Do you fancy trying fashion rental? A Scottish perspective

Background scientific research: In 2020 the European Union released their strategy to transition from a linear economy to a circular economy (European Commission, 2020). Following its release, the UK government announced they were also committed to following this plan (Gov.uk, 2020) and Scotland in particular have been at the forefront of this initiative. In 2016, the Scottish Government launched ‘Making Things Last’, which set out a vision and priorities for building a circular economy in Scotland. This implied reducing demand on primary resources whilst prioritising re-use, recycling and recovery. The fashion industry has a reputation for being wasteful and polluting, and as a result is considered as a contributor to the current environmental crisis. A shift from a linear to a circular economy implies a centric role for consumers. Fashion rental is one of the sustainable formats of clothing disposal and acquisition which aims to minimise manufacturing and waste by prolonging the life of garments. Organisations have started to take a closed loop approach towards consumption, but lack of consumer awareness and interest has been highlighted as one of the main barriers to the successful adoption of a circular economy (Szilagyi et al., 2022). Previous research found that young people's opinion on how easy it is to rent garments through an internet site had the biggest impact on their intention to rent clothes online (Pham et al., 2021).

Research issue to be addressed: This exploratory research investigates the factors impacting the behavioural intention of Generation Z consumers in Scotland towards rental fashion.

Methodology used: An online survey using snowball techniques as a means of dissemination was implemented with Gen Z consumers in Scotland (defined as born between 1997 and 2006 (above 16 years old) for the purpose of this research). Items were adapted from the Liu et al., (2020) extended model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour which has previously been applied to measure consumer purchasing intentions towards green products. As this is exploratory research, the resulting 119 valid responses were considered as sufficient to draw some initial conclusions (Hintze et al., 2002). The internal consistency and reliability of the scales used in this study were initially tested (Gliem & Gliem, 2003) and correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the variables of attitude, behavioural control, moral and subjective norm with the intention to engage with fashion rental.

Results achieved (conclusions) or expected as well as their relevance for theory and practice: The research found that attitudes related to hygiene are a barrier to the intention towards using rental fashion, however, ease and accessibility of the service were identified as important conductors. Despite the results showing that consumers have a positive attitude towards the environmental impact of rental fashion, it actually resulted in a low association with the intention to use the service. Peer influence through social media was also shown to have an effect on the intention to engage with rental fashion options.

This study adds to the growing body of research which is focused on rental clothing by highlighting a contextual variable related to the cultural, governmental and geographical location (ie Scotland) which plays an important role in the level of consumer engagement with sustainable initiatives. Several relevant recommendations for companies engaging with the fashion rental business in the Scottish context also derived from the results of this research. To make rental fashion more attractive to Generation Z consumers, rental providers could focus on hygiene perception, ease of accessibility, and addressing practical issues such as timely delivery and collection.