Trade The relation between the Firstness and Secondness.
The perceptions of seal clothing are examined together with the other elements of the EU seal trade ban. These form two groups: Defining the coloniality in the EU seal trade ban
Relation of ontological design to decolonizing Inuit seal trade
The relation of Firstness and Secondness is interpreted through decolonial and ontologi- cal design theories.
3.2 questionnaiRe
The questionnaire studies Finnish people’s prejudices, opinions and knowledge regarding clothing made from seal fur and skin. The aim is to reach an understanding of how Finnish people perceive seal clothing, their willingness to wear seal products and the reasons why people would or would not wear them. The questionnaire did not focus on Finnish people’s perception of Inuit seal products, because that would have limited the defini- tion of the first impression. The variables of the questionnaire were ethical choices in eating habits, age group, and the region [maakunta] and size of the respondent’s current home city. The questionnaire was designed to be short, and the questions were either multiple choice questions or they measured a difference between two values. The reason for the “quick and easy” type of questionnaire was to lower the respondents’ thresholds to answer, which may increase the possibility of reaching a higher number and greater variety of people. Moreover, the respon- dents were able to clarify their responses in a comment field, and that opportunity was often seized. Prior to publishing, the questionnaire was tested with four (4) different respondents, and the required corrections were made.
3.2.1 Location
The main reason why Finland is a country of interest in this research is that it is an EU country that is located in the North. In the case study, I explore the acceptance of seal clothing, which as a clothing material is especially suited to a cold climate. Therefore, seal clothing is not limited to luxury products; its properties can also be utilized in extreme weather conditions. Furthermore, the author’s ability to carry out the research in Finnish, the native language of the country, and obtain first-hand knowledge of the local culture was a high priority in choosing the region. Using the native language ensures that people with a lower level of English are not excluded.
The data for this research was gathered through a questionnaire. The questionnaire studies Finnish people’s prejudices, knowledge and attitude towards seal products. Most of the data from the questionnaire were generated in Helsinki and Rovaniemi. Those cities were chosen because they represent diverse demographics and environment within Finland. Helsinki has 628 208 inhabi- tants, whereas Rovaniemi is home to 61 838 citizens87. The total 87 Tilastokeskus, “Väestö.”
population of Finland is approximately 5,5 million. Helsinki is the capital city of Finland and the capital of the Uusimaa region, while Rovaniemi is the capital of the region of Lapland. The author, who has conducted the research and analyzed the results, is Finnish and she has lived several years in both of the sampled cities, Helsinki and Rovaniemi.
3.2.2 Respondents
The questionnaire was conducted online in Google Forms and it attracted 350 responses from all over Finland. Although the questionnaire was open for the whole country, the distribution channels of the questionnaire were concentrated in Helsinki and Rovaniemi, and therefore most of the responses were gathered from those regions. Figure 4 demonstrates all replies by region. The main distribution channels were Aalto University’s and University of Lapland’s student mailing lists. In Aalto, the ques- tionnaire was shared with the students from the Department of Design and Department of Media, and in the University of Lapland with several departments, including Art and Design. The respondents were not requested to define their education level or occupancy, but the highest peaks of the response rates fol- lowed the sharing of the questionnaire on these mailing lists. This suggests that most of the respondents are University students. Aside from mailing lists, a small number of flyers were shared in Helsinki, but those attracted few replies. Some flyers were hand- ed out personally by the author, which engaged people, but it was experienced as problematic because the topic raised discus- sion while it was important for the author to remain distant so as not to affect the questionnaire results. Outside of Uusimaa and Lapland, an exceptional amount of replies were received from Northern Ostrobothnia and Kainuu. This can be explained by the fact that the questionnaire was shared on the author’s personal Facebook account and re-shared on Facebook by eight (8) of the author’s contacts, mainly from Kajaani and Oulu. The amount of responses from other regions were from zero to five (0-5).
The questionnaire does not represent the opinions of all Finnish citizens, it represents only the opinions of those who it reached and who responded. Since most of the respondents are from Lapland or Uusimaa, in addition to the general analysis I con- ducted an analysis to compare these two regions. Concentrating on two regions limits the amount of variables and therefore the results are more reliable, although the sample size is reduced. The number of responses from these two regions were high enough to be compared with each other, unlike the rest of the regions with only 1-22 responses. Furthermore, the data from Lapland and Uusimaa should not be taken as forming statistics from these regions, because this would require more responses and more distribution, such as greater distribution in social and age groups. However, I consider that the take from Uusimaa and Lapland is reliable enough to point out the differences and simi- larities between the two. Figure 5 and figure 6 demonstrates the variables within these regions. Figure 5 describes the size of the respondent’s home city. In Lapland, roughly 77% of the respon- dents are from a city with 50 000-100 000 inhabitants. Rovaniemi is the only city in Lapland with more than 50 000 inhabitants and therefore it can be concluded that most of the respondents are from Rovaniemi. In Uusimaa, 94% are from a city of more than 100 000 inhabitants, which indicates Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. Figure 6 describes the age distribution of the respondents. Most of the respondents from Lapland and Uusimaa are from the 21- 30 age group, though the 31-40 age group is also well represent- ed, especially in Uusimaa.
Figure 6. Age groups of the respondents from the Lapland and Uusimaa regions
3.2.3 Method of analysis
The analysis of the questionnaire is both qualitative and quantita- tive. I chose to not use coding, because several responses includ- ed comments, and separating those would have provide incom- plete information for our purposes. Instead, the quantitative data is reviewed together with the comments, if relevant. Depending on the sample size, approximately >10 % difference in responses is considered significant.
3.3 photogRaphyexhibition
The photography exhibition begins from where this research ends. The exhibition will form a borderland for Finnish and Inuit cultures and promote discussion on the seal trade and seal cloth- ing. The aim of the exhibition is to raise awareness of pluri-versity of knowledges and pluri-versity of sustainabilities. Although the exhibition does not provide information for this research, I con- sider this research and the exhibition to form one entity.