Millennials
uneducated on important clothing care skills, study finds
As more and more high schools around the country drop home
economics classes due to budget cuts or changes in educational priorities, many
high school students are left without basic skills, such as preparing meals and
sewing.
Now, researchers have found that a significant gap exists in the amount
of "common" clothes repair skills possessed by members of the baby
boomer generation and millennials. Pamela Norum, a professor in the Department
of Textile and Apparel Management in the MU College of Human Environmental
Sciences, found that many more of the baby boomer generation possess skills
such as sewing, hemming, button repair and general laundry knowledge than
Americans 18-33 years of age.
Norum says that although these findings are not surprising, they
are concerning considering the amount of clothing waste that is generated each
year.
Norum's study, published in the Family and Consumer Sciences
Research Journal, surveyed more than 500 American baby boomers and
millennials about their clothing consumption practices. While baby boomers
generally had much more knowledge of clothes repair and laundry than
millennials, millennials who reported to have taken sewing classes or who had
been taught to sew by a family member had more overall clothes repair skills
than those that had no education on the subject.
Norum says this indicates the
need for increased education on what once was considered common clothing
maintenance knowledge.
"Traditionally, these skills were learned in the home or in
secondary school," Norum said. "With the increase of women in the
labor force and the decrease in funding for family and consumer sciences
programs (FACS), the opportunity to acquire such skills has diminished for
young Americans. Existing FACS curriculum may want to tie in sewing/mending
skills with sustainable consumption as a way of appealing to younger
generations while providing the skills they need."
Norum suggests delivering this kind of instruction in settings
that may extend beyond the school environment, such as through utilizing new
technologies like social media and online videos to reach consumers.
"Using fashion blogs to capture the attention of students
prior to introducing sewing skills may be one approach," Norum said.
"Students can use websites like Pinterest to gather ideas for in-class
repurposing projects and then repurpose items from home using techniques gained
in class. This could improve skills that are important for any consumer to
possess as well as promote sustainable recycling practices."
Norum received the "Best Paper Award for Apparel, Textiles
and Merchandising" for her study at the 105th Annual Conference of the American
Association of Family & Consumer Sciences.
Story
Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia.Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal
Reference:
Pamela S. Norum. Examination
of Apparel Maintenance Skills and Practices: Implications for Sustainable
Clothing Consumption. Family
and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 2013; 42 (2): 124 DOI: 10.1111/fcsr.12047
Cite
This Page:
University of Missouri-Columbia. "Millennials uneducated on
important clothing care skills, study finds." Science Daily,
14 October 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141014160409.htm>.
