Shop ’til we drop or drop the shopping? : Understanding the practice of purchasing second-hand clothing

Abstract: The clothing industry is considered one of the most polluting industries in the world, due to its utilisation of harmful practices that negatively impact the environment. To significantly reduce the negative impact of the clothing industry, the consumption form of purchasing second-hand clothing is regarded as an effective and beneficial strategy to extend the lifecycle of clothing items and thereby reduce their environmental impact.   Over the years, extensive research was conducted in an attempt to investigate the underlying reasons (i.e., motivations and barriers) for consumers to purchase second-hand clothing. However, these studies sought to understand the matter by typically utilising an individualistic approach, whereby the unit of analysis was on the individual’s intentions and subjective interests. More importantly, these studies ignore the routinised consumption of second-hand clothing. Therefore, the author of this study sought to analyse the purchase of second-hand clothing from a new perspective by utilising the social practice theory. This perspective had not been applied in previous studies in the context of second-hand clothing acquisition. As a result, the aim of this study was to describe and gain more knowledge on the practice of purchasing second-hand clothing among Swedish consumers. To achieve this aim, a qualitative research strategy was applied, whereby the obtained dataset of eight semi-structured interviews was analysed from a social practice perspective to understand how Swedish consumers perform the practice of purchasing second-hand clothing.  In this way, the practice of purchasing second-hand clothing was described according to its three elements: ‘materials’, ‘meanings’ and ‘competences’. This enabled the author to identify the (1) ‘meanings’ behind the Swedish consumers’ involvement (e.g., frugality and recreational activity), (2) the ‘competences’ they demonstrated (e.g., sewing skills and open mindset) and (3) the ‘materials’ they utilised (e.g., clothing and means of transport) to perform the practice of purchasing second-hand clothing. Despite the author being able to identify the various elements that constituted the practice, the research findings indicated that the consumers performed the practice of purchasing second-hand clothing primarily in a spontaneous manner, rather than engaging in this practice routinely. In conclusion, the existing practice of purchasing second-hand clothing cannot be regarded as a ‘normalised’ practice among Swedish consumers.