Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178

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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption

journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/cleaner-and-responsible-consumption

Qualitative research on responsible consumption concerning apparel

Nadindla Srividya a, *, Rizwana Atiq b, Naga Sreedhar Volety c
a
Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata, India
b
Integral University, Lucknow, India
c
Birla School of Management, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Purpose of the study: The focus area of this paper is Sustainable Consumption linked to Sustainable Development
Second-hand market Goal (SDG) 12. It emphasizes Responsible Consumption and Production.
Sustainable consumption One of the most important SDGs for the fashion industry is SDG 12. About 98 million tonnes of non-renewable
Preowned clothes
resources are used by fashion per year and out of this just 12 per cent of the material used in clothing is presently
Environmental sustainability
SDG 12
recycled. There is an increasing trend in modern consumers to buy pre-loved apparel which are good looking and
affordable too.
Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research method was adopted for this study and 36 consumers were
interviewed in-depth to find out the reasons behind it. A purposeful Snowball sampling method is used for this
study across India. The interview method is adopted to collect the data.
Findings: It is found that modern consumers buy their clothes from second-hand stores both online and offline.
They have multiple reasons for this as it is cheap and affordable yet stylish clothing, easy shopping, temptation
most of the time, and fast fashion.
Originality: This paper is of first of its kind which deals with both buyers and sellers of the second-hand market
emphasizing environmental sustainability.

Funding Resources Action Program’s Clothing Reuse Market Makers (WRAP)

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
1. Introduction
The fashion or textile industry is one of the most polluting industries
in the world and this industry always craves newness and styles that
have no end. As mentioned by Acquaye et al. (2023) indiscriminate
disposal of second-hand clothes is highly detrimental to the environ­
ment. Though few green consumers insist on sustainable shopping, it is a
long way to go in that direction. It is very important to have cleaner
production and environmental sustainability. It is a right for all human
beings to have a clean environment to live happily and healthily.
Out of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framed by
the United Nations, the twelfth goal is Responsible Consumption and
Production, which discusses consuming responsibly. In concurrence
with the UN, India too pulled up its socks towards this to make this
planet livable. As part of a few first steps in this direction, the Waste &
project is started in collaboration with an NGO called World Resources
Institute (WRI) INDIA. Apart from this, the Indian Government, as a part
of this, has started its part with two initiatives namely Sustainable
Fashion and Make in India. Both these initiatives work together to
complement each other. With Make in India, the whole cycle has
become short with the huge availability of raw materials, infrastructure,
and skilled manpower. Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan also plays a major role
in cleaner production and encouraging a sustainable lifestyle. The Sus­
tainable Fashion and Indian Textile (SUIT) program and Sustainable,
Sustainability Resolution (SU.RE), the Better Cotton Initiative and
Accelerated Adoption of Efficient Textile Technologies (SAATAT) are
also launched by the Indian Government in this regard (Global Alliance
for Sustainable Fashion, 2023). This exactly supports what Martens and
Spaargaren (2005) have mentioned that policymaking should support
green production as well as green consumption. A circular system of
consumption such as take-make-use-reuse would promote cleaner pro­
duction practices rather than the linear system that is
take-make-use-throwaway (Ki et al., 2021). This also encourages cleaner
production processes to reduce pollution from the textile sector and use

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: nadindla.srividya@iem.edu.in (N. Srividya), riz.atiq@gmail.com (R. Atiq), sreedhar.vn@gmail.com (N.S. Volety).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2024.100178
Received 25 June 2023; Received in revised form 31 January 2024; Accepted 4 February 2024
Available online 5 February 2024
2666-7843/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
N. Srividya et al.
natural dyeing leading to less usage of chemicals and pollutants. As
mentioned by Okafor et al. (2021) total value chain right from procuring
the raw materials to the post consumption should be taken care of to
reduce environmental pollution.
When consumption is done responsibly, it automatically leads to
responsible production as demand creates production. Consumers also
should act responsibly while making decisions regarding purchasing
goods. There is an increasing tendency for people who are cautious
when they make purchasing decisions. Many people prefer organic and
eco-friendly products, try to reduce the usage of plastic and recycle
products as much as possible to reduce waste (Bardhi & Arnould, 2005).
This is not only limited to plastic but also extended to the apparel in­
dustry (Clanton, 2012).
Of late there is a huge emergence of showrooms and web rooms for
selling second-hand clothes. There are many people who donate clothes
that are no longer useful or fit but are in good condition; to these outlets.
There are even good branded outlets where people can take these good-
conditioned second-hand clothes for free or for a nominal amount.
