Sustainable product-service systems for clothing: exploring consumer perceptions of consumption alternatives in Finland

The clothing industry is in need of innovative business models that can reduce its environmental footprint for which product-service systems (PSS) may provide many opportunities. The chief objective of this study was to identify the positive and negative perceptions of clothing product-service systems (PSS) for the purpose of determining barriers as well as pathways to viability. A mixed-methods study was conducted in Finland. Findings from this study indicate a moderate level of interest in a variety of clothing-related PSS features, with the highest level of interest in clothing take-back, swaps, and consultancy. PSS schemes evidencing experiential, innovative and social approaches (renting, swapping and fashion result) were perceived to be best suited for younger consumers while services that emphasized product satisfaction (e.g. redesign, repair/maintenance, customization, consultancy) were perceived to be most suited for older consumers. Attributes most contributing to positive perceptions of the clothing PSS were environmental benefits as well as emotional aspects, such as experiential or social features of the PSS model, the ability to meet fashion needs, and increased product satisfaction. Negative perceptions were most driven by a lack of trust in the service provider and perceived barriers to ease of use, such as a lack of accessibility to the product or the technical requirements that may be commanded.