Frugality, style longevity and garment repair – environmental attitudes and consumption behaviour amongst young Canadian fashion consumers

ABSTRACT

As awareness grows of the detrimental environmental impacts of the fashion industry, an increasing number of consumers are indicating a willingness to consume more sustainably. Part of sustainable clothing consumption includes extending clothing life through repair of worn or damaged garments. Younger consumers are an important demographic who consume and dispose of the majority of fashion garments. This study examined the influence of environmental awareness, frugality, style longevity and quality consciousness on garment repair by young consumers. A survey was conducted using established scales. Hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model. Environmental awareness, frugality and quality consciousness directly influenced garment repair. However, style longevity did not directly influence repair. Style longevity may indirectly influence repair through quality consciousness, as consumers seeking long-lasting quality clothing are more likely to engage in repair. This study contributes to the emerging literature that seeks to understand the consumers’ behaviours that prolong clothing life.

KEYWORDS:

• Clothing repair
• environmental attitudes
• frugality
• quality
• sustainability
• fashion consumption

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Sarah Wakes, Dr. Linda Dunn and Ms. Lauren Degenstein for their contribution in the development of the survey instrument.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).