Why do we feel bored with our clothing and where does it end up?

Abstract

Boredom reflects the dynamic nature of consumer tastes and preferences. Understanding the role of boredom in clothing disposal is of particular importance given that consumers often dispose of clothes they feel bored with, leading to harmful environmental consequences. Despite its substantial influence on postacquisition behaviours, boredom has received insufficient attention in the disposal literature. In this paper, we explore the factors that lead to boredom and the effect of boredom on retention, recycling and discarding of clothing. We use a sequential mixed‐methods approach, consisting of a first qualitative phase that uses in‐depth interviews to generate hypotheses, followed by a second quantitative phase that tests the hypotheses using survey data. In two phases, we identify the oldness of clothing, decreased social fit and purchase of new clothing as drivers of boredom, which implies that the physical and aesthetic attributes of the clothing, social meaning ascribed to the clothing and situational factors collectively influence feelings of boredom towards owned clothing. As boredom intensifies, consumers are less inclined to keep the item and more inclined to recycle or discard it. Furthermore, we find that attachment and resource input (i.e., money, time and effort) moderate the effect of boredom on decisions regarding disposal methods. The results add to our understanding of emotion‐laden disposal by revealing the role of boredom in clothing disposal. Finally, our findings call for the collective efforts of consumers, retailers, campaigners and policymakers to break away from an increasingly extravagant and wasteful culture of clothing consumption.

Impact of physical condition on disposal and end‐of‐life extension of clothing

“…Furthermore, fashion‐innovators dispose of clothing more for psychological reasons such as conformity, boredom and desire to be fashionable, compared to nonfashion‐innovators (Chun, 1987). Boredom as a motivator for clothing disposal was also reported in additional work by Kwon, Choo, and Kim (2020), Laitala (2014) and Norum (2015). Similarly, studies of young consumers found that highly fashion sensitive participants tended to dispose of clothing more frequently and for fashion‐related reasons as opposed to physical reasons (Lang et al., 2013; McNeill et al., 2020).…”

Fostering sustainable consumer behavior regarding clothing: Assessing trends on purchases, recycling and disposal

“…Clothing disposal practice can be defined as discarding of an outfit or item by giving it to others, throwing it away, using it for another purpose (reuse, redesign) or selling it. 36,37 Textile recycling involves reclaiming pre-consumer waste or post-consumer waste (garments, vehicle upholstery, household items and others). 38 There are a number of different recycling processes possible within the textile and apparel context.…”

The hoarder, the oniomaniac and the fashionista in me: A life histories perspective on self‐concept and consumption practices

“…This article explores general clothing consumption practices over an individual's life‐time and the influence of those practices on the “self” by further investigating if any changes in consumption practices might impact the “self,” which requires more attention (Albinsson & Perera, 2009; Fleetwood‐Smith et al, 2019). Over consumption and disposal behaviour are key concerns, thus it is essential to understand the relationship between consumers and their clothing consumption (purchase through to disposal) through the lens of life histories as there is little research around the lived experience of clothing consumption (Fleetwood‐Smith et al, 2019; Kwon et al, 2020). We address the following objectives:…”

“…Although consumption theory provides insights into how consumers make use of possessions (garments) to communicate their identity, little is known about whether these consumption practices change over time or whether all "identities” (actual, desired, social) are impacted (Dogan, 2015). Past research (Fleetwood‐Smith et al, 2019; Kwon et al, 2020; McNeill & Moore, 2015; McNeill & Venter, 2019) predominantly focused on fashion orientation (e.g., sustainable, fast fashion) and its impact on the self (McNeill & Venter, 2019), and on the identification of clothing lifestyle segments and fashion identities (McNeill, 2018; H. J. Park & Burns, 2005).…”

“…Fashion has been explored as an example of a symbolic classification system where consumers' willingness to acquire fashion items increases with the popularity of an item ( appreciation) and decreases with its decline ( devaluation ) (Evans, 2018; Kwon et al, 2020). Consumer preferences do not necessarily lie with the object, but with what the object represents and in turn how it (the object) represents their “self” (Kestler & Paulins, 2014; Legere & Kang, 2020).…”