Energy savings through everyday use

By using clothes for twice as long, their climate impact can be halved, but how can we encourage consumers to take better care of and reuse their textiles? This project aims to change consumption and maintenance patterns for clothing and home textiles through a user-centred design process. The central question is which behaviours and structures lead to the continuous purchase of newly produced textiles, while functioning textiles are discarded.

The focus of the project is on understanding which habits and structures cause people to buy new items instead of using what they already have, and what is required for more people to repair, care for, and reuse their textiles. An important part of the project also concerns how we wash our clothes, as this affects both energy use and the lifespan of garments.

To understand people’s behaviours and the barriers related to textile management, it is essential to involve the target group throughout the entire process. This will take place in Hammarby Sjöstad, a residential area in Stockholm, which serves as a testbed. Here, new ways of saving energy and resources in everyday life are developed and tested. Households, property owners, and local actors participate in a process in which we test:

• incentives for longer use of garments
• services for repair and remake
• resource-efficient laundry practices that save energy and extend the lifespan of clothes
• new forms of reuse and sharing of textiles

The results and methods are then compiled and disseminated to other neighbourhoods and municipalities.

The project seeks to contribute to a shift from a throwaway culture toward more long-term use and circular solutions. The aim is to maximise the use of existing textiles, increase reuse, and improve behaviours related to textile care in order to reduce energy consumption as well as water and chemical use. By reducing dependence on new production and global supply chains, the project also contributes to increased resilience, at both individual and societal levels.

The project runs for three years. It is coordinated by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, with Electricity Innovation, Remondis, and Slow Fashion Hub Stockholm as project partners. The project is funded under the research and innovation programme “Design for an Energy-Efficient Everyday Life”, which is run by the Swedish Energy Agency and coordinated by SVID, the Swedish Industrial Design Foundation.

Read more about the project on ElectriCITY’s website External link, opens in new window..