Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine what the term sustainable fashion means from the perspective of micro-organisations, experts, and consumers.

This research is qualitative in nature, utilising a multi-methods case study approach (semi-structured interviews, semiotics, questionnaires). Grounded analysis was applied to analyse the data.

Findings indicate that interpretation of sustainable fashion is context and person dependent. A matrix of key criteria provides the opportunity to find common elements.

Due to the nature of this research the sample size is limited and may not be generalised. Data were collected in the UK and are limited to a geographical region.

An important implication is that defining sustainable fashion is vital in order to avoid challenges, such as greenwashing, which were faced in other industries that have a longer history in sustainable practices. Micro-organisations should take advantage of identifying key sustainable fashion criteria, which will enable them to promote their fashion collections more effectively.

The criteria identified provide assurance for consumers that sustainable fashion is produced with social aspects in mind (fair wages, good working conditions).

The paper proposes a matrix that allows micro-organisations to clearly identify their collections as sustainable.

Although many companies have initiated corporate social responsibility activities, only a small fraction of consumers have reacted in the same spirit. In order to increase economic and social benefits, corporate and consumer interests need to be aligned through specialized marketing activities. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to complement traditional consumer research through a multi-stakeholder approach. It specifically analyzes institutional drivers to enhance consumer responsibility (ConRes) in the fashion industry.

An explorative study containing in-depth interviews (n=30) with three groups of experts (retailers, not-for-profit organizations (NPOs), marketing specialists) is conducted to investigate the influences of institutional agents to foster responsible consumption. Data analysis is based on qualitative content analysis.

Various institutional drivers of ConRes range from influences in the social environment to spill-over effects and triggering of emotions. Thus, agents use marketing tools such as inter-industry cooperations or social media to encourage ConRes in the fashion industry.

Future research should compare ConRes and its potential influences within different industries and further validate the results in quantitative studies.

Companies and NPOs can foster ConRes by cooperating with like-minded organizations, displaying more transparency within their communications and providing relevant content to media partners.

If institutional agents succeed in fostering ConRes, they can induce corresponding behavior leading to improved workforce welfare in the fashion industry and environmental protection.

The study is the first to empirically investigate three collaborating groups of institutional agents regarding their opportunities to enhance ConRes.

The purpose of this research is to examine how consumers interpret and understand sustainable fashion production and how this informs their fashion consumption practice.

The research adopts an interpretivist approach with in-depth interviews with 28 participants. Sampling criterion sought consumers already engaged with sustainable production – professionally working mothers – to explore how their sustainability knowledge was evaluated for sustainable fashion claims. Garment labels that descripted facets of sustainable production were introduced to encourage discourse of sustainable fashion knowledge.

The findings illustrate that sustainable fashion production is not understood and efforts to apply sustainability concepts were often misunderstood which led to scepticism for higher pricing and marketing claims. Despite this, there was concern for the wider implications of sustainability.

Limitations include the small sample from one geographical area (Edinburgh), despite the richness of the data collected.

The research offers practical advice for fashion marketers to educate consumers through effective communication strategies how sustainable fashion concepts improve consumer concerns surrounding fashion production.

The research indicates increased concern for fashion sustainability, something that fashion retailers should be mindful of.

There has been little research examining consumer interpretation of sustainable fashion terminology, and this research adds to understanding how sustainability is evaluated within fashion production.

This paper aims to investigate which network relationships foster the early development of a sustainable new venture (SNV) and how sustainability as the core characteristic of the new venture shapes those network relationships.

This paper relies on a qualitative approach. The primary data source is 25 interviews with 18 key informants of 15 Italian SNVs. The fashion industry is the empirical setting due to its negative environmental and social impacts and shifts toward sustainability during the past decade.

The paper identifies six types of network relationships that affect the development of fashion SNVs. It proposes sustainability-enhanced and sustainability-enabled network relationships and relates them to trust and legitimation in the network.

The study enriches the theoretical debate on networks, new ventures and sustainability by dealing with the case of SNVs in a traditional sector. This paper presents managerial implications for entrepreneurs and policymakers.

This paper contributes to the debate on society’s sustainable development by emphasizing how networks can affect the growth of SNVs.

This paper fills a research gap in a novel manner. The paper contributes to the recent debate on new ventures and sustainability from the market as network approach. It identifies relevant networks, their contribution and the role of sustainability. The study refers to SNVs in traditional nontechnological industries.

This study aims to identify the role of the voluntary simplicity lifestyle on the environmental activism behavioural trait, as well as the relationship of these two constructs on the sustainable fashion purchase intention.

A quantitative approach was taken with data collected through an online survey in Brazil, obtaining a valid sample of 364 respondents. The collected data were analysed through the structural equation modelling technique using SmartPLS-3.3.2.

The main findings of this study indicate that voluntary simplifiers exert a direct and positive influence on environmental activism. Also, consumers who embrace the values of voluntary simplicity and environmental activism are positively inclined to purchase sustainable fashion. In addition to sharing values converging to sustainability, consumers who have this profile can adopt sustainable fashion consumption as the mainstream of their purchasing decisions.

