Collaborative fashion consumption and its environmental effects

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide the conceptual basis of collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) as a possible path toward more sustainable clothing. A definition and a typology of CFC are introduced and possible environmental effects of CFC are structured and discussed. This provides a solid conceptual basis for future empirical studies on CFC as an element of more sustainable consumption. Design/methodology/approach This paper is written mainly based on a review of the more recent literature on collaborative consumption, as well as of older papers about related concepts like sustainable service systems and eco-efficient services. The proposed CFC typology and the structure of environmental effects are developed using both a deductive and an inductive process, and then by transferring existing structures to this specific field and challenging them by assigning practical examples. Findings The main contributions of this paper are the definition and typology of CFC and the structure for assessing its environmental effects. Research limitations/implications The findings provide a conceptual basis for future empirical research on CFC. Practical implications For practitioners, the CFC typology and the structure of environmental effects could be used as checklists for future development of more sustainable collaborative consumption offers. Originality/value This paper makes a unique contribution to the concept of CFC. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first paper that has been explicitly dedicated to examining different types and environmental effects of CFC.

Sustainable Luxury Marketing: A Synthesis and Research Agenda

“…() explore the changing relationship between material products and consumers, concluding that consumers exhibit a liquid (loose) relationship with possessions. Recent work by Iran and Schrader () and Toni et al . () investigates the link between the collaborative economy and sustainable behaviour.…”

“…Bardhi et al (2012) explore the changing relationship between material products and consumers, concluding that consumers exhibit a liquid (loose) relationship with possessions. Recent work by Iran and Schrader (2017) and Toni et al (2018) investigates the link between the collaborative economy and sustainable behaviour. They highlight and define collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) and the potential new opportunities offered by information and communications technology (ICT).…”

Consumption in the Circular Economy: A Literature Review

“…According to Accenture, technological developments have facilitated the proliferation of the sharing economy and collaborative consumption-based solutions, as they have allowed organisations and peers to access broader markets and populations [13]. However, and although their potential to contribute to sustainability has been an argument to promote them, there is no conclusive evidence that such a promise has been fulfilled; on the contrary, there appear to be indications that so-called sharing companies are increasing the demand for resources [22,24,25].…”

Consumer engagement in the circular economy: Exploring clothes swapping in emerging economies from a social practice perspective

“…In response to these challenges, designers and activists have proposed different strategies, one of which is use intensification through collaborative consumption (Ertz, Durif, & Arcand, 2016;Laitala, 2014;Park & Armstrong, 2017). One of the specific examples of collaborative consumption in fashion is clothe swapping as it could contribute to reducing demand for new products (Farrant et al, 2010;Iran & Schrader, 2017;Zamani, Sandin, & Peters, 2017). Swapping is defined as the exchange of items, for example, clothes, that happens between two or more people and that is usually not mediated by money (Albinsson & Perera, 2012;Matthews & Hodges, 2016).…”