Identified Solutions and Barriers to Achieve Sufficiency and Resource Efficiency in the Clothing Industry : a Swedish perspective

Abstract: Environmental realities such as resource depletion and climate change require us to rethink many of the processes in place in the global system. The clothing industry as one of these processes has become wasteful of resources, calling for the application of both circular solutions and, as argued here, sufficiency to reach higher resource efficiency. Being critical of the desired level of material accumulation has the potential to spare resources and reduce the burden on the environment. The aim of this thesis is to explore potential ways to shift the clothing industry towards more resource efficient and sustainable practises through a case study approach. This exploration focuses on solutions that could potentially help shifting both the demand and the business/provision side towards a sense sufficiency. The perspectives on sufficiency by Swedish customers and clothing company employees were investigated through interviews and online surveys and reflected upon based on existing literature. Based on the findings of this study, there is no clear path around barriers that both customers and businesses face, but many of the solutions that have already been suggested hold potential. Customers should exert customer pressure and companies should react to this by shifting their business and marketing tactics to accommodate the new kind of consumption and a shift in modes of thinking. The two sides should meet half-way, expecting and demanding change in business and consumption. Although with limitations, policies also have potential to accelerate change by incentivising and easing certain actions.