Opening the wardrobe

We'd like you to audit your wardrobe The ESRC Festival aimed to engage non-academic audiences with social science research and shed light on how it can be used in practice. The event helped explain how social marketing research is used to influence behaviour in ways which can improve individual and societal wellbeing.

This online event aimed to raise awareness of how research can be the basis for making clothing ownership and use more sustainable. Each year, UK households spend around £1,700* on clothing. High consumption levels are driven by ‘fast fashion’ trends and by readily available cheap clothing that is often seen as disposable, worn less, and thrown away quickly.

Please take part in the interactive wardrobe audit by counting the number of jeans, t-shirts and socks that you own. You will be given instant feedback that compares your data with others’ and an opportunity to reflect on your clothing ownership and use. The event will also feature a discussion forum and blog posts from academics, practitioners and other sustainability experts. The hope is to discover how understanding more about clothing ownership can provide clues about how this behaviour can be changed.

*correct at time of publication in August 2013

If you would like to contribute an expert blog, we would love to hear from you. Please contact either Sally Dibb or Helen Roby for further details.