AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Brigitte Gaal Cluver for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Design and Human Environment presented on September 12, 2008. Title: Consumer Clothing Inventory Management. Abstract approved: Leslie Davis Burns The primary objective of the present research, which investigated consumer behavior regarding the storage of clothing items no longer worn, was to develop a model that describes and explains the process of consumer clothing inventory management. Data were collected via in-depth interviews of twenty-two adult female and male informants. Guided by a moderately structured interview guide, informants displayed and discussed clothing items they wear and clothing items they no longer wear. For items they wear, informants explained how they feel while wearing them, as well as why they might stop wearing them and what they might do with the items. For items they no longer wear, but still have, informants explained how they felt while wearing the items, why they stopped wearing the items, why they still have the items, and how they would feel if the items disappeared. For items they no longer have, they explained how they felt while wearing the items, why they stopped wearing the items, how they disposed of the items, and how they felt about their disposal decisions. Data show that consumers’ clothing inventories can be categorized accordingly: active, permanent inactive, temporary inactive, invisible inactive, and transitional inactive. Within permanent inactive inventories were items that informants believed they would never dispose; such items often symbolized various connections and/or held hedonic value. Within temporary inactive inventories were items that informants believed they would eventually dispose; such items were often stored because informants were waiting to find future opportunities to use the items or the best disposal outlets. Occasionally, clothing items were invisible to informants, made so either unintentionally or intentionally. Clothing items within transitional inactive inventories were those items that informants had taken psychological and behavioral steps towards disposing of, yet still retained possession. Data collected were used to develop a Consumer Clothing Inventory Management Model. The model explains what causes consumers to store versus dispose of inactive clothing items and provides direction regarding the identification of ways to encourage consumers to pass inactive items on to others who can use them. ©Copyright by Brigitte Gaal Cluver September 12, 2008 All Rights Reserved Consumer Clothing Inventory Management by Brigitte Gaal Cluver A DISSERTATION submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Presented September 12, 2008 Commencement June 2009 Doctor of Philosophy dissertation of Brigitte Gaal Cluver presented on September 12, 2008. APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Design and Human Environment Chair of the Department of Design and Human Environment Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my dissertation will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my dissertation to any reader upon request. Brigitte Gaal Cluver, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank Dr. Leslie Burns for her patience as she saw this project through to completion. She has been an amazing resource as a major professor. I would also like to thank Dr. Hsiou-Lien Chen and Dr. Jim McAlexander for encouraging me to finish my research, as well as Dr. Hal Koenig and Dr. Jeff McCubbin for participating on my graduate committee. My acknowledgment would not be complete without thanking my mom and dad, Sharon and Rowland Gaal, as well as my husband, Andrew, who in many ways have been constant passengers on this long voyage. They are the most selfless and caring people I know, and I feel blessed to have them in my life. I would also like to thank my daughter, Kinzie, who sacrificed mommy-time while I worked on this project. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………..1 Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………………. ...4 Purpose ……………………………………………………………………………...4 Research Objectives ……………………………………………………………….5 Research Questions ………………………………………………………………..5 A Priori Expectations ……………………………………………………………….5 Definitions of Terms ………………………………………………………………..6 Terms Related to Inventory Management ………………………………6 Terms Related to Item Value ……………………………………………..9 Terms Related to Consumer-Item Relationship ……………………….10 2. Review of Literature …………………………………………………………………….11 Related Models ……………………………………………………………………11 Inactive Clothing …………………………………………………………………..13 Movement of Clothing Items from Active to Inactive…………………..14 Potential Ambivalences Surrounding Inactive Clothing Items………..22 The Disposal of