每個人的衣柜里大概都有幾件閑置衣物。如何讓主人想起它們，或是及時給它們找個能派上用場的去處？

We all have long-forgotten clothes gathering dust at the back of the wardrobe.
我們的衣柜里總有一堆被遺忘的舊衣服在積灰。

But new technology could see the end of that, with the garments themselves giving owners a gentle reminder of their existence.
但是新科技可以改變這種現象——衣服們能溫柔地提醒主人它們的存在。

'Smart clothes' could help us clear out our drawers by sending messages or tweeting us if they haven't been worn in a while.
被長久擱置的“智能衣服”能給我們發短信或推特信息，提醒我們去清理衣柜。

If these alerts are ignored, the garments will get in touch with a clothing charity and ask to be recycled, with an organisation automatically sending out donation information. They could also be programmed to put themselves up for auction on eBay.
如果人們忽略了它們的信息，那“衣服們”將自行聯系衣物慈善機構，要求被回收，慈善機構會自動給“衣服們”發送捐贈信息。“衣服們”也可能按照預設程序，被送到eBay上拍賣。

As a society, we own four times as many clothes as we did 20 years ago, but regularly only wear about 20 percent of them.
現代人的衣服數量是20年前的4倍，但是其中僅有20%的衣服是常穿的。

Academics at Birmingham City University are developing the 'connected wardrobe' to encourage more ethical clothes consumption.
伯明翰城市大學的學者們正在研發“智能衣柜”以鼓勵更合理的時裝消費。

The concept sees garments tagged using washable contactless technology, known as radio-frequency identification.
“智能衣柜”中的衣物上會被貼上可清洗無接觸式標簽，此種技術也被稱為無線射頻識別技術。

Mark Brill, senior lecturer at Birmingham City, said: 'Think of the surprise when an owner suddenly receives bids for items they didn't know were in their wardrobe.
伯明翰城市大學的高級講師馬克?布瑞爾表示：“當主人突然收到閑置衣服的拍賣通知時，想想看他們會有多驚訝吧。”

'The connected wardrobe is a practical, engaging concept to encourage people to think about their clothing consumption. Ultimately, I hope it will encourage more ethical fashion consumption.'
“‘智能衣柜’是一個很有吸引力的實用型產品，鼓勵人們合理消費衣物。我希望它最終能引導人們建立正確的時尚消費觀。

He added: 'Perhaps we can even move away from the idea of 'ownership' of clothing. When we've worn them enough, the items will pass themselves on to their next keeper to wear.'
他補充道：“或許我們可以消除衣物的‘個人所屬’概念。當人們穿膩了這件衣服時，它將主動將自己傳遞到下一位主人手里。”

It follows in the footsteps of the 'Internet of Things' – a concept that sees ordinary household items connecting to the internet in order to share information.
這項創意緊跟“物聯網”的潮流，“物聯網”概念提出將家用物品連接到網絡平臺上，以共享信息。

From adjusting your alarm clock to monitoring the temperature of your home, the internet is changing the way we live.
從調整鬧鐘到監控室內溫度，網絡改變了我們生活的方方面面。

Now, the 'Internet of Clothes' will see that neglected garments will tweet and text the owners 'asking' to be worn depending on the weather and frequency of wear.
現在“衣聯網”會根據天氣狀況和衣物的使用頻率，讓久被擱置的衣物主動發推特或短信給主人，“請求重見天日”。

Clothes will keep track of other information such as who owned it previously, as well as how much it originally cost, who made it and how much the worker was paid for it.
智能衣服也會記錄其他的信息，例如前任主人是誰、衣服的原始價格、生產者以及制作衣物的工人所得的報酬等等。

British shoppers buy 2.15 million tonnes of clothing and shoes annually, yet UK citizens have an estimated ￡30 billion worth of unused clothing sitting in their wardrobes.
英國人每年購買215萬噸衣服和鞋子，而據估計英國人有價值高達300億英鎊的衣物未被使用，在衣柜角落里積灰。

英文來源：每日郵報
翻譯：馮露（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
編審：yaning