Blog #1 : Individual Field Study 2026 - Influence of secondhand fashion on sustainable consumption in the Asian subcontinent: Exploring consumer and retailer perspectives

Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. This is my first blog post. As a part of the field study course, I am doing a systematic literature review on the “Influence of secondhand fashion on sustainable consumption in the Asian subcontinent: Exploring consumer and retailer perspectives." In the first debrief seminar, our course coordinator Jenny Balkow briefed us on how to proceed with individual field study, and later on, Olga Chaknikova guided us on the progress of the literature review. 

I have selected this topic in order to study how secondhand fashion is seen in the Asian subcontinent, focusing on consumers and retailers and what the motivations and barriers are to introducing this niche in that region. Since it is a growing market, the expansion occurs for various factors such as consumer motivations, market conditions, and sustainability awareness. However, the growth comes up with unique sustainability challenges such as environmental impact, social and cultural barriers, etc. This study will address the impact, possibilities, and challenges of secondhand fashion, answering the research questions and providing a constructive outcome on how to address these issues for fostering a sustainable secondhand market in that region.

In the last few weeks, I have worked on the keywords, literature, building up the research question, and structuring the report. Starting with the keywords, I have created a search string and used it to find relevant articles that are coherent with my topic, which helped me to finalize 25 peer-reviewed articles for my topic. These articles were selected through continuous screening after exporting the articles into an Excel file. Based on this, I have submitted the first draft, completing the introduction and methodology, and am currently working to create another search string in order to get more relevant articles using Scopus and Web of Science to support the literature review and complete the rest of the sections. So far, it has been a good learning experience for me, enabling me to build my strength in research. 

• Mahir Musleh Rafi

 Post 1

My IFS topic is Post-consumer Textile Waste Management: A Systematic Literature Review of Challenges and Opportunities for Circularity. Here is my search string:

( "post-consumer textile waste" OR "post-consumer clothing" OR "post-textile waste" OR "used clothing" OR "second hand clothing")

AND

("waste management" OR recycl* OR "circular economy" OR upcycl* OR reuse OR "resource recovery")

AND

(challenge* OR barrier* OR opportunit* OR solution* OR strateg*)

 

Blog post 3/3

 

Who Decides What Gets Sold?

 

During my internship at Erikshjälpen, I began to realize that the sorting process is not simply about organizing clothes, but about making decisions. At first, it appeared that garments were only being grouped into categories. However, over time, it became clear that each step in the sorting process involves structured decisions that determine the outcome of every item.

 

As garments move through light and heavy sorting, they are assessed based on criteria such as brand, condition, and garment type. These factors influence whether an item is sent for sale, export, repair, or removal. What is important is that these outcomes are not random, but follow a consistent system guided by internal rules and standards.

 

One observation that stood out to me is that decisions are not always based on appearance. Some garments that look new and in good condition are still redirected or removed, while others continue through the process. This shows that sorting goes beyond visible qualities and reflects deeper considerations such as quality, usability, and organizational guidelines.

 

At the same time, I began to realize that sorting is only one part of a larger system. While staff make decisions during sorting, the types of garments that enter the system in the first place are influenced by consumers. What people choose to buy, use, and donate shapes what arrives at second-hand stores. If many low quality or fast fashion garments are donated, this affects the availability of items that can successfully pass through the sorting process and be resold.

 

This creates an important connection between consumers and secondhand retail. On one hand, sorting determines what reaches the shop floor. On the other hand, consumers indirectly influence what is available by shaping the input of the system. In this sense, both sorting practices and consumer behavior play a role in deciding what ultimately gets sold.

 

This experience has changed the way I view secondhand stores. What is available for purchase is not simply a reflection of donations, but the result of both structured decisions and consumer patterns. It highlights that secondhand retail is not only about reuse, but also about selection and control.

 

Overall, sorting functions as a decision-making system that filters garments, while consumers influence what enters that system in the first place. Together, these processes shape what is visible, what is reusable, and what is ultimately given a second life in the market.

 

Therefore, the question of who decides what gets sold cannot be answered by looking only at secondhand organizations. Sorting staff make decisions about what continues through the system, but consumers also influence these outcomes through the types of garments they buy, use, and donate. In this sense, what gets sold is shaped both by organizational sorting practices and by consumer behavior.

