REPLACE OR REPAIR? -A study of if fast fashion repair concepts like H&M Take Care can affect the intentions to repair clothing

Abstract

Overconsumption and an increasing disposal of clothes is a troublesome development in the fast fashion industry, where millennials are major contributors. As there is a need for a major shift towards more sustainable consumption, product-service systems in the shape of in-store repair stations, like Take Care by H&M, is interesting to investigate. Since Take Care’s main target group is young trendy females, their intentions to use such a service has been explored through the use of the theory of planned behaviour. The research questions being answered in this study is; can repair-stations like H&M Take Care affect the intentions to repair clothing among females of the millennial generation? And, are there any thresholds for the success of such a concept? The research questions has been answered through a qualitative research consisting of 20 semi-structured interviews with females of the millennial generation to explain the underlying mechanisms of their behavioural intentions. The research contributes to the existing literature of sustainable consumption, fast fashion, and product-service systems by explaining the behavioural intentions and barriers of a certain generation through an implemented sustainability initiative. The main findings of this research are that price, time and accessibility are the major thresholds in the use of an in-store repair station, but that there is an overall positive attitude toward the implementation of a service of this kind, and the service provider. However, many of the respondents do not feel that they have the need to use such a service. This gives implications for the positive effects of implementing an in-store repair station as a fast fashion retailer, but also raises a concern regarding how much of a need the consumers feel to use it when implemented. Consumers might still not feel a robust enough incentive to choose the environmentally friendly alternative of repairing when simply replacing is so proximate.