Sustainable Fashion Choices: Exploring European Consumer Motivations behind Second-Hand Clothing Purchases

Abstract

The second-hand clothing (SHC) market has seen dynamic expansion, driven by shifts in consumer attitudes. However, motivations underlying customer engagement in this market remain largely unexplored. Accordingly, this study investigates factors driving consumer sentiment towards buying used clothing. Data were collected in 2023 from a sample of 254 European consumers. The results show that positive attitudes towards SHC are associated with high levels of economic, hedonic (treasure hunting) and ethical motivations, while strong fashion interest and materialism seem to coincide with more negative evaluations of SHC. Interestingly, treasure hunting motivation emerged as the strongest driver of SHC attitudes, surpassing both economic and ethical motivations, which were similar in strength. However, mediation analysis revealed complex interaction patterns among the attitudinal variables, with the potential of reversing the direction of average regression weights for individuals as well as subgroups of customers. This study offers a more nuanced understanding of consumer behavior in the SHC market. It provides practical recommendations for the marketing strategies of SHC vendors, and lays the groundwork for future research in this area.