Explore U.S. retailers’ merchandising strategies for clothing made from recycled textile materials

ABSTRACT This study explored U.S. retailers’ unique merchandising strategies for recycled clothing based on a logistic regression analysis of 16,000 Stock keeping Units of apparel items sold in the U.S. retail market from 2018 to 2021. The statistical analysis shows that U.S. retailers adopt distinct product assortment strategies for clothing made from recycled materials in terms of colours, design patterns, and product categories, compared with regular new clothing. Also, U.S. retailers were statistically more likely to price recycled clothing lower than the market average but more likely to target them for the luxury and premium market segments. The study's findings create timely new knowledge about the business aspects of clothing circularity and reveal the necessity of improving recycling technologies and changing consumers’ perceptions of recycled clothing's values.