Kiabza, a B2C marketplace founded in 2018 is leading in this sector in
enabling consumers to choose pre-owned clothes (P. Shah and Gajjar,
2021)
With the increasing awareness of Global Warming and environ­
mental awareness, consumers of the modern age are highly inclined
towards responsible or green shopping (Hobbs, 2016). Various com­
panies are also adopting the policies of sustainability. As part of these;
plastic bottles and flex boards are being turned into useable fibers for
fabric (Clanton, 2012). Currently, more and more consumers are
becoming environmentally conscious and they are being categorized as
“Green Consumers”. According to (Kim and Damhorst, 1998) Green
consumers are individuals looking to protect themselves and their world
through the power of their purchase decisions. They are also called
sustainable consumers. They would like to buy items of organic and
natural materials as they want to reduce the harmful impact on the
environment (Clanton, 2012). They not only buy sustainable goods but
they are very much concerned about the disposal of their goods too
particularly clothes. Even consumers are joining various clubs, move­
ments, or campaigns to buy good clothes that harm the environment the
least (Fashion Revolution, 2023). Joung and Park-Poaps (2013) have
found that the different disposal options that green consumers look at
are resale, donation, reusing, and disposal. Ha-Brookshire and Hodges
(2009) also identified that environmental awareness and charity
contribute to their decision to dispose of their apparel. As mentioned by
Morgan and Birtwistle (2009), today’s consumers are more into fash­
ionable clothes and would like to buy clothes for every occasion while
socializing. Hansson and Morozov (2016) also state that today’s youth
feel that they should have some “must-have” clothes irrespective of their
needs and they do not wear them for long. They keep on buying for every
memorable event (Ferraro et al., 2016). They sometimes even buy just
because they like the color, design, fabric, etc. This buying of clothes
indiscriminately without realizing the need eventually turns into excess
to the person and after a certain period of time, this eventually becomes
waste to be disposed of. Many consumers of today are disposing of their
clothes to charity shops, donations, etc. This is also validated by the
research of Edwards and Gibson (2017) and Christiansen and Snepenger
(2005). As reiterated by Turunen and Pöyry (2019), this way of
disposing of clothes and purchasing them keeping in view of their resale
value would reduce environmental issues like landfilling, etc. Weng
et al. (2016) mentioned disposing of the method of any product in their
research. The same applies to apparel too. Jackson and Michaelis (2003)
mention in their research that sustainable disposal and consumerism
should go hand in hand. This would eventually support and help in
attaining a cleaner and more sustainable environment for future gen­
erations too.
Traditionally, in India, people exchange their old or used clothes
with steel vessels. Few NGOs also rope into these activities for both
business purposes as well as environmental purposes. This paper
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178
addresses the issue of the sustainability purchasing and disposition of
apparel by today’s fashionable consumers, particularly in India. Rele­
vant hypotheses can be framed for this study as follows.
Ho1 To check the association between purchasing behavior and the
disposition of apparel.
Ho2 To study the buying and disposition of apparel in relation to
environmental issues.
Ho3 To find out the relation between sustainable buying and disposal
and responsible consumption.
This paper first deals with the introduction of the paper with ob­
jectives, and hypotheses. The next section studies the existing literature
and how this research fulfills the gap. Separate sections are made for
industry and theory. Section 3 deals with the methods adopted for this
study and the whole process is explained in detail in this section. Section
4 talks about the analysis and results of the study and the next section
discusses the implications of the study. Finally conclusion mentions the
limitations of the study and other details like societal implications etc.
1.1. Literature review
1.1.1. Sustainable consumption
Often buying is related to consumer behavior. The behavior, in­
tentions, and process of buying products, mostly new ones are studied in
depth in this subject. But studying about buying behavior of pre-loved or
pre-owned clothes is quite different. Kim and Damhorst (1998) opine
that clothes come under both durable and non-durable products. Few
clothes such as ethnic wear and party wear are considered durable and
an investment for future occasional use and good looking whereas fast
fashion clothes or stylish clothes are quite nondurable and fall into fast
moving consumer goods (FMCG) category Morgan and Birtwistle
(2009). There is an insatiable craving for these new trendy and stylish
clothes (Gregson, 2007). To address this insatiable need, a
non-traditional way of shopping has emerged such as second-hand
shopping. This is done both online and offline (Darley and Lim, 1999).
Like in the case of new clothes, the store image also plays a major role in
shopping decisions (Mitchell and Montgomery, 2010).
Buying and wearing second-hand or pre-owned clothes was looked
down upon yester years with an assumption that only underprivileged
people would go for this (Larsen and Janning, 2015). But now, the most
fashionable and trendy consumers are looking for pre-owned clothes for
various reasons (Swapana & Padmavathy, 2018a, 2018b) and this has
nothing to do with socioeconomic status. Park et al. (2020) talk about
thrift shopping and the motivations behind it. Fleura Bardhi & Eric J.
Arnould (2005) say that thrift shopping supports sustainability and
encourages a circular economy too. Seyfang (2005) and Frick and
Matthies (2020) opine that sustainable consumption comes at a pre­
mium and it may fail due to the pricing strategies. Moreover, sustainable
products or organic or green products would be costly and need proper
budgeting if consumers would like to go for green marketing (Bur­
ningham et al., 2014). Larsen and Janning (2015) say that second-hand
shopping or thrift shopping helps the economy too as the apparel would
be in circulation by recycling and reusing them. They also proved that
convenience is the key to shopping for apparel in the second-hand
market (Padmavathy et al., 2019). Ha-Brookshire and Hodges (2009)
and Hansson and Morozov (2016) study says that secondhand shopping
is not limited to only the youth, but it is spread along all age groups and
lifestyles. To et al. (2007) mention that utilitarian motives mixed with
the factors of saving cost as well as time for shopping, convenience,
availability of information, and selection from various styles or trends of
apparel make many people go for second-hand clothing. Hobbs (2016)
says in his study that reference groups, their social circles or friend
circles, and personal contacts play an important role in choosing
second-hand apparel. They would like to verify the products either
physically or online before purchasing them. They also would like to
N. Srividya et al.
take the opinions of their trusted aids before plunging into purchasing
(Padmavathy et al., 2019). Most consumers read reviews about the
features, quality, and other details of the product before making their
final decision. Mostly when it comes to non-new clothes, consumers look
for value for money (Swapana & Padmavathy, 2018a, 2018b). Roux
(2006) and Roux and Guiot (2008) have also mentioned that consumers
prefer second-hand shopping for bargaining products. This second-hand
shopping also addresses the issues relating to the sustainability of the
environment.
