Second-hand clothing acquisition: The motivations and barriers to clothing swaps for Chinese consumers

Abstract

Textile wastes have been identified as a major threat to the environment, especially in China, which has the world’s largest population and where a large number of textile wastes are generated each year. Clothing swaps provide a way for consumers to extend the lifespan of their existing clothes by exchanging them with others, which also gives consumers a chance to find something different than their existing wardrobe and to have some fresh items. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivations and barriers to participating in clothing swaps for Chinese consumers and to discover whether the influential factors are different for attending swapping events versus swapping with familiar family members and friends. A sample of 321 Chinese men and women was collected through an online survey. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized for data analysis, which illustrated that both social shopping value and perceived enjoyment have a positive influence on Chinese consumers’ intention to swap clothing items with family members or friends and to attend clothing swapping events; the results also confirmed the negative influences of performance risk and social risk on Chinese consumers’ intention to swap clothing items with family or friends. This study is the first attempt to investigate the relationships between shopping values and perceived risks with the intention to clothing swap among Chinese consumers. The study results are expected to provide in-depth insights to better understand Chinese consumers’ swapping behavior.