Building Confidence and Sustainability Awareness through Garment Mending

Services: The Stitch Shop StoryRachel J. Eike, Ph.D. – Baylor University

Beth Myers, Ph.D. – Georgia Southern UniversityDiana Sturges, Ph.D. – Georgia Southern University

Confidence through Service Learning: Pre & Post-tests Fashion Merchandising &

Apparel Design Course: Advanced Apparel Design

23 Design Students 22 Females; 1 male

Measure skill competency & confidence: Garment knowledge Data management Communication Sustainability (Apparel Industry)

Learning & Growth ResultsQuantitative Analysis

  Pretest Posttest  

  M SD M SD p-value

Self-efficacy category          

Construction 61.70 4.59 73.0

6 3.25 *

Management 78.29

20.37

89.17

11.07 **

Communication 88.04

15.30

90.28

13.17 n.s.

           

Qualitative AnalysisLearning Theme Reflection Frequency

  Midterm Final  Apparel Design Skills     111

Construction 51 33 84Fit 18 9 27

       Collaboration     67

Teamwork 21 17 38Helping others 24 5 29

       Self-efficacy & Growth     62

Confidence 12 12 24Perceived Improvement 18 --- 20

Self-Awareness 20 --- 18       Problem-solving 38 15 53       Communication & Terminology 15 24 39

       Comfort Zone 18 5 23       

Self-efficacy t test valuesNote: M = Mean, SD = Standard Deviation; *p < .05, **p < .01, n.s. = not significant

Note: Qualitative coding ~ Nvivo

Apparel-Life knowledge from Stitch Shop Clients Students, Faculty, & Staff 178 Clients for 334 Apparel items

83 Clients completed post-service survey

Apparel Products Quantity of products serviced

Pants/Skirts/Shorts 212Dresses 46Shirts 43Jackets/Sweaters 26Purses/Backpacks 5Other: Shoe & Stuffed Animal

2

Total 334

Sustainability questions:

… would you have discarded of it in the trash?

Yes No I’ve never thought about it before

… would you have donated it to a friend or second hand store?

Yes No I’ve never thought about it before

… would you have bought something new to replace the non-functional item?

Yes No I’ve never thought about it before

   How do you think that the Fashion industry impacts the environmental?

Positively impact Negatively Impact I’m unsure

If you would NOT have had your garment mended/altered by the Stitch Shop…

How many of you in the audience today have ever thought about what happens to your clothing after it’s life is “complete”?

Client Findings

Question Yes NoI’ve never

thought about it before

Percentages (%)N=83

… would you have discarded of it in the trash?

11 70 2 15.6 %

… would you have donated it to a friend or second hand store?

45 34 4 45.7%

… would you have bought something new to replace the non-functional item?

46 35 2 57.8%

   How do you think that the Fashion industry impacts the environmental?

57(68.7%)

5 (6%)

21 (25.3%)

Simply throwing apparel & textile goods into the

trash, ending up in landfills, once they

become non-functional (broken, damaged, or un-wearable to do poor fit)

Consumption practices

Over-Consumption; Materialism-driven

society

The $2 trillion fiber, textile, and clothing (FTC) industry is a significant contributor to climate change. The industry’s activity

accounts for nearly 10% of total global carbon emissions a trend that is not slowing down.

Quotes from students & clients: “Thank you for providing such a wonderful

service. The shop connects the campus and is a great teaching tool. The Stitch Shop is revolutionizing the FMAD program one garment at a time.”

“Student was so amazing and he spent so much time hemming my skirt to perfection and was so keen on attention to detail.”

“Thanks so much. This service was the difference between over $100 worth of clothing ending up in a landfill due to very minor wear and my being able to wear both items regularly in the foreseeable future.”

“My bag looks brand new, you can't even tell a difference! Thanks ;)”

“I would have maybe tried to get my garment fixed elsewhere. This program introduces FMAD to campus, gives students practice and experience. Faculty-student interaction was wonderful.”

“I love that this program is available to students and is free.”

“Before, I did not think about the structure of garments, but now I know the apparel construction of pants, like where and what type of seams are used, what type of waistband is on the pants, or what kind of hemming was used.”

“It was such an easy fix but she [the client] was so appreciative, relieved, and excited! It made me realize that we are able to help people out much more than we realize. This experience impacted me and just made me happy to be doing what I was doing!”

“[The stitch shop] has shown me that each person in the workshop is an essential, key player that looks up to someone that doesn't mind being a leader. I feel like I was put in the position to be the leader in the workshop in some instances, but it made me feel great that my peers/classmates looked up to me in that manner when I didn't even believe in myself.”

“Working on garments in the stitch shop and in class has given me experience with assessing a problem and developing an action plan for how to solve it. Now that I have experience altering garments I also have the confidence and know that I can solve the problem myself.”