Analysis of end-of-life options for post-consumer clothing and suggestions for a sustainable future

Apparel is an important industry as it requires innovation constantly due to the increasing demand of consumers. The demands occur due to emotional and physical factors. Changing fashion trends push the designers and retailers towards a direction to define new collections which would attract as well as satisfy consumers' needs. Clothing retail prices and the demand of the market indicate that consumers are expending more on clothing nowadays. Affordable and cheap prices as well as fast-fashion trends of clothing also have an impact on this. With regard to this, certain retailers choose to offer fast-fashion products, where they focus mainly on offering fashion trends at short lead times, whereas certain retailers focus on slow or regular fashion approach where they mainly focus on defining their core strengths as quality, long-lasting, as well as commercial and functional products. The increasing demand in clothing industry and increasing production volumes also bring concerns in terms of environmental aspects. According to the researches, every year, more than millions of clothing goes to the landfills, whereas most of these garments can still be used. It is obvious that retailers and consumers need to move towards a circular economy in terms of apparel production and consumption instead of following a ''make-use-throw away'' culture. Pre-consumer processes as well as consumer stage and post-consumer stage have influence on the footprints of clothing on the environment. Within the scope of this study, end-of-life options for post-consumer apparel were analysed. Furthermore, influence of design on the sustainability was also emphasized. A consumer survey which contributed to this study was carried out in order to understand the consumers' behaviour patterns as well as their expectations. Suggestions for a sustainable future for apparel clothing was also highlighted within this study. End-of-life options for apparel clothing consists of reuse, recycling, composting, incineration, and landfill. When the product is still not at its end-of-life cycle, wearable products can still be reworn by other people. This can be achieved by either giving away to family members/friends, or by donating to charities or selling online or selling to physical second-hand stores. Increasing number of retailers design sustainable clothing in consideration with sustainable fibers and sustainable designs. Considering end-of-life stage of the product in mind, certain retailers create apparel and shoes which can be decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms at the end of the life cycle. In order to enable a sustainable future in terms of the influence of clothing, landfill should be the least preferred option for apparel clothing. Rewear and repair options should be increased. Certain municipalities are implementing projects to avoid waste. A good example is San Francisco city, where the goal is to have Zero Waste by 2020 which includes apparel as well. Retailers such as H&M contribute to waste management by offering take-back programs in its stores where customers can bring their unwanted clothing and in return they can be offered discounts for their purchases at H&M stores. The clothes collected at H&M stores are being sorted out by I:CO and following the sorting, their end destinations are defined such as rewear, reuse as different product or recycling. It is also noticeable that, still so many consumers do not benefit from these initiatives. This might be due to various reasons such as they are not aware of these initiatives, they do not find it practical or they're not interested in. In fashion industry, increasing number of retailer brands are drawing attention to sustainability, life cycle of products and also circular economy. Increasing number of brands initiate programs such as in-store take back programs, donations, repairs, swapping, leasing as well as researching on offering more durable garments. These initiatives aim to reduce the environmental impacts of apparel. Additionally, certain legislations are pushing retailers to restrict hazardous chemicals. Within the scope of this study, an online survey was carried out among 250 citizens in Turkey. The survey questions were prepared in order to analyse the consumer habits, perceptions, needs and aspirations in terms of clothing purchase, use and end-of-life options they choose for their clothes. The survey results indicated that quality is important for consumers in terms of life-cycle of the product. Survey participants were addressed to reply if they would continue to wear their clothes in case products were durable. 212 out of 250 participants mentioned that they would wear those clothes in case the quality and appearance remain the same use-after-use. 162 out of 250 participants in the survey believe that retailers have a significant role in encouraging and promoting clothing recycling, therefore they think that retailers need to organize more campaigns. Survery participants were also asked to select the option for clothing at the end-of active use. 156 out of 245 participants chose ''I give it to friends and other family members/relatives.'' option. This outcome shows that increasing the active-use time of the product can help diminish the amount of clothing waste, thus contributes to decrease the environmental footprint.