Woodward discusses how ethnographic research can be used to better understand consumer behavior: how they interact with what’s in their wardrobe (combining pieces) and the reasons behind their actions (why might they choose to buy a piece, if not just following trends?). Ethnography entails embedding oneself into the culture and society of those one is observing over an extended period of time, including contextual research (where one walks around the area, explores the shops, local commute, etc.), as well as in-house interviews. (While I am on the topic, I highly recommend reading The Field Study Handbook by Jan Chipchase). This methodology allows the researcher to closely observe the participants, empathize, and gain an in-depth understanding of their surroundings, which inevitably influence individual’s beliefs, actions, and motivations.
As a UX researcher, I really appreciate how Woodward uses ethnographic research to produce insights into fashion consumer behavior that I believe would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Consumer actions need to be contextualized in order to understand the motivations behind their choices, and in understanding the context, we can discover practices of sustainability in the post-sale cycle. For example, when a consumer decides to mix and match old with new pieces of clothing, they are repurposing pieces they have already bought into a new outfit. Or, when a consumer decides to wash jeans less frequently and keep them for extended periods of time (without replacing them), they are also acting sustainably, regardless of the intention.
Woodward summarizes this insight nicely (pg. 134) :
“One of the core problems that is assumed to exist in relationship to fashion and sustainability is that the two cannot co-exist when fashion is defined through novelty. However, when we consider the ways in which people recombine things that they already own, it is apparent that novelty and innovation are not just the sole preserve of the manufacture of new clothing that is then discarded if it no longer of the moment. Fashion is not therefore in contradiction to the long term relationships that people have to clothing.”
Woodward is challenging our definition of fashion and the perception that consumers cannot both be sustainable and fashionable. The sustainability conversation is not limited to design and production; consumers can find ways to make sustainable choices with what is already in their wardrobe. And in my case, Woodward makes me feel pretty good about keeping my jeans with holes in them and that 15-year-old jacket with obvious wear and tear marks.