The work on sustainability in the use and disposal stage of a garment’s life cycle - The perspective of three Swedish clothing companies

Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this study is to identify how clothing companies are striving for sustainability within their product life cycle; to which extent these companies are working on the sustainability of the use and disposal stage; and their willingness to interfere more in these stages by improving the use and disposal habits of their customers by offering care, repair and end of use services. Research questions: What activities are the clothing companies undertaking in order to improve the sustainability of the use and disposal stage? o How are the clothing companies communicating correct use, maintenance and disposal of their products to consumers? o What are the difficulties the clothing companies are facing in their efforts to become more engaged in the use and disposal stage? Method: The research was conducted with an inductive approach, by collecting secondary data from previous studies and theories, and by accumulating primary data from semi-structured interviews with the CSR coordinator of Didriksons, the Director of Sustainability of Haglöfs and the CSR manager of Nudie Jeans. Findings: Throughout the study acknowledgements have been received about the ongoing activities, the possible difficulties, and the communication in regards to the three clothing companies work on sustainability in the use and disposal stage. The results pointed out the differences between the companies concerning the ways of offering services in the use and disposal stage, and their ways of communicating these services to consumers. The key findings showed that the companies find consumer education important, however each company could improve their communication towards consumers in some of the discussed stages. Governmental support and more advanced recycling technologies are of importance in order to facilitate the aim of creating a more sustainable use and disposal stage.