Browsing by Author "Henninger, Claudia Elisabeth"

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The clothes swapping phenomenon – when consumers become suppliers
(2019-05-24) Henninger, Claudia Elisabeth; Bürklin, Nina; Niinimäki, Kirsi
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore swap-shops, which emerged as part of the collaborative consumption phenomenon, by investigating what the implications are of consumers acting as suppliers and how this affects supply chain management within the context of the fashion industry. Design/methodology/approach: This study explores the collaborative consumption phenomenon through swap-shops in three countries: the UK, Finland and Germany. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with swappers, non-swappers and organisers. To further enhance the data set six observations of swap-shop events were conducted. Data were transcribed and analysed using multiple coding cycles and using a grounded research approach. Findings: Findings indicate that consumers were most concerned with availability/sizing and quality of garments, whilst organisers felt uncertainty was the biggest issue. Data allowed creating a framework that blueprints the swapping supply chain, in which consumers emerge as suppliers. It highlights possible activities in different cycles, whilst furthermore indicates that consumption cycles can move from monetary (e.g. selling) to non-monetary transactions (e.g. swapping) and vice versa. Practical implications: Swapping as a relatively new fashion supply mode implies a fluidity of market roles. Disruptive business models can blur boundaries between the supply- and demand-side. This indicates that consumers can change “roles” multiple times as they go through the consumption cycle. Originality/value: The authors extended the knowledge on swapping by describing how this phenomenon can activate consumers, and extend and intensify the use of garments and therefore swapping can slow the material throughput in the system. It is the first paper to focus solely on swapping within a three country context.
Fashion consumption during COVID-19 : Comparative analysis of changing acquisition practices across nine countries and implications for sustainability
(2022-04-14) Vladimirova, Katia; Henninger, Claudia Elisabeth; Joyner-Martinez, Cosette; Iran, Samira; Diddi, Sonali; Durrani, Marium; Iyer, Kavitha; Jestratijevic, Iva; McCormick, Helen; Niinimäki, Kirsi; Thangavelu, Priyadarshini; Sauerwein, Meike; Singh, Renu; Simek, Petr; Wallaschkowski, Stephan
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
The COVID-19 pandemic caused and still causes unprecedented disruptions in daily lives of billions of people globally. It affects practices and routines across all household consumption domains, including clothing consumption. Drawing on Social Practice Theory, this article explores and compares changes in clothing acquisition practices during COVID-19 across nine countries: the USA, the UK, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Iran, Czech Republic, India, and Hong Kong SAR. Data was obtained through a standardized survey containing rated and open-ended questions, which were analyzed through descriptive quantitative analysis and inductive qualitative content analysis of open-ended questions. The results of this cross-country research indicate that all forms of fashion consumption, including more sustainable practices, have decreased during the pandemic. The most visible impacts have occurred in the material arrangements associated with fashion acquisition practices (e.g., closed physical shops, shipping disruptions, cancelled events, remote work, etc.). However, changes that result from these disruptions may be shorter-lived that changes that happened as a result of changing meanings associated with fashion consumption and its more sustainable forms and new competencies and skills acquired during the pandemic that could ensure more lasting practicing of more sustainable forms of fashion consumption.