LAPPA OCH LAGA relationen mellan klädesplagg och person

Abstract

My choice of subject is based on the unsustainable consumption and disposal of clothing that exists in the western world today. The purpose of the study is to investigate how repair changes the relationship between a garment and a person, with the aim of contributing to the field of research into sustainable consumption, and inspiring reduced consumption. The problem is that clothes are discarded instead of being repaired, and this thesis explores whether the relationship between a person and a garment changes when the person in question mends the garment. In what way does a relationship between clothing and person change when the person has mended the garment themselves? The methods used are literature studies, two qualitative interviews and a discourse analysis of the hashtag #lappaochlaga on Instagram. In the absence of research on the relationship between garments and the person who mends them, I have examined commercial literature and journals that deal with the topic of textile repair, in combination with the research that exists in the relationship between garment and person. The low monetary value of clothing that we have today has resulted in a lack of understanding of the value of the garment in time, work and skill. The words ‘value’ and ‘tactility’ are central to the study of the relationship between an item of clothing and the person who mends it. These are words that recur in the literature, interviews and discourse analysis.The relationship between garment and person changes as the clothes are repaired by that person, and my investigation indicates that this is a positive change, leading to a stronger and more intimate relationship between the garment and the person in question. Even when the repair does not turn out as the person intended, the relationship tends to become stronger. The study indicates that the strengthened relationship between a garment and the person who mends it can be used in sustainability work towards reduced consumption in the clothing industry.