3rd PLATE Conference
September 18 – 20, 2019
Berlin, Germany
Nils F. Nissen
Melanie Jaeger-Erben (eds.)
Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin
Cramer , Jo: Designing useful fashion: a new conceptual model of
the garment lifetime: . In: Nissen, Nils F.; Jaeger-Erben, Melanie (Eds.):
PLATE – Product Lifetimes And The Environment : Proceedings, 3rd PLATE
CONFERENCE, BERLIN, GERMANY, 18 – 20 September 2019. Berlin: Uni-
versitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2021. pp. 175 – 181. ISBN 978-3-7983-3125-9
(online). https://doi.org/10.14279/depositonce-9253.
This article – except for quotes, fi gures and where otherwise noted – is
licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).
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Designing Useful Fashion: A New Conceptual Model of the Garment
Lifetime
Cramer, Jo
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Sustainable Fashion; Design for Longevity; Garment Lifetime; Clothing Practices.
Abstract: This paper considers how research into clothing lifetimes and consumer practices can be
integrated into a garment lifecycle assessment model, to facilitate a reorientation of fashion design from
design for sustainable products to design for the conditions of sustainability (after Fry, 1994). Drawing
on the research of Payne (2011a) and Klepp (2001), a revised Garment Lifetime Diagram is proposed
that segments the use phase to provide a more holistic understanding of the garment lifecycle. By
making visible the detail within the phase of use, the aim is to show how designers might foster
sustainable clothing use practices through the design decisions they make. In particular, how design
might encourage extended garment use. The resulting diagram of a single garment lifetime challenges
the popular approach to sustainability through extended use that describes garments with multiple lives
(Fletcher, 2008). Arguably, defining the garment lifetime as ownership, reinforces what has been
criticised as the inherently anthropocentric viewpoint of sustainable development (Fry, 2009). Instead,
the notion of ‘custody’ emerges to describe temporary possession of a living garment.
Introduction
Life-cycle assessment is a quantitative
measure used to assess the environmental
impacts of materials and products, fundamental
to the implementation of sustainability
(McDonough & Braungart, 2002) and the
transition to a circular economy (Ellen
MacArthur Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013).
A number of researchers have referenced
garment lifecycle assessment as a framework
to discuss how design decisions can influence
each phase of the garment lifecycle to
transform conventional design practices from a
linear to circular model (Fletcher, 2008; Gwilt,
2011; Payne, 2011a). It is at the point of
design that materials are gathered and
manufactured into garment form, comprising
decisions on which fabrics and trims to use and
where and how to produce it. These decisions
affect how the garment can be cared for (dry
clean, machine or hand wash), how long it will
last (durability of components and construction)
and what end-of-life scenarios are possible
(reuse, recycling and disposal).
Lifecycle Assessment as a Design
Tool in Fashion
A diagram of the garment lifecycle is particularly
useful to designers to visualise the relationship
between the design phase and the other phases
of the garment lifecycle. Diagrams and
infographics are popular methods of
communicating complex information, especially
within the design disciplines. Leading examples
are the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s diagram
of the Circular Economy System (2017), and the
TED 10 Sustainable Design Strategies (TED,
n.d.). A literature review of sustainable fashion
design research identified Payne’s Garment
Lifecycle Assessment diagram as one of the
earliest of its kind to map the typical, linear
garment lifecycle of single use and discard with
the alternatives: extended use prior to disposal
and a closed loop of material recovery following
disposal (Figure 1). The diagram demarcates
the phases of product development as the
production of the fibre, garment design and
manufacture, distribution and retail sale,
followed by consumer use and end-of-life
scenarios. This provides a logical structure
within which to discuss the harmful
environmental and social impacts of each stage
within the linear system and to promote the
benefit of the alternatives.
A garment lifecycle assessment diagram serves
as a design tool by prompting examination of
where positive intervention might mitigate
unintentionally harmful consequences. Payne
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Designing useful fashion: A new conceptual model of the garment lifetime
illustrates this process with a number of
questions that might be asked at each stage.
For example, what are the impacts of fibre
production? Can we design a service system
rather than a product? Who makes the
garment? (Payne, 2011b) Fashion brands at all
levels of the market have used lifecycle
assessment tools to transform their business
models towards sustainability and produce
products with reduced negative environmental
and social impacts (for example, Hoffman;
Holm, 2017).
