Hållbar klädkonsumtion i Sverige : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om miljöengagerade individers uppfattningar om hinder och möjligheter för hållbar klädkonsumtion

Sammanfattning

The textile and fashion industry is associated with significant environmental and social challenges linked to resource consumption, climate impact, overconsumption, and global production systems. Against this background, sustainable clothing consumption has become an increasingly important topic within sustainability research. This study examines how environmentally engaged individuals in Sweden reason about sustainable clothing consumption, with a particular focus on perceived barriers and opportunities. The study also explores how sustainable clothing consumption can be understood in relation to both individual and structural factors. The study is based on a qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews with eight environmentally engaged individuals in Sweden. The empirical material was analyzed through thematic analysis and interpreted using Social Practice Theory, the Attitude-Behavior Gap, and the Theory of Planned Behavior as theoretical frameworks. The findings show that sustainable clothing consumption is closely connected to identity, personal values, knowledge, and everyday practices. Second-hand consumption, clothing swaps, repair, reuse, and extended use of garments emerged as central sustainable consumption practices among the respondents. At the same time, several barriers to sustainable clothing consumption were identified, including price, accessibility, time constraints, uncertainty regarding what is truly sustainable, and the influence of social norms, fast fashion culture, and broader societal structures that normalize overconsumption and unsustainable consumption patterns. The study shows that sustainable clothing consumption cannot solely be understood as an issue of individual responsibility. Instead, consumption practices are shaped through an interaction between individual values, social influences, cultural norms and structural conditions. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how environmentally engaged individuals perceive and navigate sustainable clothing consumption in a Swedish context.