Possessions …………………………………………………….28 The Disposition Decision Process ………………………………………29 Consumers Use of the Disposition Process as a Tool………………...37 The Storage of Clothing Items ……………………………………………………40 No-Longer-Worn-Clothing………………………………………………...40 Clothes That Do Not Fit …………………………………………………..42 Transitional Storage for No-Longer-Worn-Clothing …………………...43 Where Do We Go From Here? …………………………………………..44 3. Researcher Review of Experience With Topic ……………………………………….45 Subjective Personal Introspection Process ……………………………………..46 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page The Event…………………………………………………………………..47 Introspective Data Collection ……………………………………………48 Introspective Data Analysis ……………………………………………...49 Results ……………………………………………………………………………...52 Emergent Themes ………………………………………………………..52 Introspective Summary of Findings ……………………………………..60 4. Method ……………………………………………………………………………………63 Interview Guide Development ……………………………………………………64 Grand-tour Questions and Planned-Prompts ………………………….64 Sections Within Interview Guide ………………………………………..65 Informant Selection ………………………………………………………………..67 Data Collection …………………………………………………………………….68 Data Analysis ………………………………………………………………………69 Evaluation of Research Quality …….…………………………………………….71 Clarifying the Potential for Researcher Bias ………………….………..71 Member Checking …………………………………………….…………..71 Providing a Thick Description of Informants …………………………...72 Consistent Data Collection and Analysis ……………………………….72 5. Results ……………………………………………………………………………………73 Model Development ……………………………………………………………….73 Sample Description ……………………………………………………….75 Concept Definitions ……………………………………………………….75 Inventory Movement Between Concepts ……………………………….76 Concept Explanation ………………………………………………………………80 Permanent Inactive Inventory …………………………………………...81 Temporary Inactive Inventory ……………………………………………89 Invisible Inactive Inventory ……………………………………………….97 Transitional Inactive Inventory …………………………………………..99 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page Disposal …………………………………………………………………………...101 Factors Which Prompt Disposal Versus Storage Decision Making ……………………………………………………………………102 Re-circulation ..…………………………………………………………………...105 6. Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………….107 Model of Consumer Clothing Inventory Management ……………………….107 Categories Within Clothing Inventory ...……………………………….108 Categories Related to Clothing Inventory …………………………….113 Item Movement Among Categories ……………………………………114 Model Summary …………………………………………………………115 Evaluation of Research Quality ………………………………………………...117 Use of Creswell’s (2007) Validation Strategies ………………………115 Consistent Data Collection and Analysis ..……………………………118 Suggestions for Future Research ……………………………………………...118 Transferability of Model …………………………………………………119 Research Questions Generated From the Model ……………………120 7. References ..……………………………………………………………………………124 8. Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………. 131 Appendix 1: Interview Guide ………………………………………………….. 132 Appendix 2: Pre-Interview Letter ………………………………..................... 135 Appendix 3: Letter of Informed Consent ……………………………………...137 Appendix 4: Autobiographical Sketches of Informants ...……………………140 Appendix 5: Categorized Data from In-Depth Interviews …………………...153 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Consumer Household Logistics System Model (Boyd & McConocha, 1996) ……………………………………………………..3 2. Consumer Clothing Inventory Management Model ………………………….74 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Reasons for Disposing of Textile Items Through Various Disposal Options (Koch and Domina, 1999) ……………………………………..........35 2. Reasons for Currently Having Clothing Items in Inventory, Inactive Permanent Inventory versus Inactive Temporary Inventory …….54 3. Reasons for No Longer Wearing Clothing Items in Inventory, Inactive Temporary Storage versus Disposal ………………………………57 4. Frequency of Reasons for Currently Having Clothing Items in Inventory, Inactive Temporary Storage versus Disposal ………………….59 Title: Consumer Clothing Inventory Management 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION While watching an episode of “Clean House” on the Style Network, one might catch a glimpse of host Nicey Nash prying an out-of-style, yet never worn pair of shoes from the grips of her latest female subject, or lecturing a teary-eyed man about the importance of giving up a tattered t-shirt so he can regain control of his cluttered life. The media is quick to offer advice on how to take control over our lives and solve our clothing clutter problems. Home and Garden Television’s “Smart Solutions” aired an episode titled “Efficient Closet Cleanup” (episode SSL-1031) which provides advice to facilitate “purging” decision making. “Mission: Organization,” another Home and