What has clothing care to do with creativity?
“Fashion is a language of creativity and exploration” (Vänska, 2020).
Having you here reading this article, means that you hopefully might be interested in becoming a more conscious consumer. As Michaly Csikszentmihalyi says in his book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention: “So, the first step toward a more creative life is the cultivation of curiosity and interests, that is, the allocation of attention to things for their own sake.” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Meaning, that by developing a greater interest in a specific field, you automatically set your creative skills in motion. Csikszentmihalyi defines creativity as: “(…) any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one. And the definition of a creative person is: someone whose thoughts or actions change a domain, or establish a new domain.” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997).
By investigating in a specific topic, which in this case could be how to improve your clothing care, you will soon notice that you possibly could have done a lot better in the past. Having outlined those problems from the past, your creative process truly starts. You will start looking at things differently and learn to think new thoughts, with the aim in mind to create new and better solutions. This can be everything from doing your laundry, fixing your clothes, storing them, mending, patching, and repairing etc. there are no limits! Next time when you investigate in whatsoever, think of it as a creative process, because that’s exactly what it is.
Why Care?
Did you know that it is in the use phase, where for some products most of the environmental impacts are created? (Gwilt , 2020). Once we have purchased a garment, we become responsible for its care and maintenance. Every garment has a life cycle, this includes not only the design, manufacture, and distribution phase of clothes. It also includes the use phase, which plays an equally important role in the life cycle of a garment. This phase involves every activity the garment is going through after it is in the ownership of the consumer. This includes along wearing, washing, drying, and storing also repairing, adoption, alteration, and disposal.
Knowing how to care for your clothes is essential in the process of becoming a more conscious consumer. Wrong treatment of our clothes has a huge impact on the planet, and therefore we absolutely need to talk more about how we can do better in the use phase.
Washing
Stop washing your clothes if they are not dirty! A lot of clothes end up being tossed in the laundry, because we consider them ´dirty´, but there is a little agreement on what this constitutes (Gwilt , 2020). There is no doubt, that everything that clings your body directly, like underwear etc. needs to be washed far often, but everything that goes over your undergarments can be washed far less frequently. Washing your clothes as little as possible does not only have a positive impact on the environment it will also extend the life cycle of your garments. In practice, doubling the lifespan of our clothes, will reduce their carbon footprint by 24 per cent (de Castro, 2021). There are many alternatives, of how you can refresh your clothes without using your washing machine perpetually. Here are some simple tips that will improve your caring skills.
Instead of washing, try this:
Understanding Care Symbols
If you want to change your washing habits, you must get to know what fibers your clothes are made of. Fabrics that are made of synthetics, especially polyester tend to trap oil and odors, so if you want to slow down your washing cycles, you might consider switching to more natural materials for your everyday clothing. Clothes made of cotton, wool, and linen need to be washed considerably less (Gwilt , 2020). As you might know, our clothes come with built-in care labels, that tell us exactly how to care for them.
I know, understanding the clutter of all those symbols can be frustrating. But, I promise, once you first know how to understand those symbols, it absolutely levels up your laundry habits. No matter what, switching your temperature setting from hot to warm/cold is always a good option. Not only does it cut a load’s energy use in half, also the colours of your clothes will stay vibrant, and fibers will last longer (Cline, 2019).
Here is a list of all the important care symbols and what they mean:
“The daily care of our clothing has a huge impact on the planet, and if we took a little bit more time to change our habits and wash with real care, we would be drastically reducing our footprint, as well as protecting our oceans and, ultimately, all living species on earth.” (de Castro, 2021)
Bibliography
Cline, E. L. (2019). I The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good .Penguing Random House LLC.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). I Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. . New York : Harper Perennial .
de Castro, O. (2021). I Loved Clothes Last - How the Joy of Rewaering and Repairing Your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act . Penguin Random House UK.
Gwilt , A. (2020). I A Practical Guide To Sustainable Fashion . Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Vänska, A. (05 2020). Hentet fra medium.com : https://medium.com/creativity-unfolded/fashion-is-thinking-204c7c692aa1