ABSTRACT
This study investigate the sales and usage of secondhand
clothing in Alimosho local government area of Lagos State. Social construction,
sales and usage of secondhand clothing. Certain conditions compel individual
into taking decisions and actions. Sales and usage of secondhand clothing is a
major occupation, for which, Igbo people are famous. With the economic
downturn, more Igbo people have taken to the sales of secondhand clothing.
Today, sales of secondhand clothing are no longer exclusive Igbo affairs.
Government policy has caused inflation, which has in turn, deprived people
employment and even choices in terms of wears. As a result, patronage of used
clothes that was a character of the low income earner, and people with no or
low education, has become an attraction to educated folks as well as medium
income earners. The rising population of the patrons of used clothing has in
effect, significantly led to a rise in importation of used items especially
through illegal perceptions. This study is carried out with duly valued
questionnaires and indepth interview were used as instrument to collect primary
data from 150 respondents from various market in Alimosho which are Kantagua.
Igando, Ikotun and Egbeda market for statistical analysis. The results of data
collected were analyzed and transcribed with Pearson’s Product moment
correlations statistical tool to test the three (3) hypotheses formulated. The
result of the three hypotheses tested indicated that: there is a significant
relationship between social construction of sales and usage of secondhand
clothing in Alimosho Local Government, consumer do attached meaning to the
usage of second-hand clothing in
Alimosho Local Government and
problems associated
with the sales and usage of second-hand clothing in Alimosho local
Government area of Lagos metropolis. The findings of this research
revealed that the sales and usage of secondhand clothing have adverse effect on
the nation economy which ranges from diseases, loss of cultural values and
unemployment. The study reveals that people also benefits from the sales and
usage of secondhand clothing as a result of factors which are durability,
quality and cost. From this study, it was also realized that there are various
places where people get secondhand clothing from and people attached meanings
to it. It recommended that consumers
should appreciate and patronize local products, if such products meet their
needs and expectations in the face of competing brands from oversea. No nation
became advanced suddenly; some of them sacrificed and had an inward orientation
that favoured their economies. It is better to encourage domestic producers of
this product to put in their best to make the product viable and saleable. That local fabric/garment producers need to address themselves to the
socio-economic factors influencing secondhand clothes traders to prefer these
imported items. Attention should be
given to the implications on local production and marketing if the local
industry is to meet consumer needs satisfactorily, the industry should strive
to make high domestic sales so that exportation makes a small contribution to
business performance. Domestic sales
will make local industries almost self-reliant. The Nigerian government through
the standards organization of Nigeria (SONs) need to monitor quality of locally
produced clothing so that consumers within and without Nigeria are not
disappointed.
Finally, enlightenment campaigns and workshops must be conducted to train and
reorientate both producers and consumers. Also research and development
institute that will take care of this sector should be put in place or become
more functional if it is already in existence.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Pages i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract v
Table of Content
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.0
Introduction 1
1.1
Statement
of Problem 3
1.2
Research
Questions 4
1.3
Objectives
of study 4
1.4
Significance
of Study 5
1.5
Scope
and Delimitations of study 6
1.6
Definition
of Terms 7
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 Literature Review 12
2.1.1 Second-Hand Clothes - A
Thriving Export Commodity Of All
Industrialised Countries
12
2.1.2 Emergency Aid Turned Into
A Lucrative Business 12
2.1.3 Major Consequences Of Purchasing Or Using
Second-Hand Clothes 14
2.1.4 Organizations Donating Secondhand Clothing 17
2.1.5 General Structure Of Second-Hand Clothes
Market In Nigeria 20
2.1.6 Strategic Business Practices Used By
Second-Hand Clothes Traders 21
2.1.7 Benefits Of Secondhand Clothing Trade 22
2.1.9 Factors Responsible For The Sales And Usage
Of Second-Hand Clothing24
2.1.10
Personal Factors And Buying Behaviour 25
2.1.11 Assessments Regarding Goods Made In Nigeria Goods 25
2.2 Review Of
Empirical Literature 26
2.3 Theoretical Framework 28
2.3.1 Rational Choice
Theory 28
2.3.2 Actions, Assumptions, And Individual
Preferences 29
2.4 Conceptual Framework 34
2.5 Hypotheses/Proposition 35
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 37
3.1 The Study Population 37
3.2 Sample
Size and Sampling Procedure 37
3.3 Research
Instrument and Data Collection Method 38
3.4 Method of Data Analysis 39
3.5 Field Experience 40
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION
4.0 Introduction 41
