Identity, self‐concept and young women’s engagement with collaborative, sustainable fashion consumption models

Abstract

It is clear from extant theory that fashion consumption is intrinsically bound to self‐concept and social identity. As such, many individuals over consume in pursuit of ideal identities, particularly in periods of heightened awareness of identity development, such as their youth. This study thus takes one group of fashion over‐consumers, young females, and seeks to identify core motivations towards and barriers for collaborative consumption of clothing and fashion products, though the lens of self‐identity and social interaction. The study adopts a theory of planned behaviour approach, using in‐depth interviews to examine norms of behaviour in fashion consumption and develops a conceptual model for understanding of how these individuals construct a fashion identity within the social contexts of four alternative forms of consumption (renting, borrowing, swapping and purchasing second‐hand). Furthermore, the study examines perceived barriers to participation in these four alternative fashion consumption forms. The study finds that social and ethical implications of sustainable consumption behaviour are the least likely motivators towards engagement with collaborative fashion consumption models within this group, and that opportunities for individual identity expression are the most sought after benefits of such engagement. This research contributes to the literature regarding sustainability issues generally, in the context of fashion consumption, and deepens one’s understanding of young female consumers’ willingness to participate in sustainable consumption actions.

Diverse values of fashion rental service and contamination concern of consumers

“…Given the distinctive importance of functionality and price of a product or service determining attitudes and behaviors, we predict that (a) functional and (b) economic values of FRS will positively influence attitudes. Next, we believe (c) social value of FRS may increase attitudes as consumers can build favorable self-presentation and gain social approval by using the service ( McNeil & Venter, 2019 ). We also postulate that (d) emotional value of FRS will positively form attitudes, in line with prior findings that the motivation of consumer participation in collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) is the enjoyment from the experience ( Becker-Leifhold & Iran, 2018 ).…”

“… b. economic : “the utility derived from the product due to the reduction of its perceived short- and longer-term costs” ( Sweeney & Soutar, 2001 ); “value for money” ( Zeithaml, 1988 ) Cost-effective to use the same fashion items Economic benefits are a major driver of CC ( Barnes and Mattsson, 2016 , Park and Joyner Armstrong, 2017 , Camacho-Otero et al, 2019 ) and CFC ( Park & Joyner Armstrong, 2019b ). c. social : “the perceived utility acquired from an alternative’s association with one or more specific social groups” ( Sheth et al, 1991 ) Favorable self-presentation and social approval by using FRS Consumers obtain social acceptance by participating in collaborative fashion consumption such as second-hand purchase ( McNeil & Venter, 2019 ) d. emotional : “the perceived utility acquired from an alternative’s capacity to arouse feelings or affective states” ( Sheth et al, 1991 ) Enjoyment and positive emotional experiences from the service Emotional value is highly related to consumers’ clothing consumption in various contexts: fast fashion (e.g., Barnes et al, 2013 ); luxury consumption (e.g., Li et al, 2012 ); slow fashion (e.g., Jung & Jin, 2016 ). e. green : “a consumer’s overall appraisal of the net benefit of a product or service between what is received and what is given based on the consumer’s environmental desires, sustainable expectations, and green needs” ( Chen & Chang, 2012 ) Contribution to environmental sustainability Green (or environmental) value positively influences attitudes and behavioral intentions (e.g., Yu and Lee, 2019 , Khan and Mohsin, 2017 , Chen and Chang, 2012 ).…”

Exploring the Motives for Online Fashion Renting: Insights from Social Retailing to Sustainability

“…With temporary usage, customers cannot claim full property rights to products, which in turn leads to low or nonexistent levels of risks and responsibilities related to the products [5]. The terms "collaborative consumption," "sharing economy," and "access-based consumption," are used interchangeably when referring to the emerging phenomenon of the peer-to-peer (P2P) mode of production and consumption of products and services [6,7]. However, collaborative consumption is the more appropriate term to use for business-to-consumer services (B2C), such as Line, Zipcar, and Rent the Runway [2].…”

Evaluation of Customers' Sustainable Fashion Perception

“…Many empirical studies show that consumers generally have a positive attitude to sustainable fashion, however, that does not often reflect in their purchase decisions (Shaw and Riach, 2011;Goworek, Fisher, Cooper, Woodward, and Hiller, 2012;Perez and Lonsdale, 2018;McNeill and Venter, 2019). Younger consumers often present less knowledge on the issues of sustainability, their consumption behaviour is usually less sustainable as they tend to change clothing more often regarding their taste and changes of fashion, rather than actual needs (Perez and Lonsdale, 2018).…”

“…Also, collaborative consumption is expected to gain more social impact in the future. Young women perceive collaborative fashion consumption as a way to express individual identity, while social and ethical aspects are less motivating for such behaviour (McNeill and Venter, 2019).…”