1.2. Disposition
The collaborative or sharing economy has become an integral part of
the circular economy. This is also called the grey or shadow market. This
also deals with the sharing or donating of excess products to others,
particularly to needy people (Abbes et al., 2020). With the advent of
computers, mobiles, apps, and the internet the sharing economy is
growing at a faster rate. The pre-owned or non-new apparel market
takes a different level altogether with the emergence of data and
smartphones (Acquier et al., 2017).
Sustainable consumption has become a buzzword among modern
consumers which enables them to choose and use their apparel or
clothes consciously (Nanayakkara, 2019). Gregson (2007) mentions in
his study that excess or useful waste can be recycled for the benefit of
others and society as well. He also argues that waste management would
reduce the storage space in the wardrobes. Donating or offering clothes
for charity contributes a lot to waste management as well as to the
environment. The three R’s Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse are also ach­
ieved through these charity shops or second-hand shops. Waste reduc­
tion and recycling help the production cycle and thereby the supply
chain (Ferraro et al., 2016). This in turn reduces the environmental
hazards as the textile and apparel industry is one of the most polluting
industries in the world.
The second-hand market has an impact on other industries such as
wardrobes, attics, drawers, and to some extent, fridge-making industries
too (Gregson, 2007). This means the production of these too can be
optimized leading to sustainable consumption (Niinimäki et al., 2020).
1.3. Theory
Sustainability is a term that was coined in a way back in 1987 in the
Brundtland Report (Chang et al., 2017) This report states that global
environmental problems are mainly due to poverty and irresponsible
consumption as well as production (Visser and Brundtland, 2013).
Though Chang et al. (2017) stressed that firms should take the initiative
toward sustainability, it should be more from the consumers towards
responsible and sustainable consumption.
Halkier (2010) identifies four positions in the consumption sustain­
ably. They are first, rational consumer who takes decisions cautiously.
Second is the activist consumer who demands green consumption. With
the advent of more greenwashing, consumers turn more pessimistic
about green products, and finally, the last stage of the consumer who
would be more reflective and reflexive. Warde (1998, 2005) and Welch
and Warde (2015) have identified that they are psychological and
behavioral facets of individual consumption. The psychology and the
pattern of the behavior of a person could have an impact on the con­
sumption. Warde (1998) further argued that the societal impact also
would be present in the consumption of an individual. They further
elaborated that consumer comes in nine types of disguises namely
Chooser, Communicator, Explorer, Identity Seeker, Hedonist or Artist?,
Victim, Rebel Activist, or Citizen. This contributed to the Social theory of
Consumerism. This talks about the effect of culture, environment, and
society on consumerism and consumption. Consumption would reflect
the personality, attitude, and behavior of the consumers too. When it
comes to the media and fashion products, the consumption would reflect
the personal manifestation or portrayal of self too. The new concept of
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178
Green consumption also would come into this arena only. The con­
sumption would have an impact on the environment even (Shove and
Warde, 2002).
In addition to these concepts recently renewable energies are also
encouraged which supports the Green Economy. Howard Bowen who is
considered as Father of Corporate Social Responsibility in 1953 first
time insisted that businesses should function in line with the objectives
and morals of society.
1.3.1. Contribution towards the existing Knowledge and research gap
On checking the existing literature, we can say that there are a very
small number of papers available on this topic particularly focusing on
both buying and selling pre-loved apparel using technology and apps.
Even their contribution toward a circular economy and sustainability
through technology-based apps or sites is also studied at length. Various
measures are steps adopted towards cleaner and responsible consump­
tion are studied in detail.
1.4. Behaviour and attitudes of second-hand consumers
The behavioral aspects also affect the consumption of second-hand
clothes of consumers. It is identified that many factors like philan­
thropic awareness, concern for the environment, problems associated
with accumulating and storage of clothes, and others. When it comes to
the disposition of clothes inclination toward charity, donation, recy­
cling, exchange of clothes for steel utensils, etc. are identified. The
consumers who are willing for sustainable consumption are more in­
clined towards the circular economy and slow fashion. They would like
to use the clothes to the fullest and possible extent. Instead of landfilling
with used or not so used clothes, it is always better to prolong the usage
of such clothes. This would eventually reduce the pollution even to the
possible extent. The rapid advancement of technology, the role of
clothes in self-expression, affluence, and lower prices would contribute
to sustainable consumption (Paço et al., 2021). The concern for the
environment need not be translated into buying second-hand clothes.
There is always a huge gap between the attitudes and behavior of people
in choosing second-hand clothes and really buying the products for use.
