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Care and circularity: how the enactment of care enables and shapes the circular consumption of clothing

Tölg, Réka LU orcid and Fuentes, Christian LU orcid (2024) In Consumption and Society
Abstract

In a circular system, consumers need to acquire, use, look after and part with products in ways that recirculate or reuse materials and minimise waste. Thus, although seldom made explicit, consumer care is built into the circular economy project. In this article, we aim to contribute to the emerging body of sociological work on circular consumption by foregrounding the role of care in the performance of circular clothing practices. Theoretically, we combine previous care literature with theories of practice. The analysis builds on an ethnographically inspired study of 24 households’ circular clothing consumption. Our findings suggest that accomplishing circularity in everyday clothing consumption involves developing care awareness and... (More)

In a circular system, consumers need to acquire, use, look after and part with products in ways that recirculate or reuse materials and minimise waste. Thus, although seldom made explicit, consumer care is built into the circular economy project. In this article, we aim to contribute to the emerging body of sociological work on circular consumption by foregrounding the role of care in the performance of circular clothing practices. Theoretically, we combine previous care literature with theories of practice. The analysis builds on an ethnographically inspired study of 24 households’ circular clothing consumption. Our findings suggest that accomplishing circularity in everyday clothing consumption involves developing care awareness and taking on responsibility for the care of clothes as a way of caring for distant others. We also show that multiple care struggles and care dilemmas complicate the accomplishment of care in this context. The article ends by outlining the possible contributions of developing an awareness and understanding of how care and circular consumption are intertwined. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
circular consumption, care-in-practice, care problems, clothing
in
Consumption and Society
publisher
Bristol University Press
ISSN
2752-8499
DOI
10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000032
project
Sustainable Clothing Future
Service Studies Consumption
Centre for Retail Research at Lund University
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
fe5d6c55-45ea-4eea-894b-da3195a29e3c
date added to LUP
2024-08-31 09:27:18
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:07:51
@article{fe5d6c55-45ea-4eea-894b-da3195a29e3c,
  abstract     = {{<br/>In a circular system, consumers need to acquire, use, look after and part with products in ways that recirculate or reuse materials and minimise waste. Thus, although seldom made explicit, consumer care is built into the circular economy project. In this article, we aim to contribute to the emerging body of sociological work on circular consumption by foregrounding the role of care in the performance of circular clothing practices. Theoretically, we combine previous care literature with theories of practice. The analysis builds on an ethnographically inspired study of 24 households’ circular clothing consumption. Our findings suggest that accomplishing circularity in everyday clothing consumption involves developing care awareness and taking on responsibility for the care of clothes as a way of caring for distant others. We also show that multiple care struggles and care dilemmas complicate the accomplishment of care in this context. The article ends by outlining the possible contributions of developing an awareness and understanding of how care and circular consumption are intertwined.}},
  author       = {{Tölg, Réka and Fuentes, Christian}},
  issn         = {{2752-8499}},
  keywords     = {{circular consumption; care-in-practice; care problems; clothing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Bristol University Press}},
  series       = {{Consumption and Society}},
  title        = {{Care and circularity: how the enactment of care enables and shapes the circular consumption of clothing}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000032}},
  doi          = {{10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000032}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}