Why do I love you Vaatelainaamo? Analysis of motivations, barriers and opportunities in a Finnish service for sharing clothes

Abstract

Services for sharing are the next challenge in Economy as they configure promising sustainable solutions. This paper presents research on a Finnish service for sharing clothes, aiming to understand factors that could increase the adoption of consumer practices in the Sharing Economy, especially for those products of mass consumption and consumer identity. The research has its foundation on the interpretative paradigm and on the phenomenological study, using questionnaires and “Love & Hate Letters” as research techniques. Among the results, we highlight motivations for both choosing and keeping use of the service, as well as factors that damage the relationship of users with it. Hence, we claim that services for sharing should promote a sense of belonging, which is the fundamental factor for users to love the service even though some aspects can be improved. Thus, designing for the next economy is to design for belonging.