A McLaren

Creativity at Work and Sustainable Product Development: Practitioner Perspectives from the Clothing Industry

This chapter addresses creativity in the context of product development within the creative industries, incorporating an example from the clothing industry. In relation to creativity and product development, designers are supported by many other actors, such as technologists, engineers, and buyers, who are also creative in their own right. We begin by exploring creativity at work, which we consider to encompass idea generation comprising creative problem-solving, moving beyond product ideas to service and commercial concepts. Product (or service) development, improvement, and practical process adaptation are amongst the various tangible aspects of creativity which can be managed, whereas other aspects of creativity such as creative thought processes are less tangible and consequently less manageable. In the clothing sector, the temporal, financial, and technical parameters of creativity at work are set for designers by other functions within their own organization and from their clients and suppliers, subject to conflicting commercial demands. Sustainable design through clothing longevity appears at odds with the priorities of the prevailing “fast fashion” business model. Challenging issues such as sustainability and longevity require innovative solutions, and the creative thought processes used by designers could be central to improving sustainability within the fashion industry.

Investigating the Relationship Between Consumer Attitudes and Sustainable Fashion Product Development

This chapter investigates the relationship between consumers and sustainable fashion products, revealing views closely intertwined with the product offering provided by clothing retailers and brands, through mutual influence. The chapter draws both from the literature and a research project, which aimed ‘to explore the technical, behavioural and strategic obstacles to implementing innovative and sustainable product development processes that could enhance clothing longevity’ (Oxborrow et al. 2017). Fashion retailers and brands can acquire information about consumer attitudes through formal methods organised by consumer insights teams, such as retailers’ regular online questionnaires to selected consumers and focus groups between buyers and consumers to discuss new product samples face to face. The information acquired by these methods is exclusive to the companies concerned however, and would usually be closely guarded, remaining with the large organisations who can afford to employ their own market research teams or consultancies, whereas our study comprises findings which are applicable and freely available to companies of all sizes and can therefore have a wider potential impact upon the fashion industry. The extant literature has identified a gap for an improved understanding of consumer perspectives on sustainable clothing (see, e.g. Oxborrow and Claxton 2016; WRAP 2012), which this chapter seeks to address by investigating views on purchase, maintenance and disposal of garments.

Pilling in knitwear – a clothing longevity problem beyond design

The environmental impact of clothing could be reduced by extending garment lifetimes, and many clothing retailers are now exploring design for longevity as a sustainable approach. In order for products to meet durable design standards consistently, global supply chain processes must be managed and controlled to avoid quality problems and early product failure. This paper uses a single case study to explore the challenges of meeting specified durable product standards in production by tracing and observing the identification and resolution of a quality issue affecting the durability of luxury knitwear. The research demonstrates that new tests and processes could enable durable products to be produced more consistently, but also identifies the obstacles and limitations to implementing these enhanced procedures. The paper proposes that effective production management of durable clothing may be more difficult within global supply chains where differences in business culture, operational practice and knowledge exist between companies. Supply chain models that emphasise shared values, knowledge and information exchange, trust and collaboration are considered as the most effective in delivering sustainable products. It concludes by identifying a range of conflicting priorities between commercial and sustainable practice that must be addressed to achieve consistency in durable clothing production, and makes recommendations for industry and future research.

New product development and testing strategies for clothing longevity

Many garments have short life-spans, contributing to excessive carbon emissions, water consumption and waste. This paper reports on a research project which aimed to identify expectations of clothing longevity, examine the NPD process within the supply chain and identify opportunities for change, evaluate the potential for innovative technologies and improved product testing, and explore business practices aimed at more sustainable approaches to NPD. The paper provides an overview of the two-year project, presenting key findings from data collection that included interviews with 31 industry practitioners, three consumer focus groups, three industry and consumer round tables, an expert workshop, and four pilot actions undertaken with UK clothing retailers to evaluate key issues. The research identified and explored themes relating to NPD that could enable increased garment lifetimes, which were consolidated into six areas: the adoption of advanced textile processes and finishing techniques, action to overcome constraints on appropriate product testing, the potential for retailers to influence consumer behaviour, a loss of technical expertise and lack of multi-disciplinary collaboration, failure to embed good practice early in the NPD process, and evidence to encourage retailers and brands to adopt new business models. Industry and government policy recommendations were proposed to improve knowledge-sharing, strengthen the business case and influence consumer behaviour, while further research may be needed on the adoption of new garment and textile technologies, the business case and the global context of the clothing industry.

Interdisciplinary educational approaches to clothing longevity

How do we encourage and enable interdisciplinary systems thinking approaches to sustainable fashion design and business education? In preparation for a workshop at the 2017 PLATE conference, this paper introduces the context of a toolkit – The Clothing Durability Dozen (Cooper at al, 2016b) – aimed at enabling students to collaborate and learn about clothing longevity across disciplines and creating a better understanding of the roles that different departments can play in placing sustainable design strategies at the heart of the clothing industry. In line with education for sustainable development (ESD) principles, objectives include stimulating learning and promote core competencies, such as critical and systemic thinking, collaborative decision-making, and taking responsibility for present and future generations. In the workshop, participants will trial and contribute to the development of the toolkit and any necessary supporting material, the final version of which will be available for use as an educational tool.