Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the existing literature on CFC together with its relative concepts and discuss the current state of knowledge in the field of alternative apparel consumption. Drivers, barriers and future pathways of CFC – from the business and consumer’s perspective – are extracted, summarized and discussed. By using a holistic approach, this study aims to demonstrate the linkages and interplays among the actors. Helpful implications for the industry and policy makers are derived.
Design/methodology/approach
A holistic systematic literature review was conducted. More than 2,800 journal articles were reviewed for this conceptual paper, and the ones meeting the search criteria were subjected to a qualitative content analysis.
Findings
The findings facilitate a better understanding of what enables or prevents CFC from becoming a mainstream consumption approach. The study also examines the sustainability aspects of CFC, discussing both the positive environmental benefits and its negative impacts.
Practical implications
The results of this study can help businesses, governments and institutions develop more efficient strategies toward promoting sustainability in the fashion industry. Understanding the drivers and barriers of CFC, in addition to the possible sustainability benefits of CFC, can facilitate and accelerate adoption of future business models of CFC.
Originality/value
CFC is a relatively new concept in the field of academic research. In fact, this study is among the first to explore the interplay of drivers and barriers from both the consumer and industry perspectives. This paper can support further academic and business efforts aimed at promoting CFC.
Adolescents often do not consider sustainability in their consumption behaviours. Sustainability issues are challenging to communicate through course content alone. Against this background, the concept of fashion libraries (FLs) was introduced to adolescents at a non-denominational school in a small German city. The purpose was to explore whether the students’ attitudes would change over time in response to distinct interventions and project-based learning, such as the foundation of an FL, upcycling workshops and lectures on sustainability. The sample comprised 10 female adolescents in the age between 13 and 16 years, who volunteered to participate in the clothing library project. An exploratory mixed-methods approach, including a questionnaire, two interventions and pre-and post-intervention in-depth interviews, was utilized. The findings hint at an incremental change in the students’ attitudes towards an appreciation of garments and a change in behaviour. They started to reflect their behaviour and consequently reduced the frequency and quantity of their clothing purchases. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article in which an FL was founded to investigate the consumption behaviour of adolescents.
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