Close In on How Shoppers Close Out Use

On average, American consumers annually discard almost seventy pounds of clothing per person. People throwing away clothes could have chosen to resell the items, donate them, or find a way to reuse them. These consumers might have been convinced to use the clothes for “swishing,” that practice of swapping fashions with others for the joy of acquiring new items rather than seeking trades for equivalent monetary value. But instead of any of this, the clothes are trashed.
     If you’re a fashion retailer, cutting down on the throwing out helps the environment. Researchers at Northern Illinois University report that, currently, only about 15% of textile waste is recycled. Moreover, whether or not you’re a fashion retailer, exploring how and why your customers dispose of items can open up profitable opportunities.
     The Illinois researchers say that a marketing reality and an economic reality conspire to build the pile of clothing discards. First, suppliers like Zara and Top Shop intentionally offer low-priced fashions with a short life cycle. Second, the prices of garments imported from low-wage countries are lower than the costs of recycling to obtain fibers.
     Parallel dynamics operate in technology retailing: Anticipating short life cycles and low production costs, retail sales are adding to electronic trash.
     With the intent of reducing environmental waste and building profits, ask shoppers about their disposal of products:

• Are they taking the products to recycling collectors? Those of your customers motivated to go green would like to hear how what you sell includes previously recycled materials and how your products are biodegradable. 
• Are they donating while the products still have a useful life? Then team up with your customers and with charities in the community. Have special events at your store where customers and prospective customers donate items. 
• Are they using their worn-down products in new ways, such as turning old pants into shorts or using old golf clubs for teaching their kids to enjoy the sport? Then it could be that your customers are interested in purchasing shorts from you or in you carrying a bargain-priced line of golf clubs. 
• Are they trading in the products? Consider adding a resale business in your store. 
• Are they putting the products on a back shelf at home because they can’t figure out how to use them? If so, distinguish your store by coaching shoppers on proper use of items and, perhaps, make training a profit center. 

Click below for more:
Know How Customers Dispose of Products 
Discover What Purchasers Never Use 
Donate In Ways that Encourage Others to Donate 
Resell Consumers on Buying Used Items