Buying green clothes is more affected by social pressure and
eco-consciousness (Paço et al., 2021). There is another segment of
consumers called Sacrifice Consumers who are more inclined towards
the environment and would prefer green clothes though they are a little
costlier (Mcneill and Moore, 2015). La Rosa and Johnson Jorgensen
(2021) also reiterated the same in their research.
Rather than buying second-hand clothes, people would easily prefer
to dispose of clothes more eco-friendly and in more sustainable way. The
most easily accepted mode of sustainable disposal of clothes is giving
them away for charity or donations. The charity shops and go-down
sales are highly prominent in the West and in India too, traditionally
the old and second-hand clothes are exchanged with steel utensils or
given away to the poor. Culture also plays a major role in the purchasing
habits and their attitude. At the same time a few demographic variables
such as age, and income also play a major role in their attitudes toward
the consumption of second-hand clothes (Jimenez-Fernandez et al.,
2023).
There is a myth associated with the usage of second-hand clothes that
only poor people would prefer to buy them. The attitudes of the con­
sumers play a major role in their consumption intention with reference
to the disposal behavior of the clothes. People have a low level of in­
terest in buying second-hand clothes and those people who buy them
too, would like to purchase from physical stores rather than buying
online. They would like to feel the fabric and check the condition of the
second-hand clothes before buying. They would prefer to receive
second-hand clothes from their friends and relatives too. The study also
reveals that their awareness of the environment would have a positive
effect on the consumption of second-hand clothes. This awareness about
the environment is considered a Circular Economy enabler. These
N. Srividya et al.
enablers will have a positive effect on the attitudes of the consumers.
There is a strong relationship between consumer attitude, disposition
behavior, and consumption intention (Menicou and Vassiliou, 2010).
The price, quality, and reusability of the clothes also play a major
role in choosing the second-hand apparel. Young consumers would
prefer to exchange their clothes with their friends as they do not want to
wear the same clothes for a long time (Vehmas et al., 2018).
The objectives of this research would be to study the current trends
and ways of sustainable consumption as well as disposition. This study
also focuses on the changing views of the youth towards the apparel
industry. To achieve this objective survey or interview method is
adopted for this study. As the second apparel industry is in a nascent
stage in India, only a limited number of people who use such clothes are
available. Hence, the snowballing sampling method is considered for
this purpose. A further detail of this process is elaborated in the further
sections.
1.5. Industrial background
As mentioned earlier, the second-hand apparel market is increasing
at a fast rate and is expanding on multiple platforms. It is also altering
the face and operations of the whole textile industry. Customers are
looking for better attire, fashionable accessories yet cheap, and other
items that make them look and feel good. They are also becoming more
environmentally concerned and do not mind choosing pre-owned or pre-
loved apparel. As a result, the trend is increasingly taking a sharp rise in
the whole industry. New startups as well as leading companies such as
Kiabza are embracing this trend to expand their business and sales (P.
Shah and Gajjar, 2021). This has made way to RaaS (Resale as a Service)
(FMI, 2022). This is an emerging concept that many existing, as well as
new companies, are adapting. Here, they create a platform for others to
sell their excess or unwanted products. This will elevate the growth of
the whole industry to new heights in the near future. This will also help
for cleaner and more sustainable production of apparels.
1.5.1. Global scenario
The concept of thrift marketing, charity shops, or garage sales is
there in the Western world for ages. The whole global market is esti­
mated in 2022 at US$71,225.6 million and is expected to grow at a
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.8% in the coming decade
(Shah and Gajjar, 2021). The entire industry is gaining popularity
among the masses as well as in elite groups owing to its less expensive
yet high-quality nature. The share of the second-hand apparel market is
12–15% of its parent second-hand industry (FMI, 2022; Shah and Gajjar,
2021). This itself establishes its growth and popularity across the globe.
The global growth of this industry for 2017–2022 was 7.1% and it is
expected to double that is 14.8% during 2022–2032 (FMI, 2022; Shah
and Gajjar, 2021). Globally huge percentage of people would be using
preowned clothes with Working professionals 77%, Urban dwellers 73%
and House owners 71% (Nicole Lapin, 2017). Moreover, the
second-hand clothes market is almost 50% of the total Resale market
and it is growing at a faster pace (Nicole Lapin, 2017; P. Shah and Gajjar,
2021).
As mentioned by Sethi (1975), the willingness to adopt and bring
sustainability to life should come from the consumers and customers,
rather than being imposed by corporations or Governments by various
means. All these measures go to waste if the consumers are not actively
taking part in maintaining sustainability. Recently the number of con­
sumers who vouch for sustainability is increasing. As per a recent study
conducted in 2017, the percentage of consumers who buy second-hand
garments only for the reason of environmental protection is as follows
(Nicole Lapin, 2017).
61 percent of the consumers fall in 18–24 age group, 51 percent into
25 to 34, 37 percent of people into 35 to 44 age group, 43 percent of
consumers into 45 to 54, 29 percent into 55 to 64 age group, and finally
19 percent of people are above 65 years of age (Nicole Lapin, 2017).