Figure 1. Garment Lifecycle Assessment
Diagram (Source: Payne, 2011b).
Extending the Use Phase of Clothing by
Design
Alongside improvements to the supply chain,
leading researchers within the field have
advocated for greater consideration of the use
of garments in fashion design for sustainability
strategies (Fletcher, 2008; Gwilt, 2013).
Garment design that supports extended use is
one strategy with the potential to mitigate the
harmful environmental consequences of
disposable fashion. Lifecycle assessment
studies of clothing conducted in the UK, have
shown that even a modest extension to the use
phase of clothing can significantly reduce the
carbon, water and waste footprint (WRAP,
2012).
An interrogation of a typical garment lifecycle
model undertaken within a practice-led doctoral
study, identified such models as problematic for
designers seeking to reference lifecycle
assessment to inform strategies for sustainable
garment use practices. Firstly, the equal
division of all phases within the lifecycle
disguises the fact that the longest phase of the
garment’s lifecycle is the use phase. Therefore,
the imperative to design for sustainable garment
use practices is diminished. Secondly, while the
production of a garment is segmented into
phases, its use is not similarly segmented.
Therefore, opportunities to design for particular
use practices are concealed. Each of these
limitations is discussed below and a revised
model of the garment lifetime presented in
response. Further, it will be discussed that
garment lifecycle diagrams represent a single
garment lifetime, yet popular approaches to
sustainability through extended use, describe
giving garments multiple lives (for example,
Fletcher, 2008). Arguably, defining the garment
lifetime as ownership, reinforces what has been
criticised as the inherently anthropocentric
viewpoint of sustainable development (Fry,
2009). Instead, the notion of ‘custody’ to
replace ownership is discussed.
Clothing Use
There is a lack of research into consumer use
of garments, but that field is growing. The
available data goes some way to detailing the
use phase of the garment within the lifetime by
explaining reasons that garments are either
kept and worn or discarded (Laitala & Klepp,
2015; Woodward, 2007). Different garment
types, and garments for different occasions, are
worn by people of different demographic
profiles, are used with varying intensity and
have different life expectancies (Langley,
Durkacz, & Tanase, 2013). The nature and
duration of use have environmental impacts
that might be mitigated through a design
process that includes greater consideration of
garment use.
Clothing Lifespans
The duration of the garment’s use phase varies
considerably but is generally longer than all
phases of production combined. Following a
review of the literature, Laitala and colleagues
discuss the wide difference in the reported
average lifespan of clothing. A general range
from 1 to 7 years is cited, with exceptions noted
for specific garments like skirts and dresses
that may be worn for 15 years. This variation
they attribute to the differing methods of data
collection. (Laitala, Hårvik, & Klepp, 2014).
While fashion trends may pass quickly,
garments are not typically replaced at the same
rate. Instead, a fashionable appearance is
maintained by styling existing garments with
new acquisitions (Woodward, 2015).
In contrast to its duration of use, a garment
typically takes less time to produce. While the
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manufacture of the textile may take over twelve
months (in the case of some natural fibres), a
garment may be designed, manufactured,
distributed to market and sold to the consumer
in a matter of weeks (Cline, 2012). However,
within a garment lifecycle assessment diagram,
all phases within production are represented
equally to that of use. Adjusting the
segmentation of the phases of the garment
lifetime within a lifecycle assessment model to
better reflect the comparatively shorter duration
of production compared to use, would indicate
to the designer the significance of the use
phase within the garment lifecycle. So
amended, the diagram becomes a tool through
which existing strategies for sustainable
product development might be extended to
design for sustainable use.
Extended Clothing Lifespans
Design to extend the lifespan of clothing is one
design strategy for sustainability that follows
from analysing garment use. Research has
shown that extending the life of a garment by
as little as three months leads to a 5-10%
reduction in each of the carbon, water and
waste footprints (WRAP, 2012). This saving
occurs through the conservation of energy and
materials where the need for new clothing is
reduced and by withholding garments from
landfill. WRAP suggests that only modest
changes across the clothing lifecycle are
needed to reach this figure: production and
fibre choices, life extension, laundry practices,
re-use and recycling. They argue that the
technology to implement these changes
already exists and from a production
perspective, need not dramatically increase
costs or retail prices (WRAP, 2013).
