Circular economy rebound effect in the context of second-hand clothing consumption
PDF

Keywords

second-hand clothing
circular economy
rebound effect
price effect
moral licencing

How to Cite

Ciechelska, A., Matel, A., Poskrobko, T., & Sidorczuk-Pietraszko, E. (2024). Circular economy rebound effect in the context of second-hand clothing consumption. Economics and Environment, 87(4), 635, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.34659/eis.2023.87.4.635

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether consumer behaviour in the second-hand clothing market causes a rebound effect, and if so, what are the reasons behind it. The study examined two potential causes: the price effect and moral licensing. A survey technique was used for data collection to study the phenomenon quantitatively. Non-parametric tests, analysis of relationships between variables and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to analyse the results. The existence of a rebound effect in the used clothing market was confirmed. At the same time, the magnitude of the substitution rate between new clothing and used clothing was estimated at 1:1.23. It was also proved that the phenomenon under study is influenced by both the price effect and moral licensing.

https://doi.org/10.34659/eis.2023.87.4.635
PDF

References

Abdelmeguid, A., Afy-Shararah, M., & Salonitis, K. (2022). Investigating the challenges of applying the principles of the circular economy in the fashion industry: A systematic review. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 32, 505-518. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SPC.2022.05.009

Babel, N., Toma, A., & Sivanandan, A. (2019). Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of second-hand vs new clothing. https://cf-assets-tup.thredup.com/about/pwa/thredUP-Clothing-Lifecycle-Study.pdf

Bauer, A., & Menrad, K. (2020). The nexus between moral licensing and behavioral consistency: Is organic consumption a door-opener for commitment to climate protection? The Social Science Journal, 0(0), 1-15.

Bell, A., Ward, P., Tamal, M.E.H. et al. (2019). Assessing recall bias and measurement error in high-frequency social data collection for human-environment research. Population and Environment, 40, 325–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-019-0314-1

Bick, R., Halsey, E., & Ekenga, C. C. (2018). The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, 17(1), 92. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12940-018-0433-7

Boulding, K. (1966). The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth. In H. Jarrett (Ed.), Environmental Quality in a Growing Economy (pp. 3-14). Baltimore: Resources for the Future/Johns Hopkins University Press.

Burger, A. M., Schuler, J., & Eberling, E. (2022). Guilty pleasures: Moral licensing in climate-related behavior. Global Environmental Change, 72, 102415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102415

Campos, P. A. (2022). Circular economy rebound effect in the context of secondhand clothing consumption in the Netherlands [Master Thesis]. University of Twente.

Chen, H. L., & Burns, L. D. (2006). Environmental analysis of textile products. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 24(3), 248-261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X06293065

Chetty, E. K. (2022). Is second-hand the silver bullet for sustainable fashion consumption? Understanding second-hand clothing consumption rebound effects [Master Thesis]. Lund University. https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9097155&fileOId=9097156

Corona, B., Shen, L., Reike, D., Rosales Carreón, J., & Worrell, E. (2019). Towards sustainable development through the circular economy. A review and critical assessment on current circularity metrics. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 151, 104498. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2019.104498

Dabija, D.-C., Bejan, B. M., & Dinu, V. (2019). How sustainability oriented is generation Z in retail? A literature review. Transformations in Business & Economics, 18(2), 140-155.

Du, C., Zheng, Y., & Liu, W. (2023). Unveiling the mystery: Does the traffic control policy in Beijing trigger a rebound effect in household electric vehicles? Sustainable Production and Consumption, 37, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SPC.2023.02.005

European Commission, Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency, Cerulli-Harms, A., Porsch, L., & Suter, J. (2018). Behavioural study on consumers’ engagement in the circular economy. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2818/921596

European Commission. (2014). Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee Of The Regions Towards a circular economy: A zero waste programme for Europe, Pub. L. No. 52014DC0398. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52014DC0398

European Commission. (2020). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A new Circular Economy Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, Pub. L. No. 52020DC0098. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A98%3AFIN

Farrant, L., Olsen, S. I., & Wangel, A. (2010). Environmental benefits from reusing clothes. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 15(7), 726-736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-010-0197-y

Gillingham, K., Rapson, D., & Wagner, G. (2014). The Rebound Effect and Energy Efficiency Policy. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 10(1), 68-88.

Graham, C. A., Catania, J. A., Brand, R., Duong, T., & Canchola, J. A. (2003). Recalling sexual behavior: A methodological analysis of memory recall bias via interview using the diary as the gold standard. The Journal of Sex Research, 40(4), 325-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490209552198

Jevons, W. S. (1865). The Coal Question. An inquiry concerning the progress of the nation and the probable exhaustion of our coal-mines. London: Macmillan and Co.

