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The case is written on the basis of published sources only.

Doodlage, a start-up incorporated in 2012 by Kriti Tula, Paras Arora and Vaibhav Kapoor, used discarded waste to create sustainable fashion products. It had a first-mover advantage in recycled fashion goods in the first 10 years of its existence. The company contributed to sustainable fashion by providing an alternative to fast fashion production, creating enormous clothing waste and environmental degradation. In the first quarter of 2022, it saved and reused 15,000 m of fabric waste. From 2018 to 2021, the company grew 150% annually, targeting the right customers and regions to expand its business. It ensured that postproduction industrial waste and postconsumption garments were used to produce clothes. It also confirmed that the waste generated in its fabric screening process was used to create stationery items and other valuable accessories.

However, the sustainable fashion model that gave the company a competitive advantage became obsolete in 2022 due to increasing competition in the industry as various players using unique ideas entered the market. The company is encountering operational and logistical challenges that are affecting its performance. The demand for its products was also subdued due to high prices of upcycled and recycled clothes and less consumer spending post-COVID pandemic. The competitors of Doodlage offered multiple products produced using environmentally friendly farming and manufacturing techniques, attracting sustainable purchasers. What should be the new portfolio of products for the company to explore future growth opportunities? Considering their vast price, can consumers be encouraged to buy upcycled clothes? How should the company ride the winds of change in the industry?

The instructor should initiate the class discussion by asking questions such as how frequently do you shop for clothes? Do you care about the fabric of your apparel? After you discard your clothes, do you think about where these goods finally end up? Data on the amount of total waste generated in the fashion industry should be communicated to students to connect it with the importance of the concept of circular economy. Post this, the instructor should introduce the business model of Doodlage to bring the discussion into the context of the fashion industry before going ahead to discuss the company’s dilemma.

The purpose of this article is to investigate whether the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation activity of Certified B Corps® is comparable to listed companies in the Italian fashion industry.

The study includes a systematic literature review performed on Scopus® and combining keywords related to CSR and the fashion industry. Moreover, the literature review involves empirical analyses performed using a mixed-methods approach. First, a text-based content analysis was carried out on the companies' sustainability reports using the keyword scoring approach. The innovation index was then calculated, and multiple ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions were performed.

Based on the data available, it has emerged that Certified B Corps® who pursue a more significant number of SDGs are more likely to implement circular economy principles. Moreover, Certified B Corps® that have higher transparency standards and assume social responsibility practices also have higher innovation activity; in contrast, companies who used CSR only as a marketing tool have lower activity.

The analyses were influenced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing weaker relationships between the variables, as the analyses involved 2020 data. Furthermore, although the analysis considers the entire population of Certified B Corps® and listed companies in the Italian fashion industry, the size of the sample analyzed influenced the results and insights. Therefore, the analysis does not allow for generalizability. Finally, the study was conducted on a single country whose economic and social contexts have influenced some variables.

The paper highlights some managerial implications. Managers should consider CSR to be an investment and an opportunity to survive the post-COVID-19 pandemic by applying the triple bottom line (TBL) approach in formulating strategies and increasing investments to develop sustainable innovations.

The article explores B Corps, which has received minimal attention in the literature, to propose a deeper understanding of the topic.

This paper aims to answer the questions of what clothing practices related to sustainable fashion can be observed in young consumers' daily lives in Finland’s capital region and what prevents their further proliferation.

This is qualitative research that draws from 22 semi-structured interviews with high school students in the capital area of Finland. The data were analyzed with the use of thematic analysis, a flexible method of data analysis that allows for the extraction of categories from both theoretical concepts and data.

This paper contributes to studies of young people’s consumption with the practice theory approach, putting forward the category of following sustainable fashion as an integrative practice. The three-element model of the practice theory allows answering the question of challenges that prevent the practice from shaping. The paper further advances this approach by identifying a list of context-specific dispersed practices incorporated into sustainable fashion.

