Textiles

You are designing a basic garment, such as a T-shirt or a jumper, for a brand that does not want to sell “disposable clothing”. Most of a garment's impact arises already during production, so what matters is what it is made of, how long it is worn and repaired, and how it ends.

• Students explain why a garment's impact is shared among all its wears and why wear time matters.
• Students rank the ways of handling a garment: repair, pass on, recycle, throw away.
• Students understand the difference between single-fibre and blended textiles for recycling.
• Students can argue for a trade-off between price, quality and lifetime.

1. 1

   MaterialDecision

   What fibre will the garment be made of?

2. 2

   ConstructionDecision

   How will the garment be sewn?

3. 3

   Wear timeDecision

   How many times will the garment probably be worn?

4. 4

   Wardrobe at a crossroadsSorting activity

   A wardrobe full of items that are no longer worn has opened up. Decide for each one where it belongs. After every card you will see an explanation. The order is: keep wearing, pass on, recycle and only then throw away.

5. 5

   RepairDecision

   How will the garment be repairable?

6. 6

   Second ownerDecision

   What happens when the garment no longer suits its first owner?

7. 7

   End of lifeDecision

   How will a garment that can no longer be worn end up?

Fast fashion

A model with frequent collections, low prices and a short period of use.

Impact per wear

The impact of production divided by the number of wears. The more wears, the lower the value.

Second-hand

Reuse of clothing by a further owner.

Single-fibre material

A fabric made from one type of fibre, which is recycled far more easily than a blend.

Fibre-to-fibre recycling

Processing used textiles into new fibres for new garments.

• impact per wear = impact of production ÷ number of wearsA simple proportion used in the activity. It is not a law of physics, only a model argument.

1. 5 min

   Introduction

   How many garments in your wardrobe do you really wear? Where do the others go?

2. 20 min

   Work in the app

   Pairs go through seven steps including the wardrobe sorting.

3. 10 min

   Discussion

   Compare results and use the discussion questions from the results screen.

Total 35 minutes. See the teacher guide for shorter and longer variants.

• The impact of making a garment is shared among all its wears, so the most effective step is to extend use – quality, repair and passing it on.
• The order of preference is repair, pass on, recycle and only then throw away.
• Single-fibre fabrics are recycled far more easily than blends, which is a decision made at the design stage.

• “Cotton is always the green choice.”

  In reality: Cotton is renewable, but growing it needs a lot of water and land. The impact depends on where and how it is grown.

• “Giving clothes away solves the problem.”

  In reality: Only if someone really wears them. Items that stay in a wardrobe or are never reused still waste their material.

• “Recycling turns old clothes into new clothes.”

  In reality: Most textile recycling today produces lower-value products such as rags or insulation; fibre-to-fibre recycling is rare.

1. 1.How many times do you usually wear a garment before you stop wearing it?
2. 2.Why is repairing or passing on better than recycling?
3. 3.How could a brand earn money even when it sells higher-quality, longer-lasting clothing?

• Homework: a wardrobe audit – count the items worn in the last month and estimate wears per item.
• Calculate cost per wear for a cheap and an expensive garment worn 10 and 100 times.
• Organise a class clothes swap and discuss what happens to items nobody takes.