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

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  • Wenjun Guo

    (School of Knowledge Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi 9231292, Japan
    Southampton International College, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China)

  • Eunyoung Kim

    (School of Knowledge Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi 9231292, Japan)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenjun Guo & Eunyoung Kim, 2023. "Categorizing Chinese Consumers’ Behavior to Identify Factors Related to Sustainable Clothing Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:6126-:d:1114336
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Wenjun Guo & Eunyoung Kim, 2023. "Identifying Factors Influencing Consumers’ Choice of Disposal Channels Regarding Children’s Clothing in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-17, August.

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