69. 字数统计：英文3104单词，17881字符；中文5737汉字

外文文献：

Proactive Fashion Design for SustainableConsumption

AbstractThis article presents a study that investigates product satisfaction in the context of clothing. The paper furthermore presents suggestions on how this knowledge can be used to create proactive fashion design for sustainable consumption. One of the main challenges in today’s consumer society is how to design products that encourage consumers to engage in more environmentally responsible behaviour, sustainable consumption. This paper opens the discussion on how to change current unsustainable consumption behaviour related to clothing through a visionary, far-sighted design approach. Designers can create future-oriented sustainable designs that can transform consumption patterns towards more sustainable ones. Design for sustainability can thus be a redirective practice that aims for sustainable consumption, and the ways in which fashion design can be a proactive process with this aim will be described.

Keywords: proactive design, sustainable design, sustainable consumption, emotional satisfaction, PSS.

Introduction

Products configure consumer needs and use patterns; hence, design can be said to be “practice-oriented”, creating certain everyday practices and consumption behaviour (Shove et al. 2007, 134–136). Current industrial design and

mass-manufacturing systems stimulate consumerism and the production of disposable products (Walker 2007, 51). Fast changing trends lead to consumers’ unsustainable consumption behaviour. To create a new, sustainable balance between design, manufacturing and consumption, alternative ways to create products are required to drive more sustainable consumption behaviour. Therefore, designers should evaluate how each design decision affects a consumer’s consumption patterns. Understood in this way, sustainable design can bea redirective or a proactive practice that aims for sustainable practices in consumption (Fry 2009, 53).

Higher production volumes and simultaneous growing consumption have caused an increase in material consumption (Throne-Holst et al. 2007). Ever-changing fashion trends, affordable product prices and low-quality products cause consumers to engage in unsustainable consumption behaviour, such as impulse purchases, overconsumption, short use time and premature disposal of products. The increase in the purchase of short-lifespan products results in a notable increase in waste. Currently, approximately 70 percent of disposed clothing and textiles end up in landfills, and in many Western countries clothing and textile waste is estimated to be the fastest growing waste stream (Fletcher 2008, 98). Consumers discard gaments not only because they are worn out but also because they actively seek novelty. Nevertheless, product durability and longterm use are prerequisites for sustainable consumption: i.e. extending the life span of products is essential when the goal is sustainable consumption (Cooper 2005). Importantly, however, consumers associate durability with high quality and not with environmental impact.

Emotions lie at the centre of human life, and they influence most of our behaviours, motivations and thought processes (Desmet 2009, 379). Emotions also play a strong role in consumption. The interplay between wants, needs, values, attitudes and experiences is emotionally meaningful for a contemporary consumer. Clothing and fashion items belong to the category of self-expressive products, and with such products, consumption-related emotions are important to the consumer. As Richins (2009) argued, these consumption emotions are important elements in contemporary society and especially after the purchase event. The purchase situation

becomes a strong positive experience for a consumer, but it is very short term in nature and has no connection to the experience of deeper satisfaction or person–product attachment (ibid). Through a new purchase event, the consumer can again experience excitement, enjoyment, joy and pleasure, at least momentarily.

From an environmental point of view, studying consumption patterns and the meanings of consumption is important when sustained positive emotions in person–product relationships are desired or solutions are sought to replace materialistic consumption with other positive emotional states. The design process should focus on sustainable consumer satisfaction with a product or with the person–product attachment process. Moreover, a new kind of product service system (PSS) should be developed that aims to prolong the enjoyable use time of the product. A PSS strategy can also offer the consumer new emotional experiences, which can postpone the disposal of the product; PSS thinking can thereby aim to avoid a new garment purchase, which is an opportunity to decrease materialistic consumption.

Sustainable Satisfaction with Clothing

If current unsustainable consumption patterns are to be transformed into more sustainable ones, the ways in which design can offer sustainable satisfaction must be investigated. To gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities to deliver satisfaction by design and how the enjoyable use of garments can be extended, the satisfaction process must first be explained.

According to Swan and Combs (1976), the performance of clothing can be separated into instrumental performance (physical properties) and expressive performance. Expressive performance is linked to a consumer’s psychological response to the garment, such as the experience of beauty. Instrumental requirements (e.g. quality expectations) must be satisfied first. Nevertheless, only fulfilling instrumental requirements will not result in satisfaction. Therefore clothing must also meet consumers’ emotional needs if it is to deliver satisfaction (Swan and Combs 1976).

Hence good intrinsic quality is optimal for ensuring consumer satisfaction and to

guarantee the longevity of clothing. High quality means durable materials and high manufacturing quality. The ageing process of a pleasant, aesthetic garment requires not only maintaining high intrinsic quality but also the design of a more classical style and use of durable materials. Some textile materials look old after a short use time. The material might experience pilling or may look old after a few washes. Garments needing frequent washing may look old rather quickly; therefore, recognising materials that age in a more aesthetically pleasing manner is important. Studies have shown (Niinim?ki 2010) that consumers experience e.g. wool and real leather to age in an aesthetically pleasant way. Consumers report that with high quality wool the ageing process does not show as obviously and in leather the ageing process is experienced as an attractive temporal dimension (ibid.).

Consumers respect aesthetic attributes in the long-term use of clothing, and aesthetic attributes correspond to expressive performance in clothing satisfaction. Accordingly, expressive performance affects the psychological response to clothing. The aesthetic attributes that correlate to the longevity of clothing are good fit, personal cut, nice colours and comfortable materials,as well as a classic look (see Table 1). Garment tactility is important to the wearer and a pleasant tactile experience during the use situation is one attribute for enjoyable long-term use of clothing.

Table I: Attributes that enable longevity in clothing

Theattributesthatenablelongevityinclothingarethefollowing: Durablematerials Quality: Durability inuse Durabilityinlaundering High manufacturingquality Easy maintenance Functionality: Suitability in the use situation (physiological and psychological suitability) Satisfying use experience