Categorizing Chinese Consumers’ Behavior to Identify Factors Related to Sustainable Clothing Consumption

Wenjun Guo () and Eunyoung Kim
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Wenjun Guo: School of Knowledge Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi 9231292, Japan
Eunyoung Kim: School of Knowledge Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi 9231292, Japan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Consumers’ current clothing consumption behavior patterns have become the primary challenge to environmental sustainability within the clothing industry. In order to ensure any behavioral change intervention is successful, a thorough understanding of consumers’ current consumption behavior is required. Accordingly, we aimed to identify factors related to sustainable clothing consumption by categorizing the actual clothing consumption behaviors of Chinese consumers. Specifically, the study aims to answer two sub-questions: (1) how can we categorize clothing consumption behaviors? and (2) what factors influence different types of clothing consumption behaviors? Data were collected through a two-phase survey that included observations and a questionnaire. The consumer behavior was divided into three categories based on the actual total number of clothing items and clothing usage frequency during a designated period. Among these categories, demographics and clothing consumption behavior variables were examined in the purchase, use, and disposal phases, using Chi-square analysis, Fisher’s exact test, and variance analysis. The findings show that gender, age, brand preference, annual expenditure, number of new items, purchase priorities, reason for disposal, disposal channels, disposal quantity, repair experience, duration of use, price, and clothing type were the main factors related to sustainable clothing consumption. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings and define the issues to be addressed in order to move towards sustainable clothing consumption behavior changes.

Keywords: sustainable clothing consumption; categorization of behavior; factors for sustainable clothing consumption; total number of clothing items; usage frequency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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