4.1 Social Demographic Characteristics of
Respondents 41
4.2 Hypotheses Testing 63
4.3 Discussion of Findings 67
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 70
5.1 Conclusion 71
5.2 Recommendations 72
5.3 References 73
5.4 Appendix 78
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE
STUDY
1.0
INTRODUCTION
The
social construction of sales and usage of second hand clothing has been a
contemporary issues in Nigeria which cannot be overemphasized. Secondhand
clothing (SHC) traces their origin from wealthy westerners who contribute their
obsolete clothing as donations to charity organizations (Dougherty, 2004;
Slotterback, 2007). Larger charities first sort through the donations to add to
their stock stores and then sell the surplus to secondhand clothing dealers to
help generate funds towards assistance programs. Slotterback (2007) reported
that about 80% of the donated clothing is usually sold to secondhand clothing
merchants. The merchants sort the secondhand clothing by condition and then
categorize in groups which they bundle in bales whose prices vary according to
quality of the contents. Clothing merchants from the importing countries visit
the offices of exporters to ascertain the quality, negotiate the price, pay for
the bales and then ship the clothing to the country of origin (Olumide, 2011). It has been observed presently that Nigeria
and Kenya is one of the largest importers of secondhand clothing (locally
referred to as ‘Okirika, Benddown boutique and Tokunbo while Kenya called it
“Mitumba’ meaning ‘onslaught’) in Sub Sahara Africa respectively.
Buying
behaviour according to Dawson et al (2006), are set of attitudes that
characterize the patterns of consumers' choices. Apart from the essential
internal factors, which are recognized as influential to buying behaviour,
there are a number of external situational contexts that affect consumer
choices. Consumer behaviour is a combination of customers' buying consciousness
and external incentives which are likely to result in behaviour remodeling. The
society’s culture such as norms, philosophies, settlement, customs religion,
festivity, class, lifestyle and other subculture influence how individual
consumers buy and use secondhand products, and help explain how groups of
consumers behave. There has been a
current need for individuals and families to develop sustainable ways of
living. One of the important areas of sustainable living is through
maintainable clothing and textile consumption. Maintainable consumption is
using resources in a way that minimizes harm to the environment, while
supporting the well-being of people (OECD, 2008). Maintainable clothing or
fashion consumption is the use of clothing for purposes beyond utilitarian
needs which is achieved while enabling the
future
generations to meet their needs (Nordic Initiatives, Clean and Ethical (NICE,
2012). Secondhand Clothing trade (SHCT)
represents an insignificant proportion of the total global trade in clothing
(0.5%), more than 30% of the imports goes to the Sub Sahara African (SSA)
countries (Baden & Barber, 2005). Despite being overtaken by imports from
Asia to Africa, the use of Secondhand Clothing still significant.
According
to Mangieri (2006) and Slotterback (2007) opined that having increased
drastically since 1990 the global Secondhand Clothing trade (SHCT) is worth
more than USD 200 billion each year with almost all countries in the world
becoming involved in it either as exporters, processors, re exporters or
importers. Used clothing markets exist in over 100 countries globally
(Slotterback, 2007). The United States, the Netherlands and Japan participate
in SCHT as major exporters while the developing countries like Nigeria are the
major importers and consumers of Secondhand clothing (Baden and Barber,
2005).
1.1
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The
economic downturn of the past has affected nearly every segment of the Nigeria
economy of the past has affected nearly every segment of the Nigeria economy
.The sales and usage of secondhand clothing is one of the business, people are
engaging themselves with and its increasingly gaining ground in Nigeria. The
rapid increase of population unemployment is one of the major factors pushing
many individuals to sell and buy secondhand clothing, all over the world.
Nigeria
as a country is posed with a lot of problems, which includes poverty
,unemployment, lack of resources, and low wage income are making individuals
sell and use secondhand clothing.
Typically,
the importation of used clothes would result in a downward shift of the demand
curve in the new apparel industry. According to studies (Slotterback 2007) many
reasons accounts for the sales and usage of secondhand clothing.
1
.Unemployment among individuals.
2..Poverty,
both relative and absolute poverty.
3.
Low wage income and lack of better job opportunities.
1.2
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In
this study, an attempt was made to provide answers to the following questions.
i.
What are the meanings attached
to the sales and usage of secondhand clothing by people?
ii.
What are the reasons why people use and sale secondhand clothing?
iii.
What categories of people use
secondhand clothing?
iv.
What are the business
strategies involved in the sales of secondhand clothing?
v.
