Abstract
This paper addresses a main challenge for natural fibres; falling prices and increased focus on quantity versus quality. This is a challenge not only related to economic issues and profit, but is also unsustainable in an environmental perspective and in light of the challenges the textile sector and the world face. The paper uses wool as an example and in a surprising approach links the history and century-old traditions of natural fibers to an environmental thinking which supplements the traditional thinking around circular economy and LCA. Fabrics with a long life are the ones that have the lowest environmental impact (Fletcher and Tham 2015; Laitala 2014). Longevity or lifespan is a complex phenomenon in which both technical and social, or aesthetic aspects, are intertwined.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allwood JM, Laursen SE, Malvido de Rodríquez C, Bocken NMP (2006) Well dressed? The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom. University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge.
De Saxce M, Pesnel S, Perwuelz A (2012) LCA of bed sheets - some relevant parameters for lifetime assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production 37 (0):221-228. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.07.012.
Fletcher K (2008) Sustainable fashion & textiles: Design Journeys. Earthscan, London.
Fletcher K, Tham M (eds) (2015) The Routledge Handbook of Sustainability and Fashion. Routledge, London.
Graveniid (2010) Om Graveniid. http://graveniid.no/blogg/om-graveniid/. Accessed 23 June 2015.
Guhnfeldt C (2011) Norges eldste klesplagg. Aftenposten.
Hebrok M, Klepp IG, Tobiasson TS, Laitala K, Vestvik M, Buck M (2012) Valuing Norwegian Wool. Professional report no 5-2012. SIFO, Oslo.
Jørgensen LB (2014) Tekstilfremstilling i det forhistoriske Norden. Osterøy museum, Lonevåg, 4th October.
Klepp IG, Laitala K (Unpublished) Klærs levetid -LCA på liv og død In: Vittersø G (ed) Dematerialisering som miljøstrategi – mulige veier til redusert forbruk. Oslo.
Klepp IG, Laitala K, Schragger M, Follér A, Paulander E, Tobiasson TS, Eder-Hansen J, Palm D, Elander M, Rydberg T, Watson D, Kiørboe N (2015) Mapping sustainable textile initiatives and a potential roadmap for a Nordic actionplan. TemaNord 2015:545. Nordisk Ministerråd, Copenhagen.
Klepp IG, Tobiasson TS (2013) Ren ull. Aschehoug, Oslo.
Kviseth K, Tobiasson TS Pulling Wool over our Eyes: The Dirty Business of LCAs. In: KEA Conference Towards sustainability in Textiles and Fashion industry, Copenhagen, 26th – 27th of April 2011 2011.
Labouze E, Guern YL, Abbayes Cd (2006) Analyse de Cycle de Vie d’un Pantalon en Jean. ADEME and Bio Intelligence Service S.A.S., France.
Laduma (2013) MaXhose by Laduma http://www.maxhosa.co.za/about/laduma-ngxokolos-profile. Accessed 23 June 2015.
Laitala K (2014) Clothing consumption - An interdisciplinary approach to design for environmental improvement. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
Laitala K, Boks C (2012) Sustainable clothing design: Use matters Journal of design research 10 (1/2):121-139. doi:10.1504/JDR.2012.046142.
Laitala K, Klepp IG (2013) Bare mote? Materialitetens betydning for klærs levetid. In: Strandbakken P, Heidenstrøm N (eds) Hinsides symbolverdi - Materialiteten i forbruket. Novus, Oslo, pp 145-167.
Made-By (2013) Environmental benchmark for fibres (Condensed Version). vol December, 2.1 edn. MADE-BY, Santa Barbara.
Nordic Fashion Association (2015a) KRUS. http://nordicfashionassociation.com/project/krus. Accessed 23 June 2015.
Nordic Fashion Association (2015b) Viking Gold. http://nordicfashionassociation.com/project/vikinggold. Accessed 23 June 2015.
Roos S, Sandin G, Zamani B, Peters G (2015) Environmental assessment of Swedish fashion consumption. Five garments – sustainable futures. Mistra Future Fashion.
Rønning A, Lyng K-A, Vold M (2011) Kunnskapsplattform for beregning av klimabelastning fra bygg og byggematerialer - Litteraturstudie. OR.02.11. Østfoldforskning, Kråkerøy.
Scandinavian Business Seating (2015) New Norwegian wool production - a collaboration of design, quality and sustainability. http://www.sbseating.com/newsroom/news/norwegian-wool. Accessed 23 June 2015.
Selbu spinneri (2015) Selbu Spinneri – rett fra sauen. http://selbuspinneri.com/. Accessed 23 June 2015.
Statistics Norway (2011) Statistisk årbok. Statistisk Sentralbyrå, Oslo/Kongsvinger.
Statistics Norway (2013) Table 08801: External trade in goods, by commodity number (HS) and country SSB. Accessed 30 December 2013.
Statistics Norway (2015) Consumer price index. SSB. https://www.ssb.no/en/kpi.
Steinberger J, Friot D, Jolliet O, Erkman S (2009) A spatially explicit life cycle inventory of the global textile chain. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 14 (5):443-455.
Sølv (2014) SØLV - Brand philosophy. www.solv-studioet.com. Accessed 23 June 2015.
The Norwegian National Museum (2012) Baldisholteppet. Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design. http://dks.nasjonalmuseet.no/kunstverk/baldisholteppet. Accessed 25 November 2014.
Ulväng M (2012) Klädekonomi och klädkultur: böndernas kläder i Härjedalen under 1800-talet. Gidlunds förlag, Möklinta.
Vedeler M (2006) Klær og formspråk i norsk middelalder. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitet i Oslo, Oslo.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding by IWTO, KreaNord, and the Norwegian Research Council, BIONÆR program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 RILEM
About this paper
Cite this paper
Klepp, I.G., Tobiasson, T.S., Laitala, K. (2016). Wool as an Heirloom: How Natural Fibres Can Reinvent Value in Terms of Money, Life-Span and Love. In: Fangueiro, R., Rana, S. (eds) Natural Fibres: Advances in Science and Technology Towards Industrial Applications. RILEM Bookseries, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7515-1_31
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7515-1_31
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-7513-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-7515-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)