-Suror-

CFS on Sustainability Communication with Värnamo of Sweden 2/3

In the consultancy field study with Värnamo of Sweden and business lab, I focus on how SMEs can develop sustainability communication. This has been an interesting learning process, as many SMEs face limited resources when trying to keep up with the latest sustainability trends.

To better understand sustainability communication in practice, I started learning website design using Figma. It was my first time using this software, and I encountered several challenges, such as layout adjustments, loading performance, and animation settings. However, it has also been a valuable experience, and I would like to explore it further in the future. During the design process, I also reviewed some papers on UI/UX design and found that user behaviour plays an important role in shaping effective design outcomes. This reminded me of the concept of design thinking. With a user-centred approach, later design prototypes can better align with users’ contexts and habits, making the communication more effective. Although it is a complex process, I believe it should be more emphasis.

In the past two weeks, I have also started conducting my experiment using eye-tracking and questionnaires. I look forward to gaining deeper insights when I analyse the data later.

Internship at an online fashion store, 2/3

During the last couple of weeks of my internship I’ve got the opportunity to participate in the company’s customer event at their showroom. What became clear for me was how significant the relationship with the customer is, and how events and personal meetings are used to create both engagement and sales.

The company has both smaller events during the evenings, but also larger ones a few times a year. Leading up to the large one, there’s a lot of preparations, such as styling and doing visual merchandising in their showroom, contacting sponsors and preparing goodiebags, and inviting brands to show their clothes. It was a fun week of preparations before the event and many things I haven’t thought about that need to be prepared before an event. 

During the event I observed that there were a lot of returning customers that already had a relationship with the company and employees. Several customers tried on clothes, asked for styling help and interacted with the employees. I also experienced that the event was not only about selling, but also creating an experience and strengthening the relationship with the customer. By assisting in styling, personal conversation and an inspiring environment I think it created a more exclusive and personal feeling around the company and the products. 

Another thing I observed was how products were placed strategically in order to promote specific brands and garments. Products that the company wanted to sell more of were placed more visible and were recommended more often to the customer. It made me more aware of how customer meetings and marketing in fashion retail is not only about inspiration and service, but also impacting customers' attention and purchase decisions.

After participating and working these events I think I have gotten a deeper understanding of how customer relationships and events works in premium fashion retail. It has also made me reflect more on how closely connected customer experience, marketing and sales are in practice.

Blog #2 - Internship at the Swedish EPA

Over the past weeks, my internship at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has become increasingly handson. Working within the department for a Resource efficient continues to give me valuable insight into how sustainability policies are developed, coordinated, and implemented in practice.

One of the most interesting experiences so far was giving a presentation on environmental monitoring and trend analysis within the textile industry. Preparing for it helped me better understand the complexity of sustainability challenges connected to textiles, especially regarding circular economy goals and upcoming EU regulations.

I have also taken part in several internal coordination meetings connected to new EU legislation. Since many of these regulations affect multiple areas within the agency, collaboration between departments is essential. It has been interesting to see how different expertise comes together to interpret regulations.

In addition, I have been involved in organising webinars and communicating with participants, which has given me insight into another important part of sustainability work: knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement. What continues to stand out to me is how interconnected sustainability work is. Environmental issues are rarely isolated; they are linked to economics, industry, policy, and communication. Seeing these connections in practice has made my studies feel much more tangible, and I’m excited to continue learning and contributing during the rest of my internship.

Communications and Commercial Intern 2/3

Communications and Commercial Intern: Post 2/3

Irene Rumiz

Hi!

After a little over a month as a Communications and Commercial Intern at The Loop Factory, I’m feeling really motivated. I’m genuinely happy to be part of a company that listens to its people and trusts their talent and potential.

Coming from the Dominican Republic, my previous work experience was… let’s just say intense. On the bright side, I seem to have unlocked “2x speed mode,” which meant I wrapped up my main tasks faster than expected.

So, when I sat down with the team to talk about what was next, I assumed I’d just get more tasks (which would’ve been totally fine). Instead, they asked me what I wanted to learn more about, which areas interested me most, and how they could shape my role around that. Honestly, that meant a lot. Being able to express my interests and have them taken seriously has made this experience even more valuable.