However, industry-led sustainable fashion
design strategies tend to focus on the phases
of production and end-of-life-scenarios (for
example, see H&M Group, 2017). Indeed,
some sustainable fashion design resources
position design for sustainable use practices
beyond the direct influence of the producer
(Brismar, 2015). Yet the inclusion of spare
buttons with a shirt makes its repair possible,
and trousers with an elastic waistband
accommodate a changing waistline. A
limitation of lifecycle assessment as a
framework for sustainable design intervention
across the entire garment life cycle is that it
does not elaborate on the sub-phases of use
with the same detail as it does for production.
To successfully design for an extended use
phase, fashion designers need more
information about how fashion garments are
worn.
Patterns of Clothing Use
In a study undertaken in 2001, Klepp identified
a common pattern in clothing use despite the
complex differences between garment types
and the occasions for wear. Between
acquisition and discard, the garment is typically
worn and rested for periods before it is put
aside for potential disposal (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Diagram of The Lifetime of Clothes
(Source: Klepp, 2001).
The division of the use phase of the garment
lifetime provides critical information to fashion
design for sustainability not captured in a
typical lifecycle assessment diagram. That
garments are used and rested is important to
design in relation to both function and fashion:
Where garments are rested because they
need dry cleaning or ironing, might they be
designed for less labour-intensive care
practices? Where garments reflect the very
latest fashion taste, might they be designed to
be modular so that components can be
removed and interchanged once the trend has
passed? Particularly, when a garment is ‘at
mercy’ of disposal, what design strategies
might enable tired garments to become
fashionable again and return to active use?
Integration of the sub-phases of use into a
lifecycle assessment model would better
enable designers to connect decisions made
within the phases of production to outcomes
that manifest in use.
A New Garment Lifetime Diagram
The Garment Lifetime Diagram proposed in
Figure number 3, integrates Klepp’s Lifetime of
Clothes Diagram (Figure 2) and Payne’s
Lifecycle Assessment diagram (Figure 1). The
use phase of the garment lifecycle is divided
into four sub-phases: first time use, resting
period, last time use, at mercy. The subsequent
phase of reuse and recycling is elongated to
indicate the potential to extend the lifetime of
the garment by these measures.
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Figure 3. The Garment Lifetime Diagram Includes Sub-Phases of Use Within the Lifecycle (Source: Author).
The introduction of a time scale within the
diagram changes the title from a lifecycle
assessment diagram to a lifetime diagram.
Further, the revised title acknowledges that
this is not a scientifically derived model, but
rather a theoretical one (at least so far).
Single or multiple lives?
Clothing that is worn by a subsequent owner is
popularly described as having a second life
(Figure 4). However, as the Garment Lifetime
Diagram shows, describing an extended life as
a subsequent life, mis-represents the actual
garment lifecycle that is, in fact, a single
lifetime inclusive of the garment being
remodelled, repurposed or changing hands,
before final disposal. The assumption that the
garment life is synonymous with ownership is
anthropocentric and therefore undermines the
value of the garment artefact beyond its role in
the formation of the purchaser’s individual
identity. Instead, reconceiving garment
ownership as temporary custody, may
encourage fashion design strategies for
sustainability that look beyond the initial use
phase to design for the possibility of
subsequent use phases.
Figure 4. On this clothing donation bin, one-time
ownership of a garment is synonymous with a
garment lifetime (Source: Author).
In the following section, the application of the
Garment Lifetime Diagram to a conventional
fashion design process is discussed, for its
potential to inflect existing practice to design for
the extended use of fashion garments.
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Fashion Design for Extended Use
Existing Extended Clothing Use Practices
Consumers have embraced garment re-use
and recycling as methods of practicing fashion
sustainability, yet frequently garment qualities
inhibit rather than enable what action might be
taken. For example, a narrow, densely
overlocked seam provides no scope to let out a
tight waistband. Similarly, while it is common
for garments to be passed on through second-
hand channels, fashion garments are not
typically designed for extended use by different
wearers. However research shows that fashion
garments are more likely to be donated to
charity than other types of clothing (Laitala,
Boks, & Klepp, 2015; Weber, Lynes, & Young,
2017). Thus, the extended lifetime of a fashion
garment describes both the purchaser wearing
the garment for longer, and/or the garment
changing hands from one wearer to another.
