Consumer Perceptions Related to Clothing Repair and Community Mending Events: A Circular Economy Perspective

Sonali Diddi and Ruoh-Nan Yan
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Sonali Diddi: Department of Design and Merchandising, College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Ruoh-Nan Yan: Department of Design and Merchandising, College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 19, 1-17

Abstract: While research focusing on clothing repair and community mending events as part of sustainable clothing consumption practices has been conducted in some developed European countries (e.g., the U.K. and the Netherlands), little research has examined consumer clothes mending/repairing behavior in a U.S. context. The purpose of this study was to explore U.S. consumers’ specific barriers and motivations to engage in clothing repair and their likelihood to participate in clothes mending and community mending events. An intercept survey approach was used to administer a questionnaire to participants who were attendees at three different events in a mid-sized city in Colorado, U.S. across a two-week time span. Data were collected from 254 participants. Path analysis was conducted to test four sets of hypotheses. The results suggested that consumers’ perceived barriers negatively influenced their mending frequency. Consumer’s perceived motivations positively influenced their attitudes toward mending, their mending frequency, and sustainable post-consumption clothing behaviors (SPCBs). Furthermore, participants’ attitudes toward mending, mending frequency, and their SPCBs positively influenced their intentions to mend clothes and to participate in community mending events. The current study advances the understanding of US consumers’ clothes mending behaviors and provides critical implications for local governments and education systems.

Keywords: attitudes; barriers; clothes mending; community; circular economy; fast fashion; motivations; repair; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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