Factors motivating and influencing clothing disposal behaviours

This study of 232 college students was framed by Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action and examined factors that motivate and influence college students' clothing disposal behaviours. Using survey questionnaires, we investigated four different clothing disposal options (resale, donation, reusing and discarding) and examined five motivational factors (environmental, economic, charity and convenience concerns and information unavailability). The influences of attitudes towards the environment and subjective norms of family and friends on clothing disposal behaviours also were examined. Results indicated that resale and donation behaviours were explained by environmental concerns and that reuse and resale behaviours were explained by economic concerns. Charity concerns motivated donation behaviours and convenience motivated discarding behaviours. Further, findings indicated that family subjective norms influenced environmentally motivated resale and donation behaviours.

[1]  Raymond De Young,et al.  Exploring the Difference Between Recyclers and Non-Recyclers: The Role of Information , 1988 .

[2]  K. Fichter,et al.  World Business Council for Sustainable Development - WBCSD , 1998 .

[3]  J. Bettman,et al.  Multiattribute Measurement Models and Multiattribute Attitude Theory: A Test of Construct Validity , 1975 .

[4]  Sally K Francis,et al.  The Effects of Environmental Attitudes on Apparel Purchasing Behavior , 1997 .

[5]  Soyeon Shim,et al.  Environmentalism and Consumers' Clothing Disposal Patterns: An Exploratory Study , 1995 .

[6]  L. Derksen,et al.  The social context of recycling. , 1993 .

[7]  David H. Folz.  Recycling Program Design, Management, and Participation: A National Survey of Municipal Experience , 1991 .

[8]  Tanya Domina,et al.  The effects of environmental attitude and fashion opinion leadership on textile recycling in the US , 1997 .

[9]  P. Stern.  New Environmental Theories: Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior , 2000 .

[10]  Tanya Domina,et al.  Consumer Textile Recycling as a Means of Solid Waste Reduction , 1999 .

[11]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. , 1977 .

[12]  Jon S. Bailey,et al.  Evaluating Participation in a Residential Recycling Program , 1982 .

[13]  Tanya Domina,et al.  Convenience and Frequency of Recycling , 2002 .

[14]  Marie J. Lachance,et al.  Adolescents’ brand sensitivity in apparel: influence of three socialization agents , 2003 .

[15]  Bente Halvorsen.  Effects of Norms and Opportunity Cost of Time on Household Recycling , 2008, Land Economics.

[16]  Christopher M. Moore,et al.  Fashion clothing – where does it all end up? , 2007 .

[17]  L. Claudio,et al.  Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry , 2007, Environmental health perspectives.