This leads to the question, how might garment
custody be facilitated by design?
Consideration of the Garment Lifetime Diagram
in relation to a specific garment type, target
customer and market level, can inform a design
process that predicts the likely wear of the
garment, and designs in the capacity for future
adaptations that may be necessary or
desirable. Including a capacity for change may
help the garment keep pace with the changing
needs of the wearer, therefore postponing
obsolescence and disposal. In addition, those
strategies that may extend first time use, may
facilitate re-use by a second or third wearer.
The final sub-phase of use when the garment is
‘at mercy’ of disposal is especially ripe for
design intervention. At this stage, various
actions of repair, repurposing and remodelling
can reinstate the garment to active use. In
Figure number 5, a number of alternatives to
disposal are shown for a garment that is at
mercy of divestment from the wardrobe.
A Living Wardrobe
After-sales services in garment repair and
remodelling are experiencing a resurgence in
popularity (for example, Eileen Fisher; Nudie
Jeans Co.). However, the design of fashion
garments with provisions for future remodelling
has not yet been explored in any depth by
fashion brands. The doctoral, practice-led
research project within which the Garment
Lifetime Diagram was produced, explored how
garment remodelling as a practice of fashion
design can enable both designers and wearers
to act on their shared responsibility for the
sustainability of the garment lifetime. Having
identified the single garment lifetime, the project
focused on designing for the various needs of
changing custodians across its lifetime.
Figure 5. Garment Use with Divestment Options
Including Methods of Extended Use (Source:
The Author).
The outcomes include a series of prototype
garments with capacities for repair and
alteration to transform both the fit and visual
appeal of the garments (Figure 6).
Development of this Living Wardrobe further
explored a redirection of the conventional
fashion design process to predict and design
for likely use (Fry, 2009). The findings highlight
unrealised potential for the physical garment
artefact to support sustainable use practices
(Cramer, 2019 forthcoming).
Use Forecasting
Extending the conventional fashion design
process to include consideration of garment
use might be approached as a type of ‘use
forecasting’. Just as a designer researches
trend forecasts to inform the visual appeal of
the design in development, so too might they
forecast the likely future use of the garment
and design accordingly. A range of lifecycle
assessment tools now exist to assist designers
to evaluate the potential impacts of products in
development (for example, Ecoinvent). As
research into clothing use patterns deepens, it
is feasible that in the future, quantitative
measures may be developed to assist
designers predict likely garment use also.
Conclusions
The Garment Lifetime Diagram (Figure 3)
evolved through my doctoral research project
that investigated ways of designing for
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Designing useful fashion: A new conceptual model of the garment lifetime
extended use and found existing models of the
garment lifetime lacking. Despite detail of the
phases of production and end-of-life scenarios,
the possibilities for intervention for sustainability
in the phase of use are concealed.
Figure 6. Detail of an Outfit Comprising a
Modular Top and Adjustable Culottes from The
Living Wardrobe (Source: The Author).
This is consistent with the limited and widely
variable information available on clothing use
practices. Nevertheless, useful information
exists about general patterns of clothing use
that when referenced alongside LCA, provides
a more holistic perspective of the garment
lifecycle. Further, the Garment Lifetime
Diagram makes visible the opportunities a
designer has to direct design for sustainability
in both production and use.
The Garment Lifetime Diagram is in its first
iteration. By sharing it here, the author seeks
to initiate a conversation with peers both within
and beyond the discipline of fashion design that
will hopefully see the diagram revised and
improved. For example, the phases within the
lifecycle may be more accurately distributed
and the subphases of use defined alternately
and in more detail. Application of the diagram
to a specific market context for which LCA and
user data exist, could result in a scientifically
proportionate model. These are exciting areas
for future research.
In the short term, the author is interested to
develop a ‘use-forecasting’ resource to assist
designers embed consideration of future use
into their existing fashion design practice.
Designing garments to be worn, repaired and
altered by a series of wearers can shift the
focus of design practice from a short linear
lifecycle to an extended circular lifecycle,
investing in those garments value beyond the
seasonal trend for which they were created.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank the reviewers
for their feedback on the abstract submitted.
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