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Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178
1.5.2. Indian scenario
India is of special events and festivals. It is a highly diverse country
that has festivals spread across the calendar year apart from special
personal occasions. Adding to it, Indians are highly meticulous and
particular in their formal wear. Gen Z wants new stylish clothes for every
single event which makes India quite unique in the global scenario. It is
one of the fastest-growing markets with a share of 18.2% of the entire
South Asia second-hand apparel market (FMI, 2022; Shah and Gajjar,
2021). Growth is expected at 17.9% for India whereas for the entire
globe, it is expected at 14.8%. This means the growth of the Indian
market (17.9%) is more than that of the global market (14.8%), thanks
to Start Up India, Digital India, the ever-growing tech-savvy (youth)
population with high disposable incomes blended with the quick fashion
of the newer generations.
The GDP per capita for India in 2021 is 2277.4 whereas that for the
US is 69,287.5 for the same year 2021. Yet the growth rate of this in­
dustry is much more than its Western counterparts (Fashion Revolution,
2020). India is growing at a faster pace and with the advent of G20,
sustainability is of its utmost importance. India is playing a leading role
in cleaner production and sustainability.
WRI India has conducted a study on second-hand clothing. They took
a sample of 135 consumers who use second-hand clothing. It is observed
that 60 percent of consumers are female and 39 percent are male and
other 1 percent prefer not to say their gender. Again 73 percent of fe­
males are between 21 and 35 age group, 19 percent are between 36 and
60, 7 percent are below 20 and 1 percent is above 60 years of age.
In males, 65 percent are between 21 and 35 years, 25 percent are
between 36 and 60, 3 percent are below 20 and 7 percent are above 60
(R. J. Shah & Srivastava, 2014)(P. Shah and Gajjar, 2021).
When it comes to income distribution, 35 percent of people are upper
middle class with monthly family income between 1 lakh to 3 lakhs. 28
percent of people are from the upper class with more than 3 lakhs, 22
percent are from the middle class between 50,000 and 1 lakh, 10 percent
are from the lower middle class between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 and 5
percent of people are from lower class with less than Rs. 25,000 (P. Shah
and Gajjar, 2021). Hence, it is a myth to think that only the financially
compromised category would prefer second-hand clothing.
When it comes to the region of the consumers, 58 percent of the
consumers are from West India, 23 percent of people are from North
India, 12 percent are from South India, 4 percent are from Central India
and 3 percent is from East India (P. Shah and Gajjar, 2021).
The textile industry is growing very rapidly in India. India has
emerged as the 5th largest exporter in the textile industry with a market
size of $22bn (Statistica, 2023).
2. Methods
2.1. Interview Guide
A qualitative research method is chosen as it best suits the study. It is
the approach that allows collecting the data on the deeper ground and
based on high relevance too. The researcher interviewed the potential
participants in the beginning and verified their suitability and relevance
for this study to qualify the respondents. Some of the interview questions
are mentioned here.
• Do they buy or sell their or their family members’ clothes in the
second-hand market?
• What kind of clothes do they buy or sell, such as kidswear, mens­
wear, etc.?
• If so, how frequently and where?
• What is the medium? Online or offline?
• If Online, please mention the names of the apps or websites.
• Do they face any problems or issues while doing this? If so, what are
they?
N. Srividya et al.
After verifying them, their demographics like age, gender, place,
state, marital status, family size, and occupation are noted down. A pilot
interview was carried down to check the suitability and relevance of the
instrument. Based on the results, it is modified to capture data
sufficiently.
This approach allowed the researcher to go further to unveil various
points regarding the study. The approach also offered flexibility
depending on the respondent. A purposeful snowball sampling tech­
nique is used for this purpose. It allowed the researcher to proceed
further with relevant respondents by asking them sensible questions.
The interview method also enabled us to collect rich and in-depth
relevant data after screening(Vehmas et al., 2018).
The inclusion criterion is based on the suitability of the respondent
whether he or she would be a consumer or marketer of the sustainable
apparel industry. Consumers of ages ranging from as low as 18–70 years
are considered for this study(Mcneill and Moore, 2015). There was no
age restriction for this study. As long as the consumers actively partic­
ipate in the purchasing or disposition behavior, they are well enough to
be respondents to the study.
Participants were asked for a preliminary interview to check their
suitability to take part in this study. Mostly they were contacted through
the personal contacts of the researchers. Once their suitability is estab­
lished through a preliminary contact, an in-depth interview is scheduled
on the mutual consent of the researcher and the respondent. Re­
spondents of various occupations are also contacted for this research.
Finally, 36 consumers were selected after the first round. Other
studies conducted a similar qualitative approach with a smaller or the
same number of respondents. For instance, Mcneill and Moore (2015)
involved 10 qualified respondents using a qualitative research method.
They conducted the study in two stages. In the first stage, the re­
spondents are qualified for the second round. In the second round, after
the preliminary screening, 10 respondents are considered for in-depth
interviews. Vehmas et al. (2018) involved 5 respondents employing
interviews. Apart from this they also used other techniques like Inno­
vation Platform Owela, Internal and External Workshop. Bairagi and
Acharya (2022) involved 15 respondents applying unstructured in­
terviews. In addition to this, they also adopted Workshop, Survey, and
Wardrobe Audit methods.
Data collection took place in October 2022. The researcher sought an
appointment with the participants to collect the data. It took nearly 30
min for each participant to collect the data. First, the participant is made
comfortable and explained the purpose of this interview. They were
ensured that anonymity would be maintained throughout the study and
that their identity would never be revealed even during the publishing of
the results. All the responses were taken down and noted for further
usage. The interview process started with acquaintances and snowball
sampling is used further. A few of the interviews took place in person
and a few more took place over the phone. A semi-structured interview
method is followed where the questions are framed upon the responses.
