A Use-Oriented Clothing Economy? Preliminary Affirmation for Sustainable Clothing Consumption Alternatives

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand how fashion‐oriented females in two different countries evaluate three use‐oriented product–service systems (PSS): clothing consultancy, renting and swapping. A mixed‐method approach was utilized, including focus group interviews and a questionnaire. Both countries exhibited a higher level of interest in use‐oriented PSS schemes than product‐oriented offerings. Positive evaluations of use‐oriented PSS included the ability to reduce excess consumption via smarter purchasing, becoming more knowledgeable about personal style and fit, and enhancing creativity with items already owned. Participants also positively evaluated the ability for some PSS concepts to satisfy their desire for change and social support or interaction as well as to save money and increase product satisfaction. Negative evaluations included lack of trust in the provider related to issues such as quality, maintenance and hygiene of shared goods as well as skepticism about the business model's viability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Predicting consumer adoption of branded subscription services: A prospect theory perspective

“…One context in which the adoption of PSS by consumers has been explored via a series of qualitative studies is fashion and apparel. Here, Armstrong, Niinimäki, Kujala, Karell, and Lang (); Armstrong, Niinimäki, Lang, and Kujala () and Rexfelt and Hiort af Ornäs () look at a number of hypothetical PSS that are discussed with consumers to explore benefits and drawbacks. Retamal (), Corvellec and Stål (), and Stål and Jansson () have undertaken studies on a number of providers of different existing fashion PSS, whereas Petersen and Riisberg () studied the provider of a fashion subscription in Denmark.…”

“…In the case of quantitative studies, scholars have divided their attention between a number of different PSS options to map which barriers affect which PSS configurations (e.g. Armstrong, Niinimäki, Kujala, Karell, & Lang, ; Armstrong, Niinimäki, Lang, & Kujala, ; Catulli & Reed, ; Tietze, Pieper, & Herstatt, ). The most impactful drivers of consumer adoption remain unknown (Tukker, ), and adoption of more ambitious PSS “remains a black box” (Vezzoli, Ceschin, Diehl, & Kohtala, , p. 6).…”

The Role of Human Resource Management (HRM) for the Implementation of Sustainable Product-Service Systems (PSS)—An Analysis of Fashion Retailers

“…Fashion consumers are, therefore, hardly receptive to fashion PSS models. They mistrust the motivation of the provider, are afraid of hidden financial costs and demonstrate concerns about cleanliness and hygiene since clothes are worn next to the skin [35,238,[240][241][242][243]. This makes a clear communication of the value proposition to one of the most critical determinants for PSS adoption of the consumer [67,244,245].…”

Creativity and sustainable apparel retail models: does consumers’ tendency for creative choice counter-conformity matter in sustainability?

“…In addition, recent research has examined motivations and barriers to each PSS model Edbring et al 2016); consumers' perception of use-oriented PSS models (Armstrong et al 2016b). Environmental concerns, social influence and emotional value were identified as the major factors that may increase consumer interest in PSS models related to apparel (Niinimäki and Hassi 2011).…”