ABSTRACT
In Chapter 24, Choi, Ballie and Puri, discuss how clothing might be designed, used and cared for in the future and developed in ways in which consumers can be part of the circular system to reuse more clothing. The aim of this chapter is threefold: to (1) understand consumer’s barriers in bringing clothing back to life at the end-of-use stage; (2) acknowledge that raising awareness and design-oriented education are promising intervention to change behaviour; (3) propose design strategies where it encourage consumers to take proactive roles in reducing their own fashion waste. Through a participatory research method, four practical design strategies have been established that might contribute towards empowering the consumer in reuse. The four strategies are presented within a live research project, ‘Sewing Box for the Future’, under the themes of care, repair and customisation. The chapter will then discuss how design opportunities might encourage the business to re-think clothing reuse in the future. This chapter concludes business leaders, designers and researchers should reconsider consumers’ role as an ‘active user’ and develop business models to support clothing reuse in the future as part of the circular system.
