Measuring the “Clothing Mountain”: Action Research and Sustainability Pedagogy to Reframe (Un)Sustainable Clothing Consumption in the Classroom

Abstract

This study's purpose is to support the practice of transformative learning by reporting on a class project which examined unsustainable clothing consumption behaviors using action research and the holistic principles of the Burns Sustainability Pedagogy. The study has three objectives: to engage students in action research in which students were asked to measure the clothing volumes bought, used, and discarded during one school semester; to reflect on their unsustainable clothing consumption practices through facilitated peer discussion; and to use educational intervention as a pedagogical tool to expand students' awareness of unsustainable clothing consumption behaviors to cultivate learners capable of effecting holistic sustainable change. The “clothing mountain” was assessed among 755 students, who purchased 10,931 garments for a total of $754,239. The findings provide a baseline for improving the textile and apparel scholarship on sustainability teaching and learning, particularly in the areas of responsible clothing purchases, wear, and disposal.