My ideas are actually considered, and I’ve even been given a slot in general team meetings to share my progress. That small (but big!) detail makes me feel really happy, and genuinely part of this amazing team. It’s also really nice that, even though meetings are usually held in Swedish, everyone switches to English so I can follow along and be part of the conversation. That kind of consideration doesn’t go unnoticed.

Now, while I’m still actively involved in communication tasks, I’ve also started exploring the commercial side of things and supporting the team there. It’s been great to get a broader view of the company.

As for commuting, it's still going strong. It can get a bit tiring sometimes, but there’s always the option of a strategic train nap (alarm included, of course… lesson learned).

I’ll keep you posted in part 3!

IR

 Blog #2: From Pixels to Personalization – The Tech Behind the Avatar

In my previous post I talked about the “why” of my virtual fitting room. Now, let’s get to the “how.” That is, how do I take two basic photos from a smartphone and turn them into a dynamic, anatomically realistic 3D mesh?

I have blended RealityScan and MetaHuman concepts to morph my MakeHuman base models to avoid the "too smooth" look of generic software. My pipeline uses a powerful open-source engine named Godot to host the 3D environment. The magic begins with Otsu’s thresholding, which produces a binarized image and extracts a clean silhouette. The system then automatically finds key landmarks to measure based on existing anthropometric ratios; for example, the waist should be three-eighths of a person’s height.

The real challenge is not only to create a static model but also to let it walk. I can rig the skeleton with Mixamo so I can try out dresses in dynamic poses like “reaching” or "stepping." This is where Enhanced Position-Based Dynamics (PBD) comes in. PBD, in contrast to traditional simulations, enables me to observe real-time "draglines," diagonal wrinkles indicating a garment is too tight, thus allowing me to perform a subjective fit analysis that numerical data alone might miss.

I'm currently struggling to implement high-fidelity cloth physics in Godot directly. Is this technical deep dive into morphing and landmark detection making sense, or do I need to explain more about the specifics of the “3/8ths rule” math?

Production Intern at Hodakova 2/3

 Post 2/3 

Building upon the previous post, one solution to limited sourcing availability is inventory - throughout these weeks, I have learned that although in traditional supply chains inventory is often considered a burden, in chains relying on deadstock inventory can be life saving. Inventory management, therefore, becomes another crucial part of production processes. Despite being rather time-consuming (sorting, categorising and inspecting quality of material, counting, labelling, measuring), knowing your inventory is crucial for future production planning, particularly when relying on deadstock garments which availability is often volatile. 

1/3 Marketing & PR Intern

Hi,

I’ve now been working at Envii for the past five weeks as a Marketing & PR Intern. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to support the E-commerce and Marketing team across a wide range of tasks.

My days have included everything from social media planning and content production to assisting with CRM and newsletters, PR collaborations and gifting, as well as providing general team support. One of my bigger ongoing projects has been an in-store and e-commerce activation, where I’ve been involved in both planning and execution, ensuring a cohesive experience across channels – something I could share more about in future posts.

Looking ahead, the coming month will involve more campaign-related work as the team prepares for a new launch at the end of July, including coordinating campaign, e-commerce, and social content shoots.

For the final report, I will focus on exploring different websites and understanding how Envii could make theirs more inspiring and engaging. I am also looking forward to connecting this with current research and highlighting the importance of sustainability communication across digital channels.

What I’ve especially enjoyed about this internship is the small team structure, which has allowed me to gain hands-on experience across PR, digital marketing, and brand communication. I’ve been able to work on a variety of tasks while also shaping my focus based on my interests, making the experience even more meaningful.

It’s also been exciting to see how Envii is in the process of reintroducing its brand, which has been reflected across all departments. The team has created a space for creativity and idea development, and I truly appreciate how they encourage everyone to share their ideas freely.

Speaking of the team, they have welcomed me warmly, and I’ve genuinely been enjoying my internship so far. Not only are they very good at what they do, but they also create such a positive and supportive work environment to be in. It’s been nice getting to know everyone through both work and our team breakfasts and lunches along the way. :)

Looking forward to the weeks ahead!