Consumer Behaviour, Rebound Effects, and LCA-research: Analysing Environmental Benefits of Reuse of Denim Jeans and Button Shirts in the Netherlands

Abstract

The textile industry is among Earth’s most polluting industries, that – among other issues – leads to large amounts of CO2-emissions and creation of wastes. Previous studies concluded that reuse of clothing can bring benefits to combat issues of the textile industry. Life Cycle Assessment [LCA] is a commonly used method to assess such benefits. The role of consumer behaviour is however commonly overlooked in LCA-research, while this heavily influences the use phase which constitutes between 50% and 80% of a product’s overall lifecycle impacts. Rebound effects [REs] can furthermore occur, further increasing impacts, but yet are often excluded from analysis. Constructing robust methods to include consumer behaviour and REs into LCA-research is called upon. This study contributed to bridging this knowledge gap by conducting a comparative environmental assessment based on the ISO 14040 standards, whereby linear use (representing fast fashion) and reuse of clothing are analysed using a multimethod approach in the Netherlands. A literature research was conducted to determine relevant concepts after which ten store manager interviews and ten consumer interviews were conducted. The store manager interviews concluded that denim jeans and button shirts are the most relevant garments to analyse for this LCA-research. Theory explored in literature research was checked using consumer interviews, which allowed construction of a survey. A functional unit [FU] was based on survey result: “Covering up the upper body of 1 person with a cotton garment weighing 616 g for 514 wears in the Netherlands, while providing sufficiently perceived performance, quality, and fit” for the denim jeans. The FU for the button shirt concerns a cotton- and polyester blend, weight of 425 g, and 273 wears. Survey data furthermore enabled using the quantitative methods descriptive- and inferential statistics to analyse Es. The LCA concluded that reusing 1 FU denim jeans could result in resource and environmental savings of 156.35 MJ energy, 6.53 m³ water and 12.14 kg CO2-eq emissions, compared to the fast fashion scenario. Similarly, reusing a button shirt results in savings of 6.67 kg CO2-equivalent emissions, 98.09 MJ energy, and 1.73 m³ water. The sample was of insufficient size (n=104) to formulate generalising statements regarding the occurrence of REs. The REs Price, Motivational (direct), and –(indirect) did not occur within the sample, while Re-spending – buying, and Re-spending – selling did occur. The extent of these impacts could not be calculated, but it is understood that these reduce the environmental benefits calculated from the LCA.