Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment Kyungeun Sung Supervisors: Tim Cooper and Sarah Kettley Sustainable Consumption Research Group School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment An Exploratory Study on the Links between Individual Upcycling, Product Attachment and Product Longevity
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An Exploratory Study on the Links between Individual Upcycling, Product Attachment and Product Longevity
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Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Kyungeun Sung Supervisors: Tim Cooper and Sarah Kettley
Sustainable Consumption Research Group School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
An Exploratory Study on the Links between Individual Upcycling, Product
Attachment and Product Longevity
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Table of contents
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussions and conclusion
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Introduction
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Product attachment
The emotional bond experienced with a product (Schifferstein & Pelgrim, 2003)
Emerging concept for sustainable consumption (Cooper, 2004; Mugge, et al., 2004;
Van Hinte, 1997)
When attached to any product:
1. handle the product with care 2. postpone its replacement/disposal 3. repair it when it breaks down (Cramer, 2011; Ramirez, et al., 2010; Mugge, 2007;
van Hinte, 1997)
4. not necessarily requiring people to commit themselves to pro-environmental behaviour (van Nes, 2010)
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Past studies on product attachment
Little attention to ‘everyday creativity’ activities
Consumers’ favourite or most cherished possessions (Schultz, et al., 1989;
Wallendorf & Arnould, 1988)
Mass-produced, ordinary consumer durables (Mugge, et al., 2010; 2006; 2005)
Product personalisation, mass customisation and participatory design as design strategies to increase product attachment sustainable consumption (Cramer, 2011; Mugge, et al., 2009; Fletcher, 2008; Chapman, 2005)
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Individual upcycling
Creation or modification of any product out of used materials in an attempt to result in a product of higher quality or value than the compositional elements (Sung, et al., 2014)
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Individual upcycling and product attachment
Individual upcycling: relevant to product attachment and product longevity
Utilise old products with an emotional bond
Creative, engaging user activity (1) self-expression; (2) group affiliation; (3) special memories; and (4) pleasure possible product attachment determinants (Mugge, et al., 2006)
likely to create strong product attachment product longevity
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Increasing number of people who upcycle things
contemporary Maker Movement (Anderson, 2012; Lang, 2013)
readily available physical resources (e.g. Hackspaces)
shared digital resources (e.g. Instructables, Etsy)
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Research need in individual upcycling
Despite:
Visible growth in practice/behaviour
Potential as a strategy for product longevity + sustainable consumption
Individual upcycling has not yet been fully investigated in terms of its relation to product attachment and product longevity.
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Aims of the paper
1. address the links between individual upcycling, product attachment, and its determinants and consequences
2. Pinpoint possible group differences in the strength of the variables according to demographic characteristics and product categories
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Method
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Method
A questionnaire
23 UK-based consumers with upcycling experiences
between April and July 2014
Select up to 3 most emotionally attached, upcycled products
Fill in up to 3 questionnaires 44 questionnaires completed
Advertisement on Google groups/forums of public workshops
10 cities in 9 regions of England
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Respondents
Total: 23 (13 direct response + 10 snowball)
Age: between 24 and 66 years old
Nationality: British (74%; 17); non-British (26%; 6)
Gender: male (65%; 15); female (35%; 8)
Occupation: (1) science and engineering (52%; 12); (2) art and design (30%;7); (3) other areas (heath service, business and management) or unemployed (17%; 4)
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Limitations + future research
Limited sample
more research for verification
Proportion of all upcycled products exhibiting meaningful levels of product attachment
possible rebound effect + actual environmental impact
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Contributions
Individual upcycling has the potential to contribute towards sustainable production and consumption at the household level through strengthening product attachment
Demographic characteristics and product categories to consider for possible scaling up
Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment