CIAS Inn: “I already feel the time I can spend in Budapest short”

Finnish sociologist Olga Gurova explores an exciting and topical issue: how to make the second-hand clothing industry more attractive to consumers, especially young people, and thus encourage them to dress more sustainably. To this end, the researcher will analyse in detail the habits of second-hand shop customers, as well as possible obstacles and opportunities for the industry to develop and possible ways to make the second-hand business model sustainable.  

She mainly studies the issue in the Baltic States, this is where her data come from. The next stage of her research is to compare the situation of the Finnish second-hand clothing industry with that of the neighbouring countries, Estonia, Lithuania and Sweden.  

Her interests are not limited to the narrowly defined sustainable textile and fashion industry, but also include different aspects of social and cultural sustainability in the creative industries, such as equal opportunities, diversity and human rights.   

“My background is in social sciences, but I have recently worked with interdisciplinary research groups and industrial experts like textile and fashion designers, UX designers. For many years I have been closely following the development of the second-hand clothing industry, which I believe is becoming an increasingly exciting area in the light of the global climate crisis and the various economic challenges.” – says the enthusiastic researcher from Laurea University in Helsinki.  

Olga Gurova can now spend only one month at the CIAS, which she already feels is too short, as she has already found connections and identified possible collaborations with many Corvinus researchers. She also plans to write a paper during her one-month stay in Budapest, using the data collected so far: “I am infinitely grateful to the CIAS for this opportunity, because in this one month I can finally sit and write. And I can do all this in a beautiful, inspiring working environment with views of the Danube. We tend to underestimate the importance of this, but a modern and inclusive environment can add a lot to a researcher’s productivity.” 

This is not the first time the Finnish researcher has visited Budapest. Every time she comes, she enjoys wandering around the historic parts of the city centre and visiting a few museums. She goes to the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Gallery and the Mai Manó Ház (Hungarian House of Photography) almost every time to see the latest exhibition. And now that she is spending a little more time here, she is trying to add her favourite sport, swimming, to her daily routine. A few mornings a week, she starts at the Alfréd Hajós Swimming Complex on Margit Island. Once she has completed her distance, she listens to the locals chatting in the warm water. She also tries to explore Budapest’s ruin pub culture, and after Szimpla is now looking for places less frequented by tourists. But while in town, within the boulevard and beyond, she also does her best to visit as many of Budapest’s second-hand shops as possible. Strictly for research purposes.