Wear your pants out and be happy! - Sustainable anti-consumption of clothing and consumer subjective well-being
(A2023-114495)

AUTHORS

Essi Vesterinen, The university of Vaasa; Harri Luomala, University of Vaasa, School of Marketing and Communication; Michael LEe, The university of Auckland

ABSTRACT

Anti-consumption has been shown to increase consumer subjective well-being (CSWB). Still, a lot is unknown about this connection. For instance, sustainable anti-consumption of clothing (SACC) has been defined to move focus from acquisition to increased usage, but the meaning of this shift to CSWB is unknown. The current mixed method research analyses the role of consumption phases i.e. anticipation, acquisition and usage in the SACC-CSWB connection. Two studies are conducted based on 140 blog posts from 25 clothes shopping detoxers as well as a survey data (N=661) and structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings show that increased usage has a positive effect on CSWB mediated partly by improved body image. The current research advances the understanding on the relationship between sustainable consumption and consumer well-being, by 1. investigating the relationship in a new context of SACC and 2. revealing the power of increased usage of clothing in driving consumer happiness.