Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Empirical Analysis of Drivers and Obstacles for Collaborative Consumption: A Cross-Cultural Comparison on Fashion Renting and Swapping

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Abstract

Over-consumption and a throwaway culture contribute to increased textile waste, which is a growing environmental concern. Collaborative Consumption, which is based on the shared usage of underutilized or unwanted products, encourages people to focus on product usage rather than ownership. Renting and swapping, two forms of CC,have been suggested as alternative sources of revenue for industry while also extending the life and use frequency of clothing products. Given the limited literature on the cross-cultural comparisons of CC in the apparel industry,this study was designed to empirically identify the motivations and barriers for fashion renting and swapping and to compare the intention towards CC between consumers in the US and in China. A convenience sampling strategy was employed for data collection in both the United States and China. Data cleaning generated 452 usable samples in the US and 321 usable responses in China.Multi-item scales were used to evaluate the variables, utilizing a 5-point Like rt scale. The results indicated that significant differences exist between American and Chinese consumers in terms of perceived risks and enjoyment of CC as well as attitude toward CC.Furthermore, the study identified that American consumers’ intention to rent clothing or to attend swapping events was significantly influenced by perceived enjoyment and social risk; while Chinese consumers’ intention to rent clothing was significantly impacted by social risk, performance risk, and financial risk. Differently, Chinese consumers’ intention to swap clothing was significantly influenced by perceived enjoyment, social risk, performance risk, psychological risk, and financial risk.

Keywords: collaborative consumption, fashion renting, fashion swapping, perceived enjoyment, perceived risks, cross culture

How to Cite:

Liu, C., Lang, C. & Seo, S., (2019) “Empirical Analysis of Drivers and Obstacles for Collaborative Consumption: A Cross-Cultural Comparison on Fashion Renting and Swapping”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8279