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“ I Still Love Them and Wear Them ”—Conflict Occurrence and Management in Wearer-Clothing Relationships

Author

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  • Ana Neto

    (CIAUD, Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua Sá Nogueira, 1349-063 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • João Ferreira

    (UNIDCOM/IADE—Unidade de Investigação em Design e Comunicação, Av. D. Carlos I, 4, 1200-649 Lisboa, Portugal)

Abstract

The reasons why people use their clothes for longer are complex, but essential to understand how to promote longer clothing lifetimes. We conducted an online survey with open-ended questions, asking 170 female participants to write about one of their oldest garments still in use. When analysing our qualitative data, we found that many participants reported going through some mishaps with their item, a situation which is identified in existing literature as a reason for garment disposal. Following ongoing research which compares wearer-clothing relationships with human relationships, we analysed our qualitative data in the light of theory on interpersonal relationships to understand why conflict did not lead participants to dispose of their garments. The findings suggest that the way people manage conflict with their clothes is more critical for garment longevity than the conflict per se, which is bound to happen at some point in time. This paper presents different approaches to conflict in wearer-clothing relationships and illustrates them with testimonies from our survey. We discuss our findings through relevant literature and their implications to specific strategies for garment longevity.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Neto & João Ferreira, 2021. "“ I Still Love Them and Wear Them ”—Conflict Occurrence and Management in Wearer-Clothing Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13054-:d:687813
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Emma Johnson & Andrius Plepys, 2021. "Product-Service Systems and Sustainability: Analysing the Environmental Impacts of Rental Clothing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-29, February.
    2. Kirsi Laitala & Ingun Grimstad Klepp, 2018. "Care and Production of Clothing in Norwegian Homes: Environmental Implications of Mending and Making Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Marium Durrani, 2018. "“People Gather for Stranger Things, So Why Not This?” Learning Sustainable Sensibilities through Communal Garment-Mending Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-23, June.
    4. Catherine E. Cherry & Nick F. Pidgeon, 2018. "Why Is Ownership an Issue? Exploring Factors That Determine Public Acceptance of Product-Service Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
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