The joint project "BNTextillabor - Education for sustainable textile consumption with positive spillover effects through real experiments" of Ulm University and the Technical University of Berlin is researching in the field of more sustainable fashion consumption among young people. During the project period from 01 August 2019 to 31 October 2021, the consumption behaviour of young people will be investigated and, with the help of various interventions - also called real-life experiments - greater awareness will be created and concepts for more sustainable textile consumption will be developed. Furthermore, it will be investigated whether the changed behaviour of young people can subsequently be transferred to other areas of consumption. Based on the results, teaching and learning formats for different types of schools are to be developed with the aim of influencing the behaviour of young people in a sustainable way. The project was approved by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) and funded with 270,000 euros. 

A total of six schools in Berlin and Ulm were recruited for the research project. In Ulm and the surrounding area, the Friedrich List Gymnasium and the Anna Essinger Gymnasium, as well as the Realschule Kißlegg are participating. In Berlin, the Röntgen School, the Bertolt Brecht Secondary School and the Carlo Schmid Secondary School are working together. 

Through co-design methods, the pupils are integrated into the development and implementation process of the real experiments. They learn, for example, how to repair clothes they have bought or to look for alternatives to buying new clothes (e.g. borrowing or swapping). This should create a deeper understanding of the quality, time and value of the garment and local production and generate alternatives for implementation in everyday life. Furthermore, regional and sustainable textile manufacturers and associations support the real experiments.