Traditionally, springtime calls for a thorough cleaning as well as possible decluttering. Taking stock and doing a little decluttering can revitalize the home.
Making digital inventory of your clothing and documenting what you wear are two popular new methods for achieving this with your wardrobe. You keep track of the cost, name, and style of your clothing (as well as your shoes and bags) and then note how much you wear each item, the Conversation reports.
The theory behind this is that by knowing this knowledge, one can make better decisions later on, whether it's to save money or adopt a more environmentally friendly style sense.
Additionally, wiser decisions are required. After housing, transportation, and food, the garment business in Europe is ranked fourth for its negative environmental impact.
Clothes is severely underutilized; between 2000 and 2015, there was a 36% global decline in the frequency of garment wear. According to estimates, 44% of men and 65% of women in the UK have clothes in their closets that they haven't worn yet. A poll revealed that many women view clothing that they have only worn once or twice as "old."
Therefore, we wondered if digital tracking may make your wardrobe more sustainable in the face of popular tools to sell the things you no longer need and brand competition from online services to give ever-increasing volumes of apparel to consume.
We collaborated on our study with Save Your Wardrobe, an app that helps users classify and organize their clothing. We conducted user interviews to see whether there were any notable changes as a result of digitizing their clothing.
Customers expressed anxiety and dissatisfaction with their wardrobe management and clothing behaviors right away. There was a need to learn more about what they kept in their closets and how they dressed.
"If I felt like I was making really thoughtful decisions [about what clothes I buy] and they weren't coming from a place of anxiety, or a place of constantly feeling like there is some new gap in my wardrobe that I have to fill," one woman told us, she would be happier.
"I think a lot about reducing the eco footprint of my lifestyle," another person stated. And since I don't think my behavior and my ideals align, I suppose one area where I get annoyed is with clothing.
"I think we should just consume less," she continued, "but then I can get stressed out and anxious and think I need something, and those two things are incompatible."
For many, the first organizational step of uploading clothes photographs to the app turned into a chance for introspection and a chance to question and alter preexisting behavioral habits. The work that went into it also made the previously owned clothing seem more valuable.
The capacity to estimate the amount of clothing in the wardrobe was crucial to this; several of the people we spoke with expressed surprise or even shock at how much they had.
"I realized that half of my wardrobe is from Primark," one person remarked. It's absurd, and I thought, "Oh my god."
"I knew that I go crazy when I go to Primark, but I didn't have a complete inventory of everything I had," she said.
One more person said, "I felt definitely more organized." Looking through my old outfits reminded me of what's in my closet. That was fortunate as I realized I didn't need to buy the new item I had been hoping to acquire.
Users of the app frequently had this kind of response when they became aware of their clothing-related behavioral habits and tried to alter them. Owners felt as though they were "shopping from their own wardrobes" when items were found again and used.
When they realized how much money they had spent on clothing, some items were donated and others were set aside to be repaired so they might be worn once again.
Overall, our research revealed that while the consumption of clothing is contributing to consumer anxiety, using an app can provide users a greater sense of control over their wardrobes. Customers felt more in control of their behavior and the areas where they could make adjustments when they could track data about it.
Comparable to other digital solutions, such as wearable fitness trackers that record data and can offer motivating reinforcement, was the opportunity to quantify and acquire insight in this way.
People's desire to acquire more clothing changed when they became more conscious of the items they previously possessed. Given the urgency of climate change and the pressures on salaries due to living expenses, it could be a good idea to put down the shopping apps and take some time to get back in touch with your wardrobe. /BGNES