Research Proposal Presentation Title

A Survey Study of Clothing Consumption and Sustainability

Student researchers

Loson Chen, Ren Konishi, Xinyi Liu, Yiming Pan

What is your research question?

What are the key factors that impact the purchasing behaviours of sustainable clothing from Vancouver consumers’ perspective?

Research proposal keywords or concepts

Sustainable clothing, purchasing behaviours, Cognition and psychology of second-hand clothing

How would you summarize your proposed research idea?

In current new global consumption and production situations, sustainability of clothing consumption becomes a crucial issue for consumers. In this proposed research study, we aim to investigate what factors may impact consumers’ consumption practices of sustainable and second-hand clothing, as well as how the situations may improve based on the study outcomes.

Where is the literature gap and how does your proposed research attempt to fill that gap?

There is a large volume of published studies highlighting the significance of people’s attitudes and views of sustainable clothing. However, only a few studies have indicated how those psychological and attitudinal factors may potentially influence people’s decisions on selecting and consuming sustainable garments. To determine the connections, we use a quantitative approach to obtain more insights into those factors.

Why is this gap worthy of research?

The proposed quantitative research can contribute to understanding the connections between people’s psychological and attitudinal factors and their will to consume sustainable clothing. It provides an important opportunity to advance the understanding of the development of sustainable clothing from consumers’ perspectives.

What future change could this research possibly contribute to, related to sustainability?

The findings of the proposed study could have significant implications for developing people’s awareness of conducting sustainable practices in clothing consumption. The results may also encourage the clothing industry to adjust its production means and further develop its sustainability.

What made your group interested in and/or what excites you about your proposed topic?

Our personal experiences of clothing consumption have prompted this proposed research. With increasing pollution from the clothing industry, we are eager to investigate more in-depth about how it can be more sustainable. As fast fashion tends to dominate society, the issue of high disposability and waste becomes more serious and visible. However, as we conduct further research, people’s views on sustainable clothing become one of the key barriers that impact the development of sustainable clothing consumption. Thus, we would like to conduct this research about clothing consumption and sustainability by this opportunity.

References

Ek Styvén, M., & Mariani, M. M. (2020). Understanding the intention to buy secondhand clothing on sharing economy platforms: The influence of sustainability, distance from the consumption system, and economic motivations. Psychology & Marketing, 37(5), 724-739. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21334

Gwozdz, W., Kristian, S. N., & Müller, T. (2017). An environmental perspective on clothing consumption: Consumer segments and their behavioural patterns. Sustainability, 9(5), 762. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.3390/su9050762

McNeill, L., & Moore, R. (2015). Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast-fashion conundrum: Fashionable consumers and attitudes to sustainability in clothing choice: Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast-fashion conundrum. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(3), 212-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12169

Weber, S., Lynes, J., & Young, S. B. (2017). Fashion interest as a driver for consumer textile waste management: Reuse, recycle or disposal. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 41(2), 207-215. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12328