Wearing pineapple leaves? Consumer responses to fashion products made from repurposed materials

The fashion industry has a profound, negative impact on the environment. One way to reduce this negative impact is to replace conventional materials with repurposed materials to produce fashion products. Repurposed materials can be defined as materials whose conventional uses are changed into new use. For example, pineapple leaves as agricultural waste can be repurposed into leather alternatives to produce backpacks and jackets. Compared to conventional materials currently used for fashion products, repurposed materials are less polluting, less resource-intensive, yet no more complicated to manufacture than conventional materials. Gradually replacing conventional materials with repurposed materials can thus have both environmental and commercial benefits for the supply chain. Although replacing conventional materials with repurposed materials can be promising, it is uncertain whether fashion products made from repurposed materials will be successful. In this thesis, I investigate one essential factor for product success: consumer responses to such novel products. By studying consumer responses to fashion products made from repurposed materials, the thesis aims to infer different psychological processes which might play a role in how consumers respond to such products and thus to provide insights into marketing strategies and the implications for product designers.