BestBefore – Accessing the labs & Literature research

Hi, I hope you’re all doing well and progressing in your field studies.

It’s been three weeks since my last post and I thought it was about time to give some more insight on the development of my field study. I came back to Borås two weeks ago, after spending some weeks in Jönköping.

 Development of my design of experiment

My last update was about the thorough design of experiment I was developing, which I have finalized since. It took a few zoom meetings with the team to be able to finalize and get all the details correctly, but it now means that the research team has a very thorough plan of how the process of the experiments will be executed. It starts with cutting and sewing 136 samples from fjällräven fabrics that mimic the seams of the Abisko Fjällräven pants. The samples include two different fabrics with samples which have different grain lines, to see what effect that will have on the seams. After the construction of the samples has been done the next stage is wash tests, which means that the 17 pair of pants we have will be washed between 0-70times to analyze what effect washing has on both colour fastness and seam slippage. Following the wash test the samples will be tested in a CRE Machine to test seam slippage. All of these experiments will help create predictive analytics for sustainable longevity. 

After coming back to Borås and having finalized the Design of Experiment, I got the news from Rudy that It would be possible for me to gain access to the sewing workshops and labs, which was something I didn’t think would happen, due to the Covid-19 circumstances, but due to the fact that I’m currently working as a research assistant I would be able to gain access an work on an individual basis in the workshops and labs. The first step would be cutting samples and then sewing. The cutting I could do from home to limit the time spent at university. It did also take some time to get access to the sewing workshop as details had to get cleared and a solution had to be found in terms of how I would gain access, but I managed to gain access through the workshop technicians Tuesday last week, so I could do most of the samples, all I need to do is sew labels onto all the samples and the pants, so it’s possible to differentiate between the samples when they need to be washed. I also managed to get an introduction to the mechanical lab, which has the CRE-machine, which does the test for seam slippage, which will be done after the washing tests. It was a learning experience to get to know the CRE Machine as I have never worked with it before, but it was fairly easy to operate, but will definitely take some time in terms of testing all the samples after the wash tests, but it’s going to be interesting to see what the results will be, and what effect extensive washing has on seams and the strength of seams, as fjällräven has pointed out that seam slippage is one of their more common faults in their products and reasons for product failure, hence why it’s interesting to do further testing on. 

Some of the issues I’ve been facing since my last post, is that the current situation is that even simple tasks take much longer, and things such as getting clearance and logistics have proven to be one of my main obstacles, which also means that the initial timeplan for the design of experiment, will most like not be met, as things have been taking longer than firstly anticipated. 

 

I’ve been trying to be productive and use my time as best as possible, so while I’ve been waiting for clearance to workshops, I’ve been doing more literature research on longevity and the different aspects that are influencing longevity in garments. So far I have read 24 articles/reports on the subject and have started accumulating similarities and differences, that I can use in my final report. I have been able to create a mapping of my literature research which divides longevity in to different themes these include: Aesthetics, emotional durability, product durability,  laundering & material quality. This has enabled me to look into the different aspects that influence the active lifetime of a garment and thus what can be done to ensure longevity in a product, and thereby be able to answer my research question. My initial plan of research also included doing interviews with people from Fjällräven, to gain insight in their thoughts on longevity, but so far it hasn’t been possible to get a hold of them, so I might have to base my research mainly on existing literature and a workshop I did with fjällräven earlier in the process. 

I’m hoping that next time I check in I’ll be further with the experiments and can give you more insight in the process until then stay safe.