Liang, J., & Xu, Y. (2018). Second-hand clothing consumption: A generational cohort analysis of the Chinese market. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(1), 120-130. https://doi.org/10.1111/IJCS.12393

Liu, X., Wang, S., Li, Y., Ali, S., Khan, Y. A., Salem, S., & Huang, X. (2022). Recycling in Textile Sector: A New Circular Economy Approach Towards Ecology and Environmental Sustainability. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.929710

Makov, T., & Vivanco, D. F. (2018). Does the circular economy grow the pie? The case of rebound effects from smartphone reuse. Frontiers in Energy Research, 6(MAY), 39. https://doi.org/10.3389/FENRG.2018.00039

Malmaeus, M., Hasselström, L., Mellin, A., Nyblom, Å., & Åkerman, J. (2023). Addressing rebound effects in transport policy – Insights from exploring five case studies. Transport Policy, 131, 45-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TRANPOL.2022.12.004

McCollough, J. (2007). The effect of income growth on the mix of purchases between disposable goods and reusable goods. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 31(3), 213-219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006.00504.x

Miura, Y. (2021). Use-PSS rebound: Carbon footprint reduction potential of clothing rental subscription with consideration of direct economic rebound effect [Master Thesis]. Nijmegen School of Management. https://theses.ubn.ru.nl/server/api/core/bitstreams/5ccdfcc6-16ff-45db-9995-e06705ef3d5b/content

Munyon, V. V., Bowen, W. M., & Holcombe, J. (2018). Vehicle fuel economy and vehicle miles travelled: An empirical investigation of Jevon’s Paradox. Energy Research & Social Science, 38, 19-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.01.007

Nichols, B.M.S., & Holt, J.W. (2023). A comparison of sustainability attitudes and intentions across generations and gender: A perspective from U.S. consumers. Management Letters/Cuadernos de Gestión, 23(1), 51-62. https://doi.org/10.5295/cdg.211647bs

Ottelin, J., Cetinay, H., & Behrens, P. (2020). Rebound effects may jeopardize the resource savings of circular consumption: evidence from household material footprints. Environmental Research Letters, 15(10), 104044. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abaa78

Piot, G. (2022). The rebound effect of reuse: a case study of second-hand clothing [Master Thesis]. Glasgow Caledonian University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362841531_The_rebound_effect_of_reuse_a_case_study_of_second-hand_clothing

Prayag, G., Aquino, R. S., Hall, C. M., Chen, N. (Chris), & Fieger, P. (2022). Is Gen Z really that different? Environmental attitudes, travel behaviours and sustainability practices of international tourists to Canterbury, New Zealand. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080

Rabiu, M. K., & Jaeger-Erben, M. (2022). Appropriation and routinisation of circular consumer practices: A review of current knowledge in the circular economy literature. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 7, 100081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2022.100081

Roche, N., Klaessen, J., & Gazzola, P. (2019). A circular economy for a sustainable society: a review of the concept and its feasibility. Nature Reviews. Earth & Environment, 1(2), 85-95.

Sandin, G., & Peters, G. M. (2018). Environmental impact of textile reuse and recycling – A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 184, 353-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2018.02.266

Santarius, T., & Soland, M. (2016). Towards a Psychological Theory and Comprehensive Rebound Typology. In T. Santarius, H. Walnum & C. Aall (Eds.), Rethinking Climate and Energy Policies (pp. 107-119). Cham: Springer.

Shirvanimoghaddam, K., Motamed, B., Ramakrishna, S., & Naebe, M. (2020). Death by waste: Fashion and textile circular economy case. Science of the Total Environment, 718, 137317. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2020.137317

Sorrell, S. (2007). The Rebound Effect: An assessment of the evidence for economy-wide energy savings from improved energy efficiency. https://d2e1qxpsswcpgz.cloudfront.net/uploads/2020/03/the-rebound-effect-an-assessment-of-the-evidence-for-economy-wide-energy-savings-from-improved-energy-efficiency.pdf

Statista. (2023, February 10). Textile fiber production worldwide 1975-2030. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1250985/global-textile-fiber-production/

Thomas, V. M. (2003). Demand and Dematerialization Impacts of Second-Hand Markets. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 7(2), 65-78. https://www.academia.edu/23200443/Demand_and_Dematerialization_Impacts_of_Second_Hand_Markets

Tiefenbeck, V., Staake, T., Roth, K., & Sachs, O. (2013). For better or for worse? Empirical evidence of moral licensing in a behavioral energy conservation campaign. Energy Policy, 57, 160-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.01.021

Vidal-Ayuso, F., Akhmedova, A., & Jaca, C. (2023). The circular economy and consumer behaviour: Literature review and research directions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 418, 137824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137824

Wang, X., Zhang, T., Nathwani, J., Yang, F., & Shao, Q. (2022). Environmental regulation, technology innovation, and low carbon development: Revisiting the EKC Hypothesis, Porter Hypothesis, and Jevons’ Paradox in China’s iron & steel industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 176, 121471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121471

Wang, Y., Long, A., Xiang, L., Deng, X., Zhang, P., Hai, Y., Wang, J., & Li, Y. (2020). The verification of Jevons’ paradox of agricultural water conservation in Tianshan District of China based on Water footprint. Agricultural Water Management, 239, 106163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106163

Zink, T., & Geyer, R. (2017). Circular Economy Rebound. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21(3), 593-602. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12545

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2024 Economics and Environment

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.