Designing Transitional Spaces for Textile Care and Repair

Postconsumer textile waste (PCTW), disguised as charity, is a form of slow violence in the global south; second-hand clothing from the global north is often inappropriate and of poor quality, leading to disruption of local economies, ecological damage, and public health risks. Advocacy groups and designers are pushing back on the export of waste from the EU and US, calling for reform (Changing Markets Foundation, 2023; Kalanzi, 2022; The Or Foundation, 2023). Policy reform alone is not enough to shift the tidal wave of post-consumer waste, overmatched by mass production. In response to this critical need for change, we turn to mapping systems of care for post-consumer textiles, exploring transitions to post-capitalist models and convivial textile lifecycles.

Our map, Designing Transitional Spaces for the Care and Repair of Textiles, focuses on care as a means for change, exploring mindset as a condition for transformation. Our collaboration began while working and studying at Linnaeus University, in our respective capacities. Both researchers centre on care for and with material as pathways toward regeneration. Maione (2023) presents a US-centric perspective on textile longevity through recrafting, and Nguyen (2025) examines a Swedish context for reducing post-consumer furniture waste through repair. The map acts as a collaborative research wall, fostering communication with one another (Sevaldson, 2011) and exploring ways to transcend the current paradigm of capitalism through the mindset and practice of care.