Fulfilling Consumers’ Changing Needs Through PSS

The symbolic meanings of products are connected to psychological satisfaction through an emotional response. When the product no longer offers a positive emotional response because, for example, it falls out of fashion or the wearer becomes otherwise tired of it, the consumer experiences psychological obsolescence and easily replaces the product with a new one. Accordingly emotional and psychological obsolescence results in premature disposal of a product that may still be functional.

Consumers’ needs and aesthetic preferences that change over time raise the question of how to avoid the psychological obsolescence of garments. The challenge in extending product lifetimes is to achieve continuing satisfaction with the product. The PSS approach allows the creation of new experiences with a product or changes to a product to enable it to better suit a consumer’s changing needs.

Positive ways that a product’s lifetime can be extended include upgradability services, modification services and exchange stocks. These strategies can postpone garment disposal by keeping the consumer satisfied longer. Modification or redesign possibilities for quality garments allow for an extension of a product’s life span. Many websites already advise consumers on how to modify their old garments themselves and encourage consumers to extend the use of their garments. Many small and locally functioning repair and redesign studios also already exist, where the consumer can repair a damaged garment but can also order a redesigned garment made from old ones.

A design based on a modular clothing structure also offers the possibility to create services to upgrade garments. This strategy offers the opportunity to update the appearance in a sustainable way (Fletcher & Grose 2012, 82). It is possible to play with theclothing elements to create unique combinations of colours or shapes to develop a new look. The consumer does not need to then buy a new garment; instead s/he can simply change some parts or elements in the garment to have the experienceof newness.

Garment exchange or renting services offer possibilities for consumers to make

changes to their clothing in more sustainable ways. New and interesting examples of clothing membership clubs exist. By paying a monthly membership fee, a consumer can select a certain number of garments to use, giving himor her the opportunity to change the appearance in a more sustainable way. This type of business strategy has emerged e.g. in the field of children’s clothing. Consumers can rent children’s outfits and when the child outgrows a size, the parent can obtain larger-size garments from the clothing club.

Conclusions

This study investigated product satisfaction in the context of clothing and this knowledge was used to understand and define proactive fashion design for sustainable consumption. It opened views into the process of consumer satisfaction. A main issue that arises when aiming to extend the life of garments is to increase their durability and intrinsic quality. Moreover, fulfilling consumers’ other expectations regarding the garment’s aesthetic and functional attributes is important to ensure product satisfaction. Finally the issue of value is most important with regard to deep product satisfaction: values associated with the product, the manufacturing process and behind the companies have to meet the consumers’ own value base so that the consumer feels completely satisfied with the product.

By identifying the reasons for the short and long-term use of clothing, it is possible to find new ways to create sustainable designs that can result in a redirective practice directed towards sustainable consumption. Proactive fashion design for sustainable consumption takes these reasons into account, thus enabling clothing longevity. Satisfying consumers’ expectations regarding quality, functionality, aesthetics and value is a key to extending the use time of a product. Moreover, the emotional side of consumption must be understood to provide more sustainable ways to ensure customer satisfaction.

The PSS approach provides an opportunity to extend the enjoyable use of a product and thus avoid psychological obsolescence and a garment’s premature disposal. Stimulating a sense of meaningful uniqueness and achievement through

design services or “self-made” approaches is a promising route to enhancing consumer satisfaction. If a consumer is satisfied, then strengthening the emotional bond between the product and consumer is possible. In turn, this meaningful attachment is the best way to postpone a product’s disposal. When the product or its use is somehow special to the consumer, s/he will take good care of it to extend its enjoyable use time.

The most promising sustainable design strategy is the combination of product design with service elements: PSS strategies are therefore a future path to proactive and sustainable design.

中文译文：

可持续消费的具有前瞻性的服装设计

摘要本文从服装的角度对产品满意度进行了研究。针对如何利用这些知识创造面向可持续消费的具有前瞻性的服装设计，本文还提出了建议。当今消费社会面临的主要挑战之一是如何设计产品，鼓励消费者从事更环保的行为，可持续消费。本文采用一种有智慧、有远见的设计方法，就如何改变当前与服装相关的不可持续的消费行为展开了讨论。设计师可以创造面向未来的可持续设计，将消费模式转变为更可持续的消费模式。因此，可持续设计是具有针对性的实践活动，主旨是可持续消费，其中，服装设计可以成为实现这一主旨的具有前瞻性的方法。

关键词：前瞻性设计，可持续设计，可持续消费，情感满意度，PSS。 引言

产品需要符合消费者需求和使用模式；因此，设计可以说是“实践导向”，创造某些日常实践和消费行为（肖夫等人，2007，134-136）。目前的工业设计和批量生产体系导致了消费主义和一次性产品的生产（沃克，2007，51）。快速变化的趋势导致了消费者不可持续的消费行为。为了在设计、制造和消费之间创造一个新的、可持续的平衡，诞生了可以推动更可持续消费行为的另一种创造产品的方法。因此，设计师应该评估每个设计决策将如何影响消费者的消费模式。从

这个角度来说，可持续设计是一种重新的、积极的实践活动，其主旨是实现可持续消费（弗赖伊，2009，53）。

更高的产量和同时增长的消费量导致了物质消费量的增加（特罗恩-霍尔斯特等人，2007）。不断变化的时尚趋势、经济实惠的产品价格以及质量低下的消费产品，使得消费者不得不从事不可持续的消费行为，如冲动购买，过度消费，使用时间短，过早处置产品，等等。随着使用寿命短的产品的购买量的增加，其废品量也在显著上涨。目前，约有70％的弃置衣物和纺织品最终进入垃圾填埋场，在许多西方国家，服装和纺织品废料被认为是增长最快的废料流（弗莱彻，2008，98）。消费者丢弃服装，不仅因为这些服装已经穿旧了，还因为他们总是寻求新奇的东西。然而，产品的耐久性和长期使用是可持续消费的先决条件：即延长产品的寿命是实现可持续消费的必要条件（库珀，2005）。不过，重要的是，消费者将耐久性与高品质联系起来，而不考虑环境影响。

情感是人类生活的中心，它们影响着我们的大部分行为、动机和思维过程（德斯梅特，2009，379）。在消费中情感也发挥着重要作用。对当代消费者来说，欲望、需求、价值观、态度和体验之间的相互作用是具有情感意义的。服装和时尚用品属于自我表达产品的范畴，而此类产品，与消费相关的情感对消费者来说是重要的。正如瑞金斯（2009）认为的那样，这些消费情感是当代社会的重要因素，尤其是在购买活动之后。购买情况对消费者来说是一种强烈的正面体验，但它具有短暂性，与更深层次的满足感或个人-产品依附的体验无关（同上）。通过新的购买活动，消费者至少暂时可以再次体验到兴奋、享受、愉悦和乐趣。

从环境的角度来看，当人与产品之间需要持续的积极情感，或者寻求用其他积极情感状态来取代物质消费的解决办法时，研究消费方式和消费意义是十分重要的。设计过程应着眼于可持续的消费者对产品的满意度或与个人-产品依附的过程。此外，还应该开发一种新的产品服务系统（PSS），以延长产品的使用时间。PSS策略还可以为消费者提供新的情感体验，从而推迟产品的处置；因此，PSS思维可以避免购买新的衣服，这是一个减少物质消费的机会。

对服装的可持续满意度

如果将当前不可持续的消费模式转变为可持续的消费模式，就必须调查哪种