“Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections
Fast fashion deliberately targets young consumers' purchase impulse tendencies. It is based on a poor-quality production, high turnover model and has quickly become a major contributor to clothing-related pollution worldwide. This study examines whether reflection tasks can reduce young consume...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Cleaner and Responsible Consumption |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784325000312 |
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| author | Maja Grünzner Isabell Richter Mathew P. White Sabine Pahl |
| author_facet | Maja Grünzner Isabell Richter Mathew P. White Sabine Pahl |
| author_sort | Maja Grünzner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fast fashion deliberately targets young consumers' purchase impulse tendencies. It is based on a poor-quality production, high turnover model and has quickly become a major contributor to clothing-related pollution worldwide. This study examines whether reflection tasks can reduce young consumers' (aged 18–34) purchase impulses and if environmental considerations influence their decisions. Using a pre-registered online experimental vignette study with a between-participant design, 1123 UK-based young consumers were randomly allocated to one of three reflection tasks or a control group. The tasks involved (1) thinking of general reasons not to buy (Reflection Neutral), (2) thinking of reasons not to buy including environmental considerations (Reflection Environment) or (3) recalling a happy memory with a favourite clothing item (Reflection Desire). Findings revealed that participants in Reflection Neutral and Reflection Environment conditions reported significantly lower purchase desire and purchase likelihood compared to the control group, with no significant difference between these two conditions. Reflection Desire did not reduce purchase desire or likelihood compared to the control. These results suggest that targeted reflection tasks, particularly those involving reasons not to buy a clothing piece, have the potential to promote more sustainable consumption behaviours. Real-world validation of these findings could contribute to efforts to reduce fast fashion's environmental impact. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-42a4273ad2e441ce99ec80aba02c3af7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-7843 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner and Responsible Consumption |
| spelling | doaj-art-42a4273ad2e441ce99ec80aba02c3af72025-08-20T02:05:59ZengElsevierCleaner and Responsible Consumption2666-78432025-06-011710028010.1016/j.clrc.2025.100280“Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflectionsMaja Grünzner0Isabell Richter1Mathew P. White2Sabine Pahl3University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Cognition, Emotion and Methods, Environmental Psychology Group, Wächtergasse 1, 1010, Vienna, Austria; Corresponding author.Department of Psychology, Norwegian University for Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UKUniversity of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, Kolingasse 14-16, 1090, Vienna, Austria; Environment and Climate Research Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Liebiggasse 5 & Wächtergasse 1, 1010, Vienna, AustriaUniversity of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Cognition, Emotion and Methods, Environmental Psychology Group, Wächtergasse 1, 1010, Vienna, Austria; School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK; Environment and Climate Research Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, AustriaFast fashion deliberately targets young consumers' purchase impulse tendencies. It is based on a poor-quality production, high turnover model and has quickly become a major contributor to clothing-related pollution worldwide. This study examines whether reflection tasks can reduce young consumers' (aged 18–34) purchase impulses and if environmental considerations influence their decisions. Using a pre-registered online experimental vignette study with a between-participant design, 1123 UK-based young consumers were randomly allocated to one of three reflection tasks or a control group. The tasks involved (1) thinking of general reasons not to buy (Reflection Neutral), (2) thinking of reasons not to buy including environmental considerations (Reflection Environment) or (3) recalling a happy memory with a favourite clothing item (Reflection Desire). Findings revealed that participants in Reflection Neutral and Reflection Environment conditions reported significantly lower purchase desire and purchase likelihood compared to the control group, with no significant difference between these two conditions. Reflection Desire did not reduce purchase desire or likelihood compared to the control. These results suggest that targeted reflection tasks, particularly those involving reasons not to buy a clothing piece, have the potential to promote more sustainable consumption behaviours. Real-world validation of these findings could contribute to efforts to reduce fast fashion's environmental impact.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784325000312Fast fashionBehaviour changeSustainabilityPurchase decisionsExperimentPlastic |
| spellingShingle | Maja Grünzner Isabell Richter Mathew P. White Sabine Pahl “Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections Cleaner and Responsible Consumption Fast fashion Behaviour change Sustainability Purchase decisions Experiment Plastic |
| title | “Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections |
| title_full | “Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections |
| title_fullStr | “Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections |
| title_short | “Hold on, do I really need this?”: Countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections |
| title_sort | hold on do i really need this countering impulse clothing purchases through short reflections |
| topic | Fast fashion Behaviour change Sustainability Purchase decisions Experiment Plastic |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784325000312 |
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