Okrika: Morphology, Marketing and Consumer Attitudinal Evaluation of Second Hand Clothing

The heightened global economic depression remains a major factor forcing many families in the middle and low economies to depend on second-hand clothing. This paper therefore, investigates the history, different forms of its presentation and marketing activities in the second-hand cloth marketplaces. It is aimed at examining the attitude of consumers towards second-hand clothing. It is also aimed at identifying the channels of distribution of fairly-used clothing. The research was largely qualitative; as a result, depth interviews and focus-group-discussion were adopted for gathering of relevant information. These two techniques were regularly used in the early stages of attitude research to pinpoint relevant product-related beliefs or attitudes, and to develop initial picture of consumer attitudes. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were also used to analyse the data. The study revealed that consumers were favourably disposed to second-hand clothing due to economic situations of the country. The study further revealed that selling second-hand clothing contributes positively to the income earnings of many Nigerians in the business. It also mitigates unemployment challenges and provides one of the basic necessities of life to Nigerians ? clothing. The paper concluded that second hand cloth is here in Nigeria to stay, and it now represent a veritable source of employment of labour to women and youths. The paper concluded that Nigerian government should recognise the dealers and sellers by formalising them as an organisation that can be regulated.