Pre-owned fashion as sustainable consumerism? Opportunities and challenges in the Vietnam market
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management
ISSN: 1361-2026
Article publication date: 16 August 2022
Issue publication date: 29 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify opportunities and challenges for small- to medium-sized pre-owned fashion enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. While recent studies have identified the growth of pre-owned fashion in developed economies, pre-owned clothing remains negatively associated by some consumers with overseas charity donations of second-hand clothes to Vietnam, following the economic upheaval of the 1980s.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews with founders and/or owners of pre-owned fashion SMEs (n = 5, aged 25–40 years) with physical stores located in Ho Chi Minh City alongside online retail platforms. All interviewees are significant industry and consumer influencers.
Findings
Younger Vietnamese consumers are motivated by (1) pre-owned fashion's value for money compared to buying new western branded luxury items and (2) the ability of pre-owned and vintage fashion to allow the wearer to create a unique personal style. While Vietnamese consumers and retailers associate “sustainable fashion” with various, often unrelated concepts, the impact of global and local discourse around sustainable fashion in the last five years has generally supported wider interest in pre-owned fashion.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the relatively modest pool of English-language research on the fashion and textiles industry in Vietnam, a global fast-fashion manufacturing hub. The findings advance understanding of how pre-owned fashion is growing as a high-end niche market despite significant supply chain restrictions as well as a lingering perception of pre-owned fashion as charitable donations.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding statement and conflict of interest disclosure The authors confirm that there are no conflicts of interest and no funding was provided for data collection.
Ethics approval statement Research ethics for this study were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
Permission to reproduce material from other sources All interview respondents provided consent for the use of information collected during the interview. The data that support the findings of this study are available from corresponding author Lam Hong Lan upon request at lan.lamhong@rmit.edu.vn.
Citation
Hong Lan, L. and Watkins, J. (2023), "Pre-owned fashion as sustainable consumerism? Opportunities and challenges in the Vietnam market", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 577-594. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-03-2022-0067
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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