Research on Clothing Reuse: Physical characteristics of used clothing

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26560038
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Clothing life/Dwelling life
• Research Institution: Kobe Shoin Women's University
• Principal Investigator: HANADA MIWAKO 神戸松蔭女子学院大学, 人間科学部, 教授 (70369411)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: リユース / 使用感 / 着用感 / 品質 / リサイクル / 中古 / 衣類

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Research was conducted to develop criteria by which to determine the suitability of used clothing for reuse. Descriptions by sellers on online second-hand clothing websites often contain ambiguous expression such as “fluffy,” “stained, soiled,” “faded,” and “well-worn.” Such comments were found to serve as one criterion for evaluating the suitability of clothing for reuse. In the study, we conducted an experiment to quantify. In addition, we performed sensory evaluation and by using these measures together were able to judge suitability for reuse.
The study also revealed that many respondents do not buy used clothing even if there is little damage and the clothing does not “feel worn.” In such cases, “I don’t know who wore the clothing before” was often cited as a reason for not buying second-hand clothing. The results of a questionnaire survey and sales experiment suggest that sales of second-hand clothing can be promoted by adding information about the degree of wear.

Free Research Field

被服学