BestBefore - Washing Test & Learning outcomes

Hi all

It’s time for my third and final blogpost, it’s been 2 weeks since I last checked in, and a fair bit has happened since. Last time I had finalized the sample production and I’ve since sewn identification tags on  all the samples, which makes it easier for the experimental phase, as it’s essential to keep all the samples identifiable, so they will be washed according to plan. Prior to starting the washing test I needed to take pictures of all the samples and the pants, which was done in by setting up a small photo studio in the body scanning lab at the university. Documentation will then be needed after every 5 washes, which means that there will be a good amount of photo documentation of every stage of the washing tests, which allows us to have data which can then be analyzed and compared once all the wash tests have been done. I managed to start the wash testing last week on the 12^thof May. Every day I do 5 washes on two machines and following that the pants and samples are hang dried, to be able to recuperate overnight before a new day of washing starts. As I mentioned previously the pants will be washed between 0 and 70 times. Deciding on a number which would be the maximum amount of washes a pant would be washed was a bit difficult, because would it makes sense to wash it 10 times or 50 times or 100 times, but after discussing it in the team and with fjällräven we decided that  70 times would be a good number as this could mimic that amount of times a pair of fjällräven hiking pants could be washed within the lifetime, and it was an achievable number within the timeframe. I am now at a stage where I have washed 36 washes, so I still have 144 washes to go before I’ll be done with the wash tests, which also means that I won’t be able to complete the seam slippage tests within the field study time frame, but hopefully I can manage to get the wash tests done. It will be interesting to see what impact extensive washing will have on the pants, because I’m assuming that there will be some evident colour changes once I’m done with all the washes. 

It’s weird to think that 8 weeks has passed since starting the field study, it seems like I only just started the project, but I guess times pass by fast when you’re keeping busy, and even though a lot of alteration has happened and timeplans have changed due to Covid-19 I still feel like I have learned a lot, and it has been an educational experience, where flexibility has been a big focus point. 

The research assistant field study has enabled me to gain a better insight into the field of research and methodology of research. I managed to individually create a detailed design of experiment, which enables other researchers to replicate the experiments of this project, by following the design of experiment. I have learned that obstacles are there for you to find solutions, and this field study definitely presented some obstacles and at times I felt defeated and didn’t know my next steps, but I realized that I can overcome more than I thought individually, and once you set your mind to something, you can learn how to overcome obstacles and develop your skill base. 

I have enjoyed that this field study has been a combination of literature research as well as a practical hands on approach. It has confirmed my previous thought that I’m the kind of person who enjoys practical and creative work, which I hope to be able to find in a job in the future. The field study has given me a range of skills that I most definitely can utilize in the future, specifically for writing the thesis next year. It has given me ideas in terms of topics as well as enabled me to understand some of the strengths and weaknesses I have and that I can develop on in future work. 

Now I just have to finalize the washtest in the next couple of weeks and hand over the project to one of the other researchers so they can finalize the experiment and analyze the results. I look forward to hearing about the results and see if this project can be scaled and implemented into the industry, but I’m quite sure that it will need further research to get an even better understanding in effects of laundering of garments. 

That was all for me, hope you all enjoy the rest of your field studies. 

Have a great summer!