The same set of questions was asked for all the participants and the
questions were mostly open-ended giving a way for a deeper discussion
for gathering large and good data. The semi-structured questions con­
sisted of.
• demographics,
• the activity they do,
• the kind of products they deal with,
• the reason behind it and
• the issues or problems they faced if any.
The researcher has a wonderful chance to deal with many re­
spondents to find out the various issues relating to it. The researcher
intended to record their responses while interviewing, but because of the
hesitance and apprehension of a few participants, the idea was dropped.
However, the researcher was aided by an assistant to note down the
points carefully while interviewing them. Later, both the researcher and
5
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178
the assistant jotted down all the points discussed. This helped the
researcher not to miss a single point that was mentioned.
2.2. Processing
After the interview process, the data is collected and read again and
again. Important points are jotted down and coded. These are tran­
scribed and put into the research. The method of axial coding (Scott and
Medaugh, 2017) is adopted to extract the themes of the research.
3. Analysis & results
This study was conducted across India from sixteen states from all
corners. There are more women who are into these exchanges with
second-hand shopping or buying compared to their male counterparts.
Some of the participants buy clothes from Instagram-based online por­
tals and some of them would sell their used/unused clothes online. Most
of the participants buy or sell clothes through these portals; there are
also a few people who do transactions for accessories as well.
3.1. Motivations
The reasons behind the transactions would vary from person to
person. There are two types of transactions, 1. Buying and 2. Selling/
disposing. The reasons behind buying are discussed below.
3.1.1. Buying pre-loved
3.1.1.1. Fast fashion theme. Most of the participants who buy pre-loved
apparel agree that fashion changes very rapidly and when they tend to
keep themselves up with the fashion, they find it costly when they go for
new clothes. But pre-loved clothes are cheaper and affordable at the
same time trendy too. And it is easy for them to shop as most of them are
dealing with online buying and home delivery.
“Fashion changes very fast with new designs and trends and it is
very difficult to buy new clothes that are trendy and stylish. These
online platforms help us to be up-to-date from time to time as it is
easy and affordable.” (Participant Nos 4 and 25)
Not only this, the current generation feels that they should have
must-haves in their wardrobes irrespective of the need and price.
“Whenever I go for an outing or a social meeting such as get-
togethers or parties, I would like to wear highly trendy clothes not
only to look good but to look unique or the center of attraction. So, I
strongly feel that I should have some must-haves reserved for those
occasions. In physical stores, these may be sometimes costly, but in
pre-loved apparel, they are quite affordable though they are pre­
mier branded.” (Participant Nos 5 and 21)
3.1.1.2. Easy shopping theme. Few participants feel that buying through
online apps is easier compared to buying from physical stores.
“Buying from online apps is quite easy and comfortable and
moreover, we do not need a specific time to shop or buy unlike in
physical stores. Sometimes, I surf and end up buying while
commuting from office to home also.” (Participant Nos 1 and 30)
Usually, people are found to be on social media or surfing through
various online apps when they are commuting, especially to cut time.
“I usually utilize my commuting time and waiting time by browsing
or surfing social media and checking my personal mail and What­
sApp. During this process, there would be several pop-ups and ad­
vertisements that are very alluring and attractive. I would go into
the details only to know that there are several offers and discounts
eventually making the price very low. In the end, most of the time I
N. Srividya et al.
end up buying one or two for myself without actually going shop­
ping.” (Participant Nos 17, 33, and 26)
3.1.1.3. Temptation theme. Most of the young generations get tempted
to buy trendy clothes even if they do not need them.
“While shopping for other things, she would be tempted to buy good-
looking clothes, particularly when roaming in malls. When we get
the same kind or type of clothes in second-hand stores, why cannot
we go for them?” (Participant Nos 15 and 19)
Not only in the malls but people also get tempted while surfing the
internet. Participant 15 mentions that while she is active on social
media, the advertisements tempt her to look into various websites, and
thereby ultimately, she ends up buying one or two dresses for herself.
“Actually, when I watch Facebook, there would be a good number of
advertisements about many products, particularly about apparel. I
would eventually surf them and when I find the price and other
offers, especially during festive seasons, I would be tempted to buy
one or more dresses even though I do not need them at that
moment.” (Participant Nos 5 and 22)
3.1.1.4. Affordable pricing theme. Apart from all the factors mentioned
above, people find the pre-loved apparel affordable and cheaper
compared to the new ones.
“When I checked the price of the branded clothes on online apps for
pre-loved apparel for the first time, I was surprised by their pricing.
I find no comparison between them to their new counterparts.
Actually, the price is also one of the factors that led me to choose
those dresses on online portals.” (Participant Nos 1 and 28)
Actually, the price of the clothes in second-hand stores is much
cheaper than the new clothes, even in the physical stores.
“I prefer to buy my hosiery and other few clothes from a second
store as they are quite affordable and those are in good condition
too.” (Participant Nos 15 and 27)
3.1.2. Selling the old clothes
Now, when the factors for selling old good conditioned clothes are
concerned, the following are considered by the participants.
