In terms of the research question for this project, based on the subject matter, it is “How to motivate millennials gen-z to treat their unwanted clothes for second use instead of directly dithering or throwing aways these clothes?” The reason for this research question is as the following.
First of all, so far, there have been ample research studies focusing on ethical consumption in the fashion industry suggesting that cultural barriers, insufficient consumer interests, as well as lack of awareness are the major obstacles (Kirchherr et al., 2018). To be more specific, for many customers, used clothes or secondary clothes are still something that they are not familiar with or something that they just see on mass media (Van Weelden et al., 2016). In addition, the quality of used clothes in the eyes of customers is inferior to new clothing and accessory products (Van Weelden et al., 2016). Also, according to Su et al. (2013), there is a limited channel for the public to learn sufficient information and reliable knowledge about used clothes or second-hand clothes. This may serious hinder the efforts to promote ethical consumption among fashion users as a solution to the world’s urgent environmental problems based the sustainable culture of second-hand use of clothes. In terms of the reason, Ghisellini et al. (2016) further stated that customer’s acceptance and purchase of used products are crucial to the success of ethical consumption. Therefore, it is reasonable for this project to focus on promoting the sustainable culture of second-hand use of clothes and accessories through education and information dissemination.
In terms of why this project focuses on a desired result among millennials and Gen-Z consumers, the reason is as the following. Firstly, nowadays, Gen-Z and millennials are the main customers in the fashion industry. For example, in terms of the luxury fashion industry in China, its main customers are extremely young in nature. To be more specific, around 58% of the luxury fashion customers in China are those aged between 18 and 30 years (Shenzhen Zhongshang Big Data Co., LTD, 2018). In terms of the spending, 26–35-year-olds in China were responsible for 62% of high-end luxury consumption in China (Shenzhen Zhongshang Big Data Co., LTD, 2018). From this perspective, it is meaningful to focus on younger generations of customers because this then can help the project to make a bigger difference.
In the meantime, focusing on Millennials and Gen-Z customers also increase the like of success for the project. On the one hand, compared with older people, young people are always more open-minded (Corepal et al., 2018). They are more likely to learn new concepts. Also, it is easier for them to change their behaviors (Corepal et al., 2018). On the other hand, nowadays, young people are already showing more support to ethical and sustainable fashion consumption compared with other groups. For example, according to Smith (2022), in a research study in the Untie States, researchers identified that approximately three quarters (73%) of Gen Zs were willing to pay more for sustainable products or services, and the figure was 68% for millennials and 55% for Gen-z. This then indicates that young people are also more likely to make a difference once their awareness of the sustainable culture of second-hand use of clothes and accessories has been raised. This then greatly improves the chance for the success of the entire project.
Bibliography
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Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., & Ulgiati, S. (2016). A review on circular economy: The expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 114, pp.11-32.
Smith, P. (2022). Willingness of different generations to pay more for sustainable products in the U.S. as of December 2019. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1278163/willingness-to-pay-more-for-sustainable-products-in-the-us/
Su, B., Heshmati, A., Geng, Y., & Yu, X. (2013). A review of the circular economy in China: moving from rhetoric to implementation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 42, 215–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.020
Van Weelden, E., Mugge, R., & Bakker, C. (2016) .Paving the way towards circular consumption: Exploring consumer acceptance of refurbished mobile phones in the dutch market. Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, pp.743-754.
Kirchherr, J., Piscicelli, L., Bour, R., Kostense-Smit, E., Muller, J., Huibrechtse-Truijens, A., & Hekkert, M. (2018). Barriers to the circular economy: Evidence from the European union (EU). Ecological Economics, 150, pp.264-272.