Where clothing consumption has continued to rise around the world, a deeper understanding of how and why garments are disposed of is critical in regard to addressing the issue of textile waste by consumers. The purpose of this study was to explore the garment management processes of young, fashion sensitive consumers, examining their disposal behaviours as well as motivations towards garment end‐of‐life extension through maintenance or repair of damaged fashion clothing. A survey of 161 South Korean young consumers (18–34 years) was conducted, utilizing a fashion sensitivity scale to measure impact on unsustainable garment disposal practices and garment repair behaviour. Further, general recycling behaviour of these individuals was examined, as linked to garment repair propensity. Results indicate that fashion sensitive consumers dispose of garments more rapidly, and with less ethical consideration. However, these same consumers are motivated to repair items that support their fashion identity. The study contributes some useful insight into encouraging garment life extension practise among heavy consumers of fashion, thus extending what is known about fashion garment disposal in the sustainability context.

Clothing waste is an increasing global problem as "disposable" fashion items are consumed and discarded at rapid rates. Low-quality fashion garments are easily damaged and thrown out due to the low initial investment and replacement cost of other items. Previous research has found physical damage to be a common reason for clothing disposal; however, the degree to which damage plays a role in disposal decisions has not been studied. Therefore, using a survey-based, pre-experimental design, this research examined the extent to which varying levels of garment physical damage influences consumer disposal decisions and garment life extension practices in Edmonton, Canada. Results indicated that damage severity plays a significant role in how respondents choose to dispose, or otherwise deal with, their unwanted clothing. Garment quality and type were also shown to predict disposal method and end-oflife extension strategies.

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The objective of this investigation was to better understand the effects of foot coverings differing in fiber content on the health of the skin on the foot. A longitudinal controlled parallel design wear trial was carried out over 8 weeks: four sock types differing in fiber/yarn closely matched for fiber diameter (100% acrylic, 100% wool (24.5 µm), 100% cotton, 100% wool (20.5 µm)), manufactured such that only fiber type differed, were worn by 16 men. The effects on transepidermal water loss, stratum corneum hydration, pH, skin temperature were examined. Variability in effects among the participants was evident. Each person was his own control, with change expressed as a percentage from baseline. Fabric structural properties and selected performance properties were measured on fabrics of the same fiber/structure as of the socks. Improvement in skin health at the heel, in particular, was evident. Wool socks were associated with more cases of improved skin health (e.g. reduced percentage changes in transepidermal water loss and increased stratum corneum hydration). Results from two indicators of skin health considered together provided stronger evidence of effects than one alone.

SYNOPSISIn order to obtain information on possible end-to-end differences in the physical properties of wool caused by weathering of the more exposed portions, a comparison has been made of the stress-strain characteristics of the tip and root halves of fibers taken from the midback region of sheep reared outdoors over a 6-month summer to winter period. The results were further compared with the tip and root halves of fibers taken from animals reared indoors under conditions of essentially continuous darkness. When 11 features of the stress-strain curves were compared, it was found that for the outdoor wools the tip halves had lower initial moduli, higher yield strains, and lower yield moduli than the root halves. In contrast, the dark grown wools showed no end-to-end differences. The greater ease of extension of the tip halves of outdoor wools may be attributed to light-induced diminution in the levels of crosslinking within the keratin structure. The results show that normal environmental influences caused end-to-end differences and that longitudinal variations in physical properties may be a typical characteristic of all field grown wools at the time of harvesting.