The paper titled ‘Czech consumer decision-making in clothing disposal: insights for a circular textile system’ by Jakub Wiener, Divan Coetzee, and Tereza Šubrová examines consumer behaviour around textile waste disposal in the Czech Republic, with a focus on how disposal reasons and methods vary by gender and age. The quantitative study uses an anonymous electronic questionnaire conducted in Czech in early 2024, analysing responses through frequency percentages and three-way chi-square tests. It contributes to research on textile waste and circular economy practices in Central Europe, where consumer disposal behaviour remains less studied than in Western Europe and North America.

Key Insights

• Physical damage is the main reason for disposing of clothing. Physical damage generated 370 responses, followed by fit issues with 324 responses. Other reasons included changing tastes, stains, deformation, colour change and lack of functionality.
• A substantial share of discarded clothing remains usable. The study classifies 41.21% of disposal reasons as relative obsolescence, including fit, personal taste, being out of fashion, wardrobe compatibility, health and ethical or moral reasons. Absolute reasons linked to physical condition accounted for 58.79%.
• Gender and age influence several disposal reasons. Changing taste showed the strongest gender–age interaction, while poor fit, stains and physical damage also showed statistically significant interactions. Women were more likely than men to report relative reasons for disposal.
• Donation and textile recycling are the most common disposal routes. Donating to charity, using textile recycling boxes or taking clothing to recycling centres generated 410 responses and represented the most frequently reported disposal method across the age and gender groups.
• Repurposing and passing clothing on are also widely used. Repurposing garments for non-wearing purposes generated 311 responses, while passing clothing to family or friends generated 268. Selling or trading clothing was reported 156 times and was more common among women, particularly at younger and middle ages.
• Direct disposal in general waste is the least common method. It generated 93 responses overall, although the study found significant gender age differences, with higher reported use among some male age groups.
• Consumer education and garment quality are identified as key areas for improvement. The study recommends education that addresses purchasing, repair, reuse and disposal, alongside improvements in textile construction, durability and design quality. It also points to the implementation of textile waste sorting and the existing Czech culture of reuse as elements that could support a more circular textile system.

The study shows that textile disposal behaviour in the Czech Republic is shaped by both the physical condition of garments and consumer-related factors such as fit, changing tastes and purchasing behaviour. While donation, recycling, reuse and repurposing are widely reported, the findings also point to the need for longer-lasting garments and greater consumer knowledge around repair, reuse and responsible purchasing.

To read the entire paper, please head to ScienceDirect.