Design Longevity: A Solution for Changing Consumers' Behavior

Team: Mansoureh Nikookar (Student); Elizabeth Bye (Faculty)

Program: Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel (Apparel Studies)

Is it possible to change consumption behavior through design-led approaches?

In today's fast-paced and consumer-driven world, our buying habits have a significant impact on the environment. The continuous production and consumption of goods contribute to pollution, waste, and depletion of natural resources. However, there is a growing movement towards sustainable living, and as consumers, we can make a positive impact by choosing products that are designed for longevity.

Design longevity is the idea of creating products that are intended to last longer than traditional items. It involves careful consideration of materials, manufacturing processes, and product lifecycles. In the apparel industry, design-led approaches for increasing the longevity of clothing have led to the reduction of environmental footprints, managing waste, and changing consumers’ values and behaviors by slowing consumption.

For decades, researchers have undergone many efforts to propose various approaches applied in production and consumption phases to change manufacturer and consumers’ behavior in response to damages and resource shortages. The obvious gap, in this regard, is putting theory into action by designing and manufacturing thoughtfully designed garments. So, the main goal of this pilot study is to increase garments’ longevity and applicability, in other words, to design garments capable of being longer in use and transformable for different seasons and situations.