Leicester warming stripes:A local visual response to climate change
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Abstract
Leicester warming stripes: A local visual response to climate change
Senior researchers
Sub-theme(s): 1. Beyond Certainty to Contingency (X )
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Beyond Isolation to Trans ( )
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Beyond Growth to Introspection ( )
Keywords: Climate change, local, long term thinking, sustainability, fashion and textiles
Format: Text-based paper ( X ), Text-based Developmental paper ( ),
Creative practice ( ), Poster ( ), Workshop ( )
De Montfort University’s focus on responsible consumption and production is recognised in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022 by being ranked 30th in the world and 15th in the UK. The University’s School of Fashion and Textiles has also been awarded global recognition in the International Green Gown Awards for embedding sustainability into curriculum and teaching. The School acknowledges the UK climate action non-governmental organisation, WRAP, statement, “The textiles sector is acknowledged as a significant contributor to the global economy, and with production and consumption set to rise, the current ‘take, make, dispose’ model has severe environmental and social impacts”, WRAP, 2023. As part of this work, the School of Fashion and Textiles have taken up the opportunity for academics to undertake carbon literacy training leading to a commitment to personal and professional impact on the next generation of designers.
This paper considers this commitment through a co-created climate related local response between students and academics, resulting in an exhibition depicting the temperature warming stripes. Created by Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading in 2018. #ShowYourStripes (Hawkins, E. 2018), the stripes demonstrate the changing temperature of a city or country dating back from 1860.
From the 1800’s to all the 1900’s, textiles manufacturing led the economic development of Leicester, with Leicester College of Art being founded in 1870 to provide skilled designers for the local industry. The Leicester stripe sequence covers a similar time frame and mirrors the time span of Fashion and Textiles education in Leicester.
The exhibition shows visual representations depicting the stripes colours using pre-loved clothes and textiles that show temperature change from 1860 to the current day and predict through to year 2040. The stripe sequence starts with cool blues moving to warmer reds. This visual depiction of the impact of man-made actions over a long period of time leads to the philosophical approach of Krznaric (2020) and long-term thinking, that environmental choices by current designers can create long term change.
The commitment of this project is to go beyond a visual portrayal of climate change, but to investigate if small scale projects depicting the stark reality of overconsumption of fashion and textiles can have a long-term impact and can influence change in behaviour in the participants.
This paper describes the commitment the participants make when taking part in this exhibition. Participants agree to donate a pre-loved piece of clothing or textile and after six months reply to a questionnaire on whether being involved in this project altered their own response to climate change; whether they have taken any further actions to behave in a more sustainable way of living and if they are aware of the impact of the project on any of colleagues or friends who saw the project, but did not participate.
This project examines the certainty of rising temperatures as depicted by the stripes and offers an opportunity for the next generation of creative professionals to consider the value of long-term contingency planning.
References Hawkins, E. (2018) #ShowYourStripes. Available at: https://showyourstripes.info/ [Accessed 7th May 2023].
Krznaric, R. (2020) The Good Ancestor: How to think Long term in a Short-Term World. London: