A study on relevance of second hand clothing retailing in Ethiopia

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the relevance of second-hand clothing (SHC) in the Ethiopian textile and apparel value chain by investigating its potential and establishing a connect to sustainability from a consumption point of view. Design/methodology/approach Primary and secondary methods of research were used in this research. Structured observational technique was used to identify the retailers in the city. In total, 70 retailers of SHC were identified and 15 big size retailers were interviewed with open end questions through judgment sampling method. Findings From the analysis of the field research and scientific literature, the authors strongly believe that SHC has an important space in the consumer retail segment of the country. This trade remains in the shadow but is sustaining livelihoods of citizens. The SHC trade provides an automatic balance to the future excessive consumption which is a result of mass production and hence should be encouraged further on various dimensions. Originality/value Existing literature exhibits statistics of the trade and impact in East African Community (EAC) missing out on Ethiopia as it is not a member of the EAC. Moreover a connection of SHC to sustainability established has never been established in the past for under-developing countries, and it is one of the critical factors in the success of used clothing and future of textile and apparel business. This research also provides channelized solutions to the business for smooth implementation of SHC in Ethiopia and other under-developing countries.

An integrated model of consumers' intention to buy second-hand clothing

“…Hence, it would be reasonable to surmise that consumers are more likely to buy second-hand clothing that is unique as a form of self-expression (Liang and Xu, 2018). Furthermore, more consumers have noticed the negative consequences of mass-produced fast fashion on the environment and therefore switched to buying second-hand clothing (Khurana and Tadesse, 2019). Hence, we propose that epistemic value should positively influence attitudes towards second-hand clothing.…”

“…In recent years, consumers have started to realise the negative consequences of fast fashion and therefore are less into disposable fashion, slowly turning to second-hand clothing fashion (Ferraro et al, 2016;Gopalakrishnan and Matthews, 2018). Scholars suggested that buying second-hand clothing is an effective solution to reduce textile waste and minimise pollution (Khurana and Tadesse, 2019;Machado et al, 2019). The secondhand clothing market has been growing progressively in the past few years as more young consumers are more into environmentally friendly fashion and retro clothing (Su et al, 2019).…”

Insights and future forward for fashion and textile value chain in Uzbekistan

“…Interestingly enough, SMEs act as the backbone of the fashion and textile sector, as they perform important operations such as sub-contracting, surface ornamentation, washing. To add on, research studies (Khurana and Ryabchykova, 2018; Khurana and Tadesse, 2019) have well-illustrated roles of SMEs in emerging economies.…”

Influence of product selection criteria on clothing purchase and post-purchase behaviours: A gender and generational comparison

“…To date, some of the research has focused on studying the habits and trends in population groups in different countries regarding secondhand clothing purchases [ 48 , 49 ] and fashion clothing disposal behaviour [ 50 , 51 ]. Other research has searched for factors that affect these behaviours.…”