The study suggests practical ways of improving clothing consumption based on the practice theory approach and findings from empirical research. Sustainable practices require competences, knowledge and skills that the school, as an institution working closely with high school students, could help develop.

The study contributes to the current studies of sustainability and youth culture of consumption with a practice theory approach and findings, related to a particular context of a country from Northern Europe.

Global value chains (GVCs) have been challenged by several emerging macro-trends during the last years. Among them, sustainability of production and consumption patterns is becoming a central theme given the necessity to mitigate the degradation of the environment and the over-exploitation of scarce natural resources. In this respect, scholars and practitioners increasingly propose the circular economy (CE) approach as a systemic solution to overcome the conventional linear “take–make–use–dispose” model underlying the structure of contemporary global economy. However, the international business (IB) community has introduced the topic of CE only marginally in its debate. The aim of the present study is to fill this research gap identifying the opportunities for integrating IB and CE principles. Thus, the main objective is to investigate whether and how the adoption of the CE paradigm by multinational enterprises (MNEs) may affect activities, geographical configuration, and governance of their relevant GVCs.

The authors address the issue from a conceptual point of view, identifying direct and indirect impacts of CE adoption on GVC, relative enablers, and possible broader implications. Lastly, the authors propose some reflections for future investigations.

The study aims to analyse the possibilities of positioning the anti-consumption through different communication appeals. It analyses commercial and social marketing campaigns in the global context, with the aim to recommend communication guidelines to empower anti-consumption among different industries.

The study conducted a qualitative content analysis of marketing communication focused on anti-consumption promotion.

The results bring a comprehensive overview of possible communication appeals of anti-consumption and prove feasibility of their implementation. The analysis of used appeals leads to recommendations for developing effective marketing communication for promoting anti-consumption.

The recommendations can serve both for-profit and non-profit organization as a showcase to discover the idea of anti-consumption as communication appeals. By empowering anti-consumption, consumers could reach personal welfare and participate in social equilibrium. Also, the study brings recommendations for further research considering the evaluation of the implemented strategies.

The study covers a gap in published literature focusing on comprehensive analysis of existing anti-consumption marketing communication strategies and appeals and brings an overview of potential strategies for empowering anti-consumption among modern consumers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the shift towards a circular economy and marketing strategies on the collaborative purchasing behaviour of consumers in India. The study uses the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the marketing mix to understand the factors affecting a consumer’s intention to participate in collaborative consumption (CC).

A Web-based survey was conducted, and 349 valid responses were analysed using AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) structural equation modelling. The study emphasised the impact of price, promotion and perceived behaviour control on CC and provided direction and advice for companies that rent and swap apparel.

According to the study, promotion and perceived behaviour control are the two key characteristics that significantly impact a consumer’s willingness to participate in CC in India. The study also found that perceived behaviour control plays a significant direct role in behavioural usage. These findings emphasise the impact of price, promotion and perceived behaviour control on CC and offer direction and advice for companies that rent and swap apparel.

This article can be used to evaluate the business in different countries and can be developed further. It does, however, have some restrictions. Because most respondents are from northern and central India, in addition, some respondents are from the southwestern and southern regions, especially in the Mumbai and Chennai locales. Hence, the geographical sample was not diverse in terms of demographics. Furthermore, the gender identity of the respondents might essentially affect how the authors interpret customer buying behaviour, but the study missed this. Researchers could enhance this by using various sampling techniques and ensuring that other demographic characteristics are considered in the future. Furthermore, the survey could not distinguish between online and in-person transactions.

