Sustainable Disposal Behaviour of the Fast Fashion Consumer : A Practice Perspective

Abstract: The textile and fashion industry is one of the most extensive and unsustainable industries in the world. Fast fashion companies, and the consumers purchasing, using and disposing the items, have an especially negative impact on the environment. Previous research does not provide deep knowledge of how environmentally sustainable clothing disposal is performed in word and deed as a part of consumers everyday life. However, this is needed to improve environmental sustainability. This research study aims to contribute to and deepen the existing body of research regarding this, investigating female members of Generation Z in a fast fashion context. Thus, the purpose of the study is to contribute with a current understanding of the practice of sustainable clothing disposal by developing knowledge about how consumers perform disposal activities post-consumption, as well as revealing the meanings driving the behaviour. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research strategy was used. Empirical material was collected through ten semi-structured interviews with female Generation Z participants. The study uses a practice theory approach, viewing a practice as a complex interaction between what consumers say and do in a specific context. A practice consists of several different activities and is dependent on three elements: competence, material and meaning. Furthermore, the theoretical framework consists of previous research on sustainable clothing disposal behaviour. The findings reveal that the practice of sustainable clothing disposal includes a number of activities performed by the participants in the context in question. Several central tendencies are distinguished; showing how female Generation Z consumers perform the activities under different circumstances, through routinised actions and communication in their everyday lives. In addition, the findings identify five different forms of meaning driving the behaviour. Accordingly, both theoretical and practical contributions are generated. The findings build on the existing body of research, adding deep and current understanding of sustainable clothing disposal behaviour. Furthermore, actors in the textile and fashion industry can interpret the findings of the behaviour and meaning-making, and hence improve their adaptation to the consumer. Ultimately, this can cause a positive impact on environmental sustainability.