These slides were used for the presentation in the Product Lifetimes And The Environment Conference (Nottingham) in June, 2015. The presentation summarises the paper, "An exploratory study on the links between individual upcycling, product attachment and product longevity".

1. 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

2. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Table of contents
 Introduction
 Method
 Results
 Discussions and conclusion

3. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Introduction

4. 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)

5. 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)

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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.

10. 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

11. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Method

12. 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

13. 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)

14. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Measures
 Product attachment + product attachment determinants + product
attachment consequences + aesthetic and functional satisfaction: 7-
point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree”, 7 = “strongly agree)
 Expected product lifetime years: absolute figure
 Variable items: based on past studies by Mugge et al.

15. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Analysis
 Descriptive statistics
 Correlational analysis (Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation)
 Non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis H Test)
 SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 22.0.

16. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Results

17. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Product attachment determinants and consequences
Expected lifetime
years: range
between 1 and 50
years with mean
value of 11.67 years
(SD =13.23)
Descriptive analysis

18. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Product attachment, product attachment determinants and satisfaction
Correlational analysis (Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation)
1
2
3

19. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Product attachment and product attachment consequences
Correlational analysis (Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation)
1
2
3

20. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Gender difference Non-parametric test (Mann-Whitney U Test)
All PA determinants
PA
PA consequences
except for disposal
tendency
Satisfaction

21. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Age difference Non-parametric test (Kruskal-Wallis Test)
 Gp1: below 30 Gp2: between 30 and 49 Gp3: 50 and over
Product
attachment
determinants
Product attachment
Product attachment
consequences
Satisfaction

22. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Occupational difference Non-parametric test (Kruskal-Wallis Test)
 Gp1: art and design Gp2: science and engineering Gp3: other
PA determinants
except for group
affiliation and
pleasure
PA consequences
except for
disposal
tendency
Product
attachment
Satisfaction

23. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Product category difference Non-parametric test (Kruskal-Wallis Test)
 Difference in irreplaceability levels
 Small home products and/or
decorations: highest median (6.5)
 Other personal belongings (Md=5.5)
 Inside-the-home furniture (Md=3.5)
 Experimental and/or artistic projects
(Md=2)
 Garden, shed, workshop and/or
outdoor products (Md=1.5)
 Gp1: experimental and/or
artistic projects
 Gp2: inside-the-home furniture
 Gp3: garden, shed, workshop
and/or outdoor products
 Gp4: small home products
and/or decorations
 Gp5: other personal belongings

24. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Discussions &
Conclusion

25. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Summary
Corroborate the past studies
1. Correlation between product attachment and its determinants
2. No correlation between product attachment and satisfaction
3. Women and older consumers more relevant to attachment determinants
4. Product attachment higher for ornaments than functional products
New findings
1. Pleasure correlated only with functional satisfaction
2. Irreplaceability may mediate the effect of attachment on product care and
expected product longevity
3. Occupational difference: product attachment determinants & consequences

26. 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

27. 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

28. Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Thank you!
Any question?
Kyungeun.sung2013@my.ntu.ac.uk
http://kyungeunsung.com/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kyungeun_Sung