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Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p16888"

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  • Virtanen, Janette (2019)
    Consumer research focuses on the consumer buying decision process and the psychological and social factors that have effect on it. Research shows that consumers are primarily motivated by their personal needs, yet at the same time there’s an increasing number of people that are interested in the values of more responsible consumption. The aim of this Master's thesis is to find out what kind of factors guide people in buying clothes and how responsibility is reflected in these buying decisions. First, the many dimensions of clothes and clothing are clarified. Second, different concepts and meanings of responsible consumption are defined. After that, the clothing-related responsibility and the different perspectives of it are examined. The research framework is built around consumption and responsibility in the context of clothing. The research looks for answers to questions What factors affect the buying behaviour of people when talking about clothes and textiles, How responsibility is shown in the buying decisions and What is the relationship of people with clothes that are purchased new and used / recycled. Based on the theory, a semi-structured electronic questionnaire was prepared, containing both qualitative and quantitative questions. The survey was distributed through the social media platform Facebook, especially in Helsinki's most popular regional recycling groups. 337 people responded to the survey in four days. The respondents were between 16 and 77 years old. Mixed methods approach was used to analyse the material, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. This enabled a deeper understanding of the subject. The qualitative part of the material was analysed by material-based content analysis. The quantitative part was analysed using simple descriptive statistical methods, for instance by calculating frequencies and the compiling more clear groups of data using various variables. The research results suggest that consumers are interested in responsible consumption, but this is not directly reflected in the buying behaviour. Especially the quality and material of the clothing are strong factors in buying decisions. In addition to these, buying behaviour is influenced by both money and values of the consumer. The conclusion of the study is that people, as consumers, want to act more responsibly, but in practice other factors such as price or their economic situation are often more important factors.