Inddragelse af miljøhensyn ved indkøb og design af tekstilprodukter.
Summary and conclusions
All interviewed designers/purchasers were very interested in participating in the project and showed much interest in the idea of elaborating a simple and user-friendly manual for designers and purchasers.
On the basis of the interviews it cannot be clearly determined which types of companies/designers have an interest in environmental conditions. But there is a tendency towards those designers/companies with most collections per year (between 6 and 10) also being those with the least emphasis on environmental conditions, due to e.g. the time pressure from working with many collections per year.
Furthermore, there is a tendency among those designers/companies who put high emphasis on quality and durability (not so dependant on fast changing fashion) to also incorporate environmental considerations in the design process.
Many of the interviewed designers are also buying the textiles themselves, and most of the smaller companies are also in contact with the suppliers themselves. Hereby they have a certain insight in the production, but in general most of the interviewees only have a limited knowledge of the textile production and of the productions of the final piece of clothing.
One of the purposes with the interview was e.g. to uncover the barriers that designers and purchasers run into or expect to run into when they wish to work with the environmental conditions in the business. On the basis of the interviews a clear picture was drawn regarding the problems and barriers you meet or expect to meet as a designer/purchaser. It can be e.g.:
 | Lack of knowledge in the area |
| No knowledge of what to demand |
| Difficulty in obtaining documentation on environmental conditions, in particular from the Asian countries |
| Difficulties in making demands when you are a small company |
| Lack of eco-friendly materials |
| Difficulty in breaking with the conventional notion of sustainability as something trendily leftish, not compatible with fashionable and exciting design. |
| Difficulty in making the consumer interested. |
The lack of knowledge in the area is definitely one of the barriers, which almost everybody thought was the reason why the environment was not taken more into consideration in textile design. Because when you do not know what questions to ask, it is difficult to make requirements. Lack of knowledge – and lack of time.
To be a small company was also considered a problem by some in relation to making requirements for manufacturers and suppliers. The order must be of a certain size if you should be able to "squeeze" a manufacturer or supplier.
However, there was a clear tendency among most of the interviewees (within certain limits) to be willing to compromise on the design, if there is a possibility to make a sensible choice. Which again leads to another barrier for the environmental work, i.e. the lack of variety in eco-friendly material, or the lack of knowledge on how to find them.
There was also a general agreement that it is/would be difficult to procure the necessary documentation of environmental conditions from the suppliers. In particular for those companies trading with the East, and in particular if you are a small company with lack of trenchancy. This is one of the reasons why many designers chose to produce their collections in Europe, where it is easier to control both production/quality and environmental/occupational health conditions.
It was generally agreed that occupational health is something that everybody has at some point made demands on. In particular, everybody agreed that child labour was not acceptable, but as it was pointed out in one of the interviews it can be difficult to get rid of since in particular in the Asian countries it can have many other social consequences if you exclude children from working in the textile industry.
Additionally, it was agreed that within the nearest future we will witness more and tougher demands from both consumers and authorities, towards more eco-friendly textile products, and that most would be willing to do something about it if the customers made the demand.
Everybody also agreed that it is/would be difficult to catch the interest of the consumer and in particular to reach the consumers not already interested.
Most agreed that the perception of the word "sustainable" or "eco-friendly" is a "minus-word" in the business, if it is presented as some particular feature. Sustainability should be a matter of course and not something to advertise. However, most of the interviewees would be interested in having their clothes certified, but the label should look smart. As it was said in one interview "the EU Flower isn’t nice-looking, it does not signify quality".
With regard to the manual’s contents and graphic design, it was agreed in general that the manual must contain information on the environmental problems connected wit the textile production, something about materials, information on eco labels, guidelines and information on how and where to obtain more help and knowledge. Also it was agreed that the book should be easily accessible and have the form of a work of reference - easy to carry when you are visiting a supplier etc. As one of the interviewees pointed out: "the book must create the background for an objective and a good dialogue". Three out of the eight interviewed would be interested in an electronic version of the manual.
The graphic design must be stylish and up to date, and settle accounts with the trendily leftish image. It must contain many pictures and not be too wordy, but must be trustworthy. All interviewees were interested in using such a new tool.
On the basis of the interviews it can be concluded that there is a large need and interest for a simple and user-friendly tool to guide designers and purchasers when incorporating environmental considerations into their working process. There is a need for more and better information in an easily accessible form.
It can be concluded that the notions and ideas that FFBD and RAMBØLL had beforehand regarding the layout and content of the book were right. The interviews have at the same time given a lot of good inputs and ideas as to what the book should contain additionally, both in terms of content and graphic design.