Over the next nine months, the F/ACT Movement project will work with municipalities and businesses to support so-called f/activists to update their wardrobes in more sustainable ways. At least 60 private individuals are participating in seven different municipalities, 11 of whom are Umeå residents. The project is run nationally by the Gothenburg Region (GR) and Science Park Borås. In Umeå, eXpression Umeå is the project owner and main funder with the low-carbon site, Umeå municipality and the Department of Informatics at Umeå University as co-financiers. On September 3, it is time for Umeå's f/acities to begin nine months of sustainable consumption, starting with a webcast kick-off. eXpression Umeå hosts the webcast kick-off where Anna Lidström, researcher in sustainable fashion at the School of Textiles in Borås, designer and one of the founders of the F/ACT Movement, talks about sustainable and circular fashion in a conversation led by Fil. Dr. Annakarin Nyberg, internet researcher and programme manager of the eXpression Future Retail Lab.

- We will also introduce the eleven Umeå residents who are now becoming f/activists. It's a mixed group taking on this challenge and it will be great fun to follow and support them during these nine months," says Anna Moström, project manager for Umeå's node in the F/ACT Movement.

An f/activist is a fashion-minded person who wants to use their interest as an active act to reduce their carbon footprint. In 2019, a successful pilot project was carried out with ten f/activists in Västra Götaland. Now the project is scaling up to a national level with support from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Västra Götaland Region. Through seven municipalities (Borås, Gotland, Karlstad, Linköping, Luleå, Stockholm, Umeå) with between 6 - 11 participants in each municipality, Swedish consumers are participating in the challenge and will learn with the help of experts about how they can easily build a sustainable wardrobe. 

Throughout the process, the f/activists will share their journey on social media, with a focus on Instagram. And in doing so, inspire more consumers to consume more sustainable clothing. 

The importance of knowledge and cohesion

For the first four months, f/activists will attend monthly meetings with different themes: activating the wardrobe, styling, style and secondhand, updating and pimping, and caring and cooking. At each meeting, lectures and workshops are given by well-known profiles and experts and the f/activists sit in a so-called "F/ACT ring" where they share their experiences. 

- During the pilot project, we discovered that the F/ACT ring was very important for the f/activists. Fashion is so much more than just clothes. It's identity, group membership and culture. So changing one's habits and consumption is very much an inner journey that needs to be shared with others. The f/activists became part of a "community" and there is a tremendous power in belonging, inspiring and doing things together. I'm sure this was a key contributor to them continuing to consume sustainably," says Gudrun Bonér, Project Manager F/ACT Movement and responsible for the f/activists.

Digital movement

After the first four months, the challenge will continue digitally, mainly on Instagram, where they will be tested on different monthly challenges. In a way, the F/activists will become ambassadors for sustainable fashion and will inspire their followers about remakes, rentals, secondhand, garment care and mending, clothing swaps and other sustainable fashion options. Instagram was chosen as the main social media platform for the project so that the message of the sustainable wardrobe can resonate and be easily shared with other consumers. 

F/ACT Movement complements the initiative #extilsmart, a governmental assignment where facts about the environmental and health impacts of textiles will be communicated together with practical tips and advice on how consumers can make a difference through more conscious choices. 

For more information: 

Homepage: www.factmovement.se
Instagram: @fact.movement
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/factmovement.se

Contact in Umeå: 

Anna Moström, project manager F/ACT Movement Umeå
073-061 23 45
annamostrom@gmail.com

Marlene Johansson, CEO eXpression Umeå
070-674 95 39
marlene.johansson@expressionumea.se

Contact Science Park Borås:

Gudrun Bonér, Project Manager F/ACT Movement and responsible for f/activists
070-573 41 24
gudrun.boner@scienceparkboras.se