I like to experience clothes, you know : The Role of Online Resale Platforms in Consumers’ Fashion Consumption

• Main Authors: Bakkenist, Jean-Paul, Lammers, Alice
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi 2021
• Subjects: Resale platforms; online clothing resale; liquid consumption; fashion cycle; sustainability; Social Sciences; Samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-26516

The study aims to gain insights on whether the use of online resale platforms alter the relationship that consumers have with their clothes and how that - as a consequence - leads to a changed consumption pattern. With the awareness of the significance of resale, potentially causing wide-scale industrial changes, the aim is also to examine the possible environmental effects resale can have. In seeking to explain this phenomena, this study undertakes a qualitative research strategy with an abductive approach. The primary data consists of semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with respondents from a younger consumer group who are or have been frequent users of online resale platforms and holds a noticeable interest in fashion. A thematic analysis was then conducted as a framework to analyse the interview data, resulting in a structure of first order and second order concepts as themes. The findings indicate that the use of resale platforms enables the consumer to engage with garments at a higher level of pace, quantity, and variety. The convenience with which the user can purchase and dispose of garments causes a continuous inflow and outflow of clothes. This - consequently - may call attention to the possible negative environmental effects resale platforms may lead to. This study adds value to the intersection of fields concerning fashion consumption and sustainability.