3.1.2.1. Guilt feeling theme. Many respondents feel guilty when they
look at the unused good clothes in their wardrobes. To remove the
feeling, they would prefer to sell in the second-hand market or offer or
donate their good clothes to needy people.
“Whenever I look at the costly and good-conditioned dresses in my
wardrobe, I feel guilty and depressed for the amount of money I
spent, yet not wear those dresses at length. There are a few dresses,
which I never wore so far.
So, to feel good or eliminate the guilt, I would donate the clothes in
the orphanage or to the needy people.” (Participant Nos 2, 20 and
31)
Not only donating but a few people are selling their clothes on online
portals also.
“I have come to know about a few online portals where I can sell my
unused or good-conditioned clothes. I thought instead of wasting
them like that it is better to sell them so that others can use them at
least.” (Participant Nos 11 and 29)
3.1.2.2. Resale value theme. Many people find the resale value of their
old clothes quite impressive. Instead of just wasting them like that they
6
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178
would like to resell them for good money.
“I have a good number of old silk sarees of mine, my mother’s, and
my mother-in-law’s too. All of them are in good condition with
silver zari. I’ve come to know about oldzari.com through some of
my friends and tried it once. I felt very comfortable and easy with
the portal. I could make good money too out of them.” (Participant
Nos 6 and 32)
Not only silk sarees, but even normal dresses also find a place in the
second-hand market.
“Previously, I used to exchange my old clothes for steel utensils. But
recently, I found that there are few stores where we can resell our
apparel for a good amount of money. I visited the store with all my
stock and they offered a good exchange.” (Participant Nos 13 and
24)
3.1.2.3. Reduce Wastage theme. Consumers are not only concerned
about the price and other things but there are a few consumers who are
sensitive to the environment too.
“I feel instead of keeping the old clothes like that, they can be
donated or resold for better purposes. I prefer donating them to
charity.” (Participant Nos 8, 35 and 23)
Fewer consumers feel that reselling the clothes can pave the way to
the reduction of landfilling and waste.
“I have come to know that there are a few ways that old clothes can
be recycled into new ones or into paper. I also came to know a few
online portals where they can pick up the clothes for reselling or
recycling. Instead of littering the surroundings with used and old
clothes, I prefer to recycle them through these channels.” (Partici­
pant Nos 10 and 34)
3.1.2.4. Psychological satisfaction theme. Few participants responded
that they would get psychological satisfaction while reselling or recy­
cling the apparel.
“Whenever I found new but very costly clothes which I had never
worn or worn a few times, I feel guilty that unnecessarily I wasted
money on them. On reselling them to the online portals, at least I get
some respite I got some amount by reselling them.” (Participant No
9)
There are a few more respondents who would feel happier while
donating those unused good conditioned clothes to the underprivileged.
“I get abundant happiness in donating my unused and good-
conditioned clothes to underprivileged people. They can never buy
such costly clothes and on seeing the clothes offered to them they
were immensely excited and along with them I too.” (Participant
Nos 3 and 36)
3.2. Issues or problems faced
Few respondents particularly the aged ones or the people who are
less tech-savvy are not comfortable with online shopping or the dispo­
sition of apparel. They prefer physical stores for shopping and charity or
donations for disposition.
“Being a senior citizen and less tech-savvy, I find it very difficult to
work with apps on mobile or online websites. If I have to do this
way, I necessarily need to depend on someone else and that I do not
like. So, I prefer physical stores or charity to dispose of my extra
clothes.” (Participant No 8)
Few respondents are not happy with the apps and their requirements.
N. Srividya et al.
“Few apps such as Etsy need high effort to dispose of our clothes. I
may not have much time and patience to do so sometimes. So, most
of the time, I find myself either disposing of with other apps or with
physical stores.” (Participant Nos 10, 25, and 35)
4. Discussions
The fashion industry is emerging into a sustainable one across the
globe with increasing awareness and interest in the environment and
society. The CAGR of the total fashion industry in India for 2018–2023 is
projected as 14.4% and globally 9.99% (Statistica, 2023) Consumers
also becoming more concerned about the environment. They appreciate
transparency and accountability from fashion brands.
Recent COVID has proved that many people have clothes in excess
and COVID also taught the importance of a cleaner environment and
cleaner productions. In the UK, the public was set to dispose of 67
million clothing items, most of them to charity (Vladimirova et al.,
2022). Two in five citizens in the UK were ready to donate their clothes
to charity, recyclers, and local authorities for donations. A campaign
called “Love your clothes” has been run to find a correct and suitable
new home for old clothes and excess accessories. WRAP survey declares
that average people had donated eleven items of clothes with at least
59% of clothes still waiting at their homes to be donated. WRAP also
shared its action plan with Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) for
promoting sustainable clothing with several parties like retailers,
brands, charities, recyclers, trade bodies, etc. SCAP brings all the entities
like Industry, Government, and Third Sector together towards this
cause. It works for reusing, recycling, and influencing consumers to use
sustainable and cleaner clothes (Galante Amaral and Spers, 2022)
5. Conclusion
It can be noted from the research that nowadays consumers are very
cautious in disposing of their used apparel and clothes. This supports the
findings of Shim (1995), but only to add the trend is going on and
increasing year on year. They are willing to buy second-hand clothes
also which are very affordable and good-looking. Roux Dominique and
Guiot (2008) also reiterate the same dispositions from his research.
