About
Kirsi Laitala is a senior researcher at the department for Technology and Sustainability at the Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), where she has been working with textiles and clothing research since 2001. She gained her MSc degree in textile, clothing and fiber engineering from Tampere University of Technology in 2001, and completed a PhD at the Department of Product Design at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2014. Laitala has researched and published on areas related to clothing quality, maintenance, safety, environmental issues, design, as well as fit and size issues, including reports for industry as well as scientific journal articles. Her current research interest lies within sustainable clothing consumption. She uses interdisciplinary research methods that often combine technical laboratory based tests with consumer studies, as well as qualitative and quantitative methods.
Field of study
Environment Clothing Textile Consumer behaviour Sustainable consumption Clothing consumption Tekstiler Textile wash Laundry
Research groups
Research projects
Ongoing research projects
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REDUCE – Rethinking Everyday Plastics
The project will look at plastic in a systems perspective and investigate how the consumption of plastic products in everyday life can be reduced.
-
The Circular consumption Activities to tRansform households toward material Efficiency (CARE)
CARE project empowers households to reduce food waste and extend the lifespan of clothes.
Completed research projects
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CHANGE: Environmental systems shift in clothing consumption
In CHANGE, we will investigate what is most essential to reduce the environmental impact of clothing: reduce the amount of clothing that is produced, acquired and disposed of.
-
Direct and Indirect Costs of Disabilities in Children (BUDGET)
The research project addresses the costs aspects of caring for a child with a disability.
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LASTING: Sustainable prosperity through product durability
How can the lifespans of consumer goods be increased?
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Practices and policies of belonging among minority and majority children of low-income families (BELONG)
This project seeks to increase current knowledge of the practices causing marginalization and social exclusion of minority and majority children of low-income families.
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Wasted Textiles
The primary objective of this project is to reduce the use of synthetic textiles and the amount that goes to waste.
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WOOLUME: Polish sheep wool for improved resource utilisation and value creation
The main objective of Woolume is to explore how an under-utilized natural resource – wool from remote mountain regions – can be maximized into materials in local sustainable industry innovation systems that offer high returns on investment and contribute to an optimized, next-generation circular economy.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Vanacker, Hester; Lemieux, Andrée-Anne;
Laitala, Kirsi
; Dindi, Michelle; Bonnier, Sophie; Lamouri, Samir
(2025).
Understanding garment durability through local lenses: a participatory study with communities across the globe.
Scientific Reports.
Vol. 15.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-19087-3
Hegnes, Atle Wehn
;
Heidenstrøm, Nina
;
Laitala, Kirsi
(2025).
Hygiene practices in everyday Life: Exploring the adoption and environmental implications of disposable gloves.
Laursen, Linda Nhu; Hansen, Andreas Kornmaaler (Ed.).
Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025). p. 626-631.
Aalborg University.
https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10318
Vanacker, Hester; Lemieux, Andrée-Anne;
Laitala, Kirsi
; Dindi, Michelle; Lamouri, Samir; Bonnier, Sophie
(2025).
Extending the Lifespan of Garments Globally through Local Upcycling: A Multimethod Approach.
Laursen, Linda Nhu; Hansen, Andreas Kornmaaler (Ed.).
Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025). p. 1016-1022.
Aalborg University.
https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10283
Maldini, Irene;
Klepp, Ingun Grimstad
;
Laitala, Kirsi
(2025).
The environmental impact of product lifetime extension: a literature review and research agenda.
Sustainable Production and Consumption.
Vol. 56.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.04.020
Haugsrud, Ingrid
;
Klepp, Ingun Grimstad
;
Laitala, Kirsi
(2024).
Clothing care.
Henninger, Claudia; Alevizou, Panayiota; Ryding, Daniella; Goworek, Helen (Ed.).
The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability in Fashion. p. 47-64.
Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69682-4_4
Vladimirova, Katia; Samie, Yassie; Maldini, Irene; Iran, Samira;
Laitala, Kirsi
; Henninger, Claudia; Alosaimi, Sarah Ibrahim; Drennan, Kelly; Lam, Hannah; Texeira, Ana-Luisa; Jestratijevic, Iva; Weber, Sabine
(2024).
Urban transitions towards sufficiency-oriented circular post-consumer textile economies.
Nature Cities.
Vol. 1.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-024-00140-7
Laitala, Kirsi
;
Klepp, Ingun Grimstad
;
Berg, Lisbeth Løvbak
(2024).
The Impact of Modes of Acquisition on Clothing Lifetimes.
Niinimäki, Kirsi (Ed.).
Recycling and Lifetime Management in the Textile and Fashion Sector. p. 92-112.
CRC Press.
https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003044413-8
Sigaard, Anna Schytte
;
Laitala, Kirsi
(2023).
Natural and Sustainable? Consumers’ Textile Fiber Preferences.
Fibers.
Vol. 11.
https://doi.org/10.3390/fib11020012
Rasch, Tone; Haugsrud, Ingrid ; Laitala, Kirsi (2023). Da klær ble av plast. Nylonstrømpenes vekst og fall. Arr - Idéhistorisk tidsskrift.
Laitala, Kirsi
;
Berg, Lisbeth Løvbak
; Strandbakken, Pål
(2023).
Why won’t you complain? Consumer rights and the unmet product
lifespan requirements.
Niinimäki, Kirsi; Cura, Kirsti (Ed.).
PROCEEDINGS 5th PLATE Conference. p. 563-568.
Aalto University.
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-64-1367-9
