Flow and circulation

FLOW AND CIRCULATION

Industrial capitalism promotes the idea that fashion is synonymous with shopping for new clothes. For this idea to be dominant it must also influence the circulation and interchange of garments at a local level. Tangible, physical garments, and how they are held on to and used, are heavily imprinted by the priorities of commercialisation and globalisation.

Clothing resource flows in Macclesfield show a strong drift from consumption of new pieces to discard. Some disruption in this linear flow is provided via cascades of reuse through donation to charity shops, where a small percentage of garments are resold, and within homes where some repair, sharing and passing on of clothes takes place:

  • New clothing regularly flows in through daily store deliveries, online shopping and shopping trips to nearby city of Manchester.
  • New stock is delivered to store early morning and leaves stores in the hands of shoppers mid-morning.
  • A high level of discard of clothing is visible at the town’s charity shops and the household recycling centre.
  • Clothing donated at local charity shops are not labels available to buy locally.
  • Those who donate to charity shops do not buy from them.
  • Limited sharing and swapping of clothing between friends or family members takes place.