What are the problems
associated with the sales and usage of secondhand clothing?
1.3 OBJECTIVES
OF STUDY
The
main objective of this study is to investigate social construction of sales and
usage of second-hand clothing in Alimosho local government area of Lagos
metropolis. This is however divided into the following sub objectives;
i.
To
know whether there is any meaning attached to the sales and usage of
second-hand clothing by people of Alimosho local government area of Lagos
metropolis.
ii. To
ascertain the reasons why people use and sell secondhand clothing
iii. To
identify the categories of people that use secondhand clothing Alimosho local government area of
Lagos metropolis
iv. To identify the business strategies
involved in the sales of secondhand clothing.
v. To
examine the problems associated with the sales and usage of secondhand
clothing.
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE
OF STUDY
This
study will be of great importance to policymakers in the sense that it will be
an assistance to make rightful and necessary policy that will encourage and
favorable to Nigerian textile industry, individual have found that thrift
stores often reflect the community in which they reside and quality clothing
with the tags still in some wealthier neighborhoods. Also, Goodwill found to be
expensive, as far as thrift store goods or cloth cheaper than new one. Their
prices are definitely higher, but it does seem that they do a better job of
filtering out junk, spouses often believe that the level of income determines
the purchasing power, researchers and general public in the sense that it will
assists them to know the adverse effect of social construction of sales of
usage secondhand clothing, causes and solution to the consumption.
The
Nigeria Demographic Health Survey(NDHS) significantly emphases that an ideal
vehicle for studying not only the linkages between secondhand clothing usage
and health and demographic outcomes. This study will
help to solve current or existing problem as it affect Textile Company in
Nigeria. It will also help the government in terms of planning and budget
revenue in the appropriate ways putting all things into consideration such as what
the people so desire. This study would raise various suggestions and
recommendations that will go a long way to minimize these problems and their
attendance effects. Student writing their research project on similar topic
will be guided as the finding and recommendations will be serve as a map,
pointing them to the path to treat. Undertaken a study of this nature will
expose the researcher to rigorous and challenging exercise of writing a
project, which need a lot of concentration handwork and patience.
1.5 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF
STUDY
The study is designed to investigate
the social construction of sales and usage of second-hand clothing in Alimosho
local government area, Lagos metropolis. Specifically, the scope covers social
construction of sales and usage of second-hand clothing in Iyana-Ipaja, Egbeda
and Ikotun area of Lagos State. This covers:
a. Iyana Ipaja (Kantagwa Market)
b. Ikotun ( Ikotun Market)
c. Egbeda (Egbeda Market)
This study is utmost important simply
because the researcher discovered that most of the people living in the
aforementioned area prefers secondhand clothing to new one due to the presence
of large markets in that area such as Ikotun BRT Terminal and Kontogora market.
This research study, like any other research is bound to have limitations,
through these limitations does not have significant effect on the validity of
the study. This include:
Insufficient fund to carry out the
study. It should be noted that money will be needed for transportation to the
field, typing and printing etc. and shortage of it (money), may affect the
proper scrutiny of this study. Also inadequate information from the respondents
serves as another major factor that may affect this research exercise. More so,
shortage or inadequate time to carry out the research work cannot also but
mentioned among those other factors that serves as a constraints to this study.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
For
better understanding of the various terms related to and in this research
project, it is necessary to briefly define these term m their general meaning
and specific contextual application to the topic under discourse:
SALES:
In general, a transaction between two
parties where the buyer receives goods (tangible or intangible), services
and/or assets in exchange for money.
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION: This
is perception of consumer towards any social phenomenon and the meaning
attached to it. Social construction is something you might not be aware of. You
are somewhat living in segregation depending on what gender, race and class you
are. Race, class and gender don’t really mean anything. They only have a
meaning because society gives them a meaning.
Social construction is how society groups people and how it privileges certain
groups over others.
SECONDHAND CLOTHING: Items of clothing that have been
previously owned by someone else. Besides, second-hand or used good is one
that is being purchased by or otherwise transferred to a second or later end user. A used good can also simply
mean it is no longer in the same condition as it was when transferred to the
current owner. When "used" means an item has expended its purpose
(such as a used diaper),
it is typically called garbage,
instead. Used goods may be transferred informally between friends and family
for free as "hand-me-downs" or they may be sold for a fraction of
their original price at garage sales or in church bazaar
fundraisers.
USAGE: Usage
is defined as the way that something is being used, or to the proper way to
make use of something such as a word or phrase or tool.
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