Open Access Journals at Aalborg University
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Defining Worn Out Workwear: Exploring how to assess garments for reuse within a laundry system
Get PDFThis paper explores how to create an objective assessment criterion for ‘worn out’ workwear within an industrial laundry system. Undertaken during the ReSuit project, the research used Elis (laundry service provider) as a case study. Four styles of light workwear (2x t-shirts and 2x trousers) were selected because they represented the products with highest numbers of discards. During a field study, the researchers visually analysed a week’s worth of these discarded garments for a variety of types of wear and tear. The research found that wear and tear could be categorised across four themes: holes, stains, pilling and colour. A traffic light system was created in which garments were assessed as Green: Reusable. Yellow: Normal wear and tear with the potential for reuse. Red: Worn out (discard for recycling). From this assessment guides were created, both digital (to be printed) and physical (exemplars). Working within the limitations of the research, these guides did not provide definitive definitions of worn-out workwear, rather were to ‘start the conversation’ of where the line is drawn between reuse and discard within the workwear sector. This research concludes that there is a huge potential for the workwear sector to reuse clothing and extend the lives of the products and further research should seek to streamline and test this worn out workwear assessment criteria. 
Mind the gap: To what extent are Danish early adopters of science-based targets addressing impacts across their products’ life cycles?
Get PDFValue chain emissions constitute the largest share of most company's greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, making their reduction essential for achieving science-based targets (SBTs) and supporting global climate goals. This study analyses the decarbonization efforts of six Danish early adopters of SBTs, focusing on their strategies to reduce emissions across product life cycles and value chains. Based on publicly disclosed data from company reports and responses to the CDP Climate Change Questionnaires, the findings reveal a primary focus on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with limited efforts targeting value chain emissions (i.e., Scope 3) during the early years following target setting. The study highlights significant gaps between the reductions required to meet targets and the reported impact of current and planned strategies, with shortfalls ranging from 17% to 75% of current inventory levels. Additionally, the study highlights inconsistencies and gaps in company disclosures making it difficult to assess actual progress. To close these gaps, there is a need for more knowledge on how companies can accelerate value chain decarbonization - such as through circular economy strategies - and improved transparency in reporting. Enhanced corporate action and disclosure are critical to aligning with SBT commitments and ensuring meaningful climate progress
The Value of Emerging Technologies for Enhancing Consumer Trust and Adoption of Repair Electronics
Get PDFGuilty (or invisible) materiality in everyday object relations?
Get PDFIn today’s context, demanding radical change even on the scale of our daily behaviour, this article builds on research into guilty materiality to better understand obstacles to changing our everyday material relations. “Guilty materiality“ refers to why materiality and material relations may be stigmatised, invisibilised, ignored and avoided. Daily material relations self-documented by 82 university-level design students provide the tangible basis for exploring and highlighting obstacles and ambiguities in daily-life artefact relations and their materiality. Our study focuses only on what is touched by the cohort, constituting a limited number of artefact encounters. The main analysed material is individual maps produced by students visualising their daily consumption habits. While the long-term aim of this research is to help identifying leverage points and action areas related to current practices and also mindsets, this paper also presents and explores the pertinence of the proposed methodology in this context. This research discusses, refines and adds to an existing list of triggers/influencing mechanisms that may act as obstacles to more environmentally-relevant everyday material relations. 
“Oh no, it’s broken!”: How product functionality limits lifespan
Get PDFToday a large variety of products with various features and designs are available for consumers. In addition to the main functions of a product, there are more and more additional functions, especially for electrical and electronic appliances. This means that looking for the right product may require extensive research by consumers and does not always lead to a sense of making an informed purchase decision. The wide variety of designs and functions can overwhelm consumers. This creates uncertainty and might lead to overrate products functionality and thus significantly shorten the service lifetime of appliances. Furthermore, the environmental impact of such functions is usually unclear, and can vary depending on the actual usage scenario. In this study, a survey was carried out in order to better understand consumers perceptions and experiences related to additional functions of products, with specific focus on domestic hobs, household refrigerating appliances and televisions. The results confirm the large number of additional functions and their overwhelming effect for consumers. Consumers purchase devices with more features than desired, or replaced them prematurely because an extra feature fails while the main function is still available. The findings of the study can be used to better inform consumers and support them to make environmentally sustainable purchasing decisions
Have prospects for product life-spans improved? A comparison of trends in household appliances and electronic goods over 25 years
Get PDFEmpowering Township Elderly Women: Upcycling Post-Consumer Waste Clothes into Sustainable Livelihoods
Get PDFPost-consumer clothing waste poses significant environmental and economic challenges, with second-hand garments often discarded despite their potential for reuse. Addressing this issue requires solutions that reduce waste and empower communities, especially marginalised groups like elderly women in township settings. This study explores how upcycling post-consumer waste clothes, guided by cradle-to-cradle principles and co-design processes, can enhance sustainability and social empowerment among elderly women in a South African township. Adopting a qualitative, case-based approach, participants were engaged through Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA). Second-hand clothes sourced from local stores served as raw materials. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and examination of final products. Initially, participants relied on intuitive sewing techniques. Later, an expert introduced a structured, step-by-step upcycling method, encouraging them to apply more deliberate design strategies. Participants exhibited resourcefulness and creativity before the expert's intervention without explicitly recognising their efforts as sustainable. After the expert-led workshops, their products showed improved quality, durability, and potential marketability. Participants recognised upcycling as personally enriching, potentially income-generating, and environmentally meaningful. They also expressed interest in sharing knowledge with other grandmothers, indicating a ripple effect of skill dissemination. This research demonstrates that blending community-based ingenuity with structured upcycling strategy guidance can transform second-hand clothing waste into a vehicle for environmental stewardship, social cohesion, and economic resilience. It illustrates how local craftsmanship, informed by sustainable design frameworks, can foster ecological sustainability and community empowermen
