Birmingham City University researchers have created an Internet of Clothes where items will request donation if left unworn for long periods of time.
Retrofitting unconnected items is one useful method of reducing waste through the Internet of Things. Using radio frequency identification (RFID), washable, wearable tags now allow networks of clothes to communicate.
Created by researchers at Birmingham City University’s Future Media team, the smart wardrobe system sends messages to clothing owners. The messages depend on the weather and how regularly each item is worn. If items of clothing are rarely worn, they will contact a local charity to ask to be donated. The charity will then send an envelope to the owner to make it easy to give the item away.
The research team wants to encourage more ethical consumption of fashion, possibly leading to a system where ownership is unnecessary. The project was shortlisted for a European Network for Innovations in Culture and Creativity award. Future developments include creating a virtual stylist to provide ideas for outfits and tagging items from point of sale.
As a society, we own four times as many clothes as we did 20 years ago, but regularly wear only about 20 per cent of them. The average American buys 64 items of clothing a year and UK shoppers buy 2.15 million tonnes of clothing and shoes annually. UK citizens have an estimated £30 billion worth of unused clothing sitting in their wardrobes.
Overconsumption of clothing is a problem for both the environment and exploitation of the people who produce them. Clothing production is highly damaging to the environment, from the petrochemicals used in synthetics to cotton growing, which uses more pesticides than any other crop. The processes of bleaching, dyeing and finishing add even more pollutants to the environment and use considerable energy resources. Figures show that clothing manufacturing is among the most exploitative industries in the world. Workers in clothing manufacture – 85 per cent of whom are women – are among the worst paid in the world.
Birmingham City University academics hope to develop their working prototype into a network of many open-source wardrobes – or an Internet of Clothes. Garments will compare and share their usage to others in the network with their own story about where, when and who wore them, as well as being able to offer individual items up to someone else.
Future innovations for the technology could also see the creation of a ‘style matcher’, which will encourage greater usage of clothing by making wardrobe combinations easier to find. Furthermore, Birmingham University’s academics would like to see garments tagged at the point of retail, meaning that clothing labels could also let buyers know details such as the exact origin of the item, who made it and how much the worker was paid to make it.
Mark Brill, Senior Lecturer in Future Media at Birmingham City University, is behind the project. He suggests that, as well as ensuring that unused clothes go to charity, the Internet of Clothes could also automate the options for selling our own clothes, meaning that underused items are automatically posted to selling sites like eBay, ASOS Marketplace or Depop.
The project was made possible by Maker Monday, an open innovation project from Birmingham City University that brings artists and technologists together to create new concepts. This collaboration could spark innovations in a huge range of disciplines and help us to be more sustainable and ethical consumers.
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Website: www.bcu.ac.uk/internet-of-clothes
Contact: enquiry@filmfutures.me
Company name: Birmingham City University
Innovation name: Connected clothing
Country: United Kingdom
Industries: Access exclusive / Fashion & wearable tech / Internet Of Things / Nature & sustainability / Non-profit & social cause / Retail & e-commerce