Exploring the clothing overconsumption of young adults: An experimental study with communication interventions

The increase in clothing consumption per capita in the last decades presents substantial environmental and societal challenges. Young adults, heavily influenced by advertisements and new trends via social media, emerge as substantial contributors to the escalating issue of clothing overconsumption. This research aims at better understanding the drivers of clothing consumption for young adults and the policy interventions that can be designed to change clothing overconsumption behaviour. This study employs a survey experiment with communication interventions using different framing strategies. In doing so, the study focuses on the potential impact of communication interventions on the clothing consumption rates of young adults. The study showed that a communication intervention can motivate young adults to purchase less clothing and gives an initial insight into how to implement this type of intervention. Moreover, it provides initial evidence that intervention strategies inspired by sufficiency can be effective. This research calls for more transformative policies to stimulate sustainable consumption that go beyond promoting sustainable alternatives.