The study provides practical advice for companies that rent and swap apparel, emphasising the impact of price, promotion and perceived behaviour control on consumer willingness to participate in CC. The findings suggest that companies can improve consumer participation by focusing on promotion and perceived behaviour control. In addition, the significance of perceived behaviour control on behavioural usage highlights the importance of empowering consumers to control their decisions to participate in CC.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine the factors influencing consumer willingness to participate in CC in the context of the shift towards a circular economy in India. By examining the impact of the TPB and the marketing mix on consumer intention, the study provides valuable insights for companies that rent and swap apparel. The findings highlight the importance of promotion and perceived behaviour control in shaping consumer behaviour and provide practical direction for companies to promote and market their products effectively. The study adds to the existing knowledge on the circular economy and the role of CC in reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

This study aims to promote sustainability-based education in fashion design and merchandising program to enhance students’ knowledge, skills and attitude about sustainability development, organizational responsibility and personal responsibility from the cotton industry perspective.

To conduct this study, three learning components were considered: learning from experts, learning by doing and outreach activity. Sustainability-related topics were strategically incorporated in different courses for one year; project-based learning approach was adopted; and pre–posttest survey was conducted to study the impact of sustainability-based education on student learning outcome. Rand’s principles-attributes matrix was applied to analyze the impact of sustainable education on student learning outcomes.

The results of course projects indicated enhanced student’s abilities on using use different types of cotton materials in product development, creative use of cotton in visual merchandising and development of business plans focused on sustainability. The two-group mean comparisons showed a significant positive impact on students’ knowledge in cotton and sustainability, followed by students’ skills and attitudes.

In response to the lack of systematic approach to incorporate sustainability-related topics in textile and apparel design discipline, this study offered an opportunity to involve approximately 110 students in various sustainability-based teaching and learning projects.

This study aims to investigate the effects of sick-, well- and healed-baby appeals used in fashion products on purchase intentions through anticipated emotions. Consumers' perceived saliency of the environmental issues in the fashion industry was examined as an influencing factor that further explains the persuasion of the advertising appeals.

Two sets of experimental studies were conducted with 201 participants in Study 1 and 186 participants in Study 2.

The results demonstrated that well- and healed-baby appeals increased purchase intentions fully mediated by anticipated positive emotions. In particular, the mediation effect was conditionally significant when individuals' saliency of environmental issues was low. The three types of advertising appeals did not differ in consumers with high saliency for environmental issues. A sick-baby appeal did not induce purchase intentions through anticipated negative emotions. The mediation effect of anticipated negative emotions did not work with any appeal type.

Retail marketers can use the findings to create commercial messages to persuade their fashion consumers. If the brand has consumers with low saliency, either educating consumers about the importance of environmental issues in the fashion industry or using a well- or healed-baby approach in their advertising can increase purchase intentions due to the increased anticipated positive emotions. Increasing the threat level of environmental problems by using a sick-baby appeal would not work, as consumers' anticipated negative emotions (e.g. feeling of guilt from not buying green products) would not convince them to purchase the green product.

Circular economy advocates innovations that upcycle wastes in the food supply chain to generate high added-value materials. These innovations are not only disruptive and green but also they are often initiated by startups, leading to the emergence of novel open-loop supply chains connecting actors in food and non-food sectors. While earlier research has highlighted the need to seek legitimacy for disruptive innovations to survive and grow, little is known about how these innovations occur and evolve across sectors. This paper aims to elaborate on this mechanism by exploring the function of the circular economy as a boundary object to facilitate legitimacy-seeking strategies.

An exploratory multiple-case research design is adopted and features food waste innovation projects with multi-tier supply chains consisting of a food producer, a startup and a buying firm. The study is investigated from the legitimacy and boundary object lenses.

The findings proposed a framework for the role of a boundary object in enabling legitimacy-seeking strategies for novel food waste innovations. First, the interpretative flexibility of the circular economy affords actors symbolic resources to conduct manipulation strategy to achieve cognitive legitimacy. Second, small-scale work arrangements enable creation strategy for the new supply chain to harness moral legitimacy. Finally, pragmatic legitimacy is granted via diffusion strategy enabled by scalable work arrangements.

This paper provides novel insights into the emergence of food waste innovation from a multi-tier supply chain perspective. It also highlights the key role of the boundary object in the legitimacy-seeking process.