TY - JOUR

T1 - When mortality knocks

T2 - Pandemic-inspired attitude shifts towards sustainable clothing consumption in six countries

AU - Iran, Samira

AU - Joyner Martinez, Cosette M.

AU - Vladimirova, Katia

AU - Wallaschkowski, Stephan

AU - Diddi, Sonali

AU - Henninger, Claudia E.

AU - McCormick, Helen

AU - Matus, Kira

AU - Niinimäki, Kirsi

AU - Sauerwein, Meike

AU - Singh, Renu

AU - Tiedke, Loredana

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Intellect Ltd Article.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Unsustainable clothing consumption patterns, especially prevalent in the Global North, have come to the spotlight of media, policy-makers and the academic community in recent years. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the routine lives of citizens globally, which has impacted some consumers’ attitudes towards fashion and consumption practices. This study employs terror management theory and voluntary simplicity to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ attitudes towards clothing consumption across six different countries, from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. A structured qualitative study with closed, open-ended and multiple-choice questions was completed by a sample of consumers (N = 3748) across these countries. Among all participants of this study one-third reported that the pandemic had affected their attitude towards clothing and this study was mainly conducted to investigate the nature of those attitude changes. Qualitative analysis identified patterns of change in consumers’ attitude towards clothing (e.g., minimalism, grateful mindset, conscious mindset, decreased fashion desire, longevity and style confidence), which reveal potential for a lasting shift towards more sustainable consumption patterns. The results of this study highlight valuable managerial implications: the industry needs to respond to this shift in consumers’ attitude and move towards more sustainable business models and processes. Sufficiency-oriented business offerings, in particular, are becoming more accepted in the fashion industry. Moreover, these results are relevant for predicting future consumption patterns, especially considering that pandemics may become a more regular part of life.

AB - Unsustainable clothing consumption patterns, especially prevalent in the Global North, have come to the spotlight of media, policy-makers and the academic community in recent years. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the routine lives of citizens globally, which has impacted some consumers’ attitudes towards fashion and consumption practices. This study employs terror management theory and voluntary simplicity to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ attitudes towards clothing consumption across six different countries, from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. A structured qualitative study with closed, open-ended and multiple-choice questions was completed by a sample of consumers (N = 3748) across these countries. Among all participants of this study one-third reported that the pandemic had affected their attitude towards clothing and this study was mainly conducted to investigate the nature of those attitude changes. Qualitative analysis identified patterns of change in consumers’ attitude towards clothing (e.g., minimalism, grateful mindset, conscious mindset, decreased fashion desire, longevity and style confidence), which reveal potential for a lasting shift towards more sustainable consumption patterns. The results of this study highlight valuable managerial implications: the industry needs to respond to this shift in consumers’ attitude and move towards more sustainable business models and processes. Sufficiency-oriented business offerings, in particular, are becoming more accepted in the fashion industry. Moreover, these results are relevant for predicting future consumption patterns, especially considering that pandemics may become a more regular part of life.

KW - attitude change

KW - clothing consumption

KW - COVID-19 pandemic

KW - cross-country research

KW - minimalism

KW - terror management theory

KW - voluntary simplicity

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105006823351&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1386/sft/0002_1

DO - 10.1386/sft/0002_1

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:105006823351

VL - 1

SP - 9

EP - 39

JO - International Journal of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles

JF - International Journal of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles

SN - 2754-026X

IS - 1

ER -