ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the development of knowledge about how female clothing practices in industrialised countries are shaped by social aspects and by the dynamics of the global supply chains and the fashion strategies. It analyses the conditions for development of clothing practices in industrialised countries with fewer environmental effects. The chapter is based on an ethnographic study of the clothing practices among a small group of young Danish academic women. It also draws on experiences from several case studies of environmental management in companies and product chains in the Danish clothing sector. Denmark is interesting to analyse as it is one of the countries in the European Community with the highest number of European Union flower eco-labelled products on textiles and clothing, both in absolute and relative terms. The identified co-shaping mechanisms between production and consumption can probably also be found among middle-class people in other countries, for example newly industrialised countries.
