Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Exploring sustainability and object attachment with Patagonia apparel: “I love my daughter, I love my son, I love my wife, I love the wilderness, and I love this hat”

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Abstract

The omni-channel Worn Wear program, part of which includes the Stories We Wear (SWW) blog, is an experiential marketing initiative of Patagonia, Inc. Customers are encouraged to take pride in the signs of wear on their apparel and to share their adventure stories through the SWW blog. Informed by previous research regarding consumer-object relations (Lastovicka & Sirianni, 2011) and attachment theory (Schifferstein & Zwartkruis-Pelgrim, 2008), this study sought to understand why authors of the SWW blog extend the lifespan of their garments. Our analysis of the SWW blog has enhanced understanding of consumer relationships with their garments and benefits businesses seeking to expand sustainability as part of their brand identity and to improve customer engagement. Findings include expanded knowledge of object consumer relations and consumerproduct attachment with implications for sustainability, brand love, and digital marketing.

How to Cite:

Michel, G. M., Feori, M., Damhorst, M. L., Lee, Y. & Niehm, L., (2018) “Exploring sustainability and object attachment with Patagonia apparel: “I love my daughter, I love my son, I love my wife, I love the wilderness, and I love this hat””, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 75(1).