While disposing also instead of just landfilling them or just wasting them
away, they are looking for options for a sustainable way of disposing of
them as mentioned by Saurabh Gupta (2022). When consumers become
vigilant about their disposal and buying of clothes, they can be
responsible enough to buy exactly what is required and how much is
required (Weng et al., 2016) also found the same in their research. Even
when they feel they have an excess, they can be disposed of in a righ­
teous manner keeping the environment and sustainability in mind. This
is mentioned by Ha-Brookshire and Hodges (2009) in their studies. As
mentioned by Hansson & and Morozov (2016) this research also proves
that second-hand clothing either buying or disposition is spread across
all age groups and lifestyles irrespective of gender. But it can be noted
from the above demographics of the participants, that most of them are
ladies. Shah and Gajjar (2021) also found in their research that ladies
dominate more while shopping for clothes.
As discussed earlier in the introduction part as well as the theory
part, a conscious buying of apparel and the disposal or reusing of the
clothes would benefit the environment in a sustainable way. This would
ultimately support sustainable consumption for the benefit of the planet
Earth too.
5.1. Ethical issues
While conducting the research, the researcher took care of research
8.0 APPENDIX
7
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178
issues by obtaining their consent to participate in the research from the
participants. All the participants are briefed about the research and its
purpose and aims. It is made clear that their responses would never be
made public and their privacy would not be encroached upon by any
means. All of them expressed their interest and willingness to take part
in the research by giving real opinions or data for the questions that were
asked. They were all made comfortable before asking questions and
sufficient time was given to them to answer questions too. It was made
clear to them that their responses were noted to be presented in the
research paper.
5.2. Limitations of the study
This research is based mostly on the responses received from the
participants during the interview. Though many other products are on
the rise in the second-hand market, this study concentrates only on the
apparel industry. Family income could have been included in this
research.
5.3. Scope for further research
The research can be extended further to study various online as well
as offline stores that are selling and buying second-hand apparel and
their marketing strategies for attracting sufficient customers to their
segments. Each one that is shopping and disposition of apparels can be
studied separately
in depth. Further, the same study can be extended to other products
too apart from apparel like accessories. A comparative analysis based on
a region with the consideration of the family income of the consumers
can be explored. Further, the various segments of apparel like formal
wear, and ethnic wear can also be included in the study. A comparative
study on consumer choices while buying normal apparel and second-
hand apparel can be done. Attitudinal analysis on the consumer
behavior of this second-hand apparel also can be done. An extensive
bibliometric paper can be done.
5.4. Societal implications of this research
As this study is fully based on second-hand apparel and its contri­
butions towards environmental aspects such as SDGs, this paper has a
huge impact on society. It can also create awareness about various av­
enues to buy or sell their apparel in the second-hand market. This would
eventually support the circular economy and sustainability.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Nadindla Srividya: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original
draft, Conceptualization. Rizwana Atiq: Methodology, Formal analysis,
Data curation. Naga Sreedhar Volety: Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
N. Srividya et al. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 12 (2024) 100178

Participant Age Gender Marital Status Family Size Occupation State

No

1 24 Male Single 4 Fashion Designer West Bengal

2 32 Female Married 5 Freelancer Andhra Pradesh
3 46 Female Not Married 4 IT Professional Karnataka
4 19 Male Married 3 Student Orissa
5 54 Female Single 3 Professor Maharashtra
6 23 Female Married 2 House-wife Tamil Nadu
7 21 Male Married 4 Content Writer Uttar Pradesh
8 65 Female Not Married 4 Media Professional West Bengal
9 34 Female Single 4 Artist/Freelancer Telangana
10 26 Male Not Married 4 Teacher West Bengal
11 34 Female Married 2 IT Professional Tamil Nadu
12 21 Female Not Married 3 Chef Andhra Pradesh
13 19 Male Not Married 4 Student Orissa
14 54 Female Married 4 House Wife Karnataka
15 46 Female Single 3 Freelancer Uttar Pradesh
16 34 Male Married 2 Data Analyst Maharashtra
17 34 Male Married 3 Lawyer Telangana
18 29 Female Not Married 4 Professor Tamil Nadu
19 24 Female Not Married 3 Fashion Designer West Bengal
20 32 Female Single 4 Office Assistant Madhya Pradesh
21 46 Male Not Married 3 Sales person Bihar
22 19 Male Not Married 3 Student Uttar Pradesh
23 54 Male Married 4 Professor Madhya Pradesh
24 23 Female Not Married 4 Admin Haryana
25 21 Female Not Married 4 Content Writer Delhi
26 65 Male Married 4 Retired Kerala
27 34 Female Single 2 Bank Officer Himachal Pradesh
28 26 Female Not Married 4 Cashier Uttaranchal
29 34 Male Not Married 3 Clerk Assam
30 21 Female Not Married 3 Student Andhra Pradesh
31 19 Female Not Married 4 Student Orissa
32 54 Female Married 4 House Wife Kerala
33 46 Female Married 4 House Wife Uttar Pradesh
34 34 Male Not Married 4 Marketing Professional Uttar Pradesh
35 34 Female Not Married 4 Artist Telangana
36 29 Female Married 4 Teacher Tamil Nadu

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