Simplifiers and activists represent a potential target audience to be observed by fashion companies that have focused on sustainability. Also, they can benefit from the findings in order to delineate the type of product to be offered as well as assist in the development of communication strategies.

This study is innovative by bringing constructs that are emerging in the field of consumption behaviour and sustainability. In addition, it contributes, at the same time, to advance research on the behavioural profile of individuals in favour of sustainability, by pointing out to voluntary simplicity and environmental activism as important antecedents of sustainable fashion consumption behaviour.

Fashion designers in South Africa remain ambivalent in embracing sustainable fashion. This study examines the role of neutralisation techniques on attitude towards sustainable fashion. The study was conducted in South Africa, an emerging market known for water scarcity and pollution emanating from the textile industry.

A structured questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional data from a sample of 590 fashion designers using a web-based online survey. Study constructs were drawn from the neutralisation theory and theory of planned behaviour.

Standard multiple regression analysis results identified denial of injury, appeal to higher loyalties and external locus of control as the major rationalisation techniques influencing South African designers' negative attitudes towards sustainable fashion.

Research was conducted in South Africa where the concept of sustainable fashion is still at developmental stages. The generalisation of the study findings may be enhanced by extending the study to other markets with a fully developed market for sustainable fashion.

The study results underscore the necessity of reducing social, structural and institutional barriers associated with the adoption of sustainable fashion. This study provides input towards efforts to develop attitude change strategies to stimulate designers to embrace sustainable fashion.

The research study contributes to theory, practice and future research.

Adding to competitive dynamics and sustainability literature, this paper aims to examine the implementation of environmental protection and sustainability initiatives within the European fast-fashion clothing industry from the perspectives of Generation X and Y consumers. The study primarily investigates whether consumers’ level of environmental consciousness impacts their purchase decisions and consumption behaviour and the consequent strategic competitiveness effects on businesses.

The methodological approach relied on multiple data collection methods. In the first stage of the study, the researchers analysed the content of the official websites of two of Europe’s leading fashion firms. In the second stage, a quantitative research approach was aimed at revealing the perceptions, attitudes and purchase behaviour of Generation X and Y consumers towards the two fashion houses and their brands.

Although European fashion manufacturers invest in sustainability and engage in environmental protection, their marketing efforts need to be more effectively managed and targeted towards their target consumer markets. The level of engagement and sensitivity of each generational group towards sustainability issues varies. Each group’s environmental consciousness, motivation and response is shaped by distinct characteristics, which, in turn, create implications for the effectiveness of sustainability efforts towards differentiation and competitiveness. Overall, consumers engage in environmental initiatives but ignore the corporate initiatives pursued by the two fashion firms and did not view them as sustainable brands.

The study explores the effectiveness of sustainability and environmental protection orientation as business competitive strategies in the light of environmental turbulence and social changes impacting the fast-fashion clothing industry and its relationships with its consumer markets.

The sustainable fashion (SF) literature is fragmented across the management discipline, leaving the path to a SF future unclear. As of yet, there has not been an attempt to bring these insights together or to more generally explore the question of “what is known about SF in the management literature and where could the SF field go from there?”. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the field to identify opportunities for societal impact and further research.

A systematic literature review was conducted from the first appearances of SF in the management literature in 2000 up to papers published in June 2019, which resulted in 465 included papers.

The results illustrate that SF research is largely defined by two approaches, namely, pragmatic change and radical change. The findings reveal seven research streams that span across the discipline to explore how organisational and consumer habits can be shaped for the future.

What is known about SF is constantly evolving, therefore, the paper aims to provide a representative sample of the state of SF in management literature to date.

This review provides decision makers with insights that have been synthesised from across the management field.

This review identifies knowledge gaps and informs managerial decision making in the field, particularly through serving as a foundation for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to further theorize the concept of the “sustainable temporary store” and explore benefits and challenges for slow fashion retailers using temporary stores to promote a new value proposition and develop a business model.

The theoretical part combines the findings from marketing and human geography literature to theorize pop-up retailing from the slow fashion SME perspective. The empirical part uses a critical case study and a qualitative method approach (primary sources, half standardized interviews, ethnographic observation).

The study provides theoretical insights into five success criteria for the “sustainable temporary store” across geographies. Empirical findings allow for further conclusions about challenges in regards to spatial requirements and business modeling for slow fashion retail entrepreneurs in the Netherlands.

Limitations of the study are the geographical scope of exiting literature on the global north and the restricted sample size. However, by selecting a critical case, careful geographically restricted generalizations can be made.

The study provides useful information for slow fashion entrepreneurs who want to use cheap temporary space to develop their retail business model.

The results show that there is placemaking value (social value creation) in temporary slow fashion retailing.

The study provides a relevant contribution to the theory of pop-up retailing and more precisely to the concept of the “sustainable temporary store.” It also delivers a replicable empirical research design for other geographies.

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of Covid-19 on sustainable fashion consumption behavior by proposing a conceptual framework combining consumer-specific factors and product-specific factors with a special emphasis on consumer value perceptions.

Theory of consumption value was integrated into the knowledge, attitude behavior model in the conceptual framework having consumer-specific and product-specific aspects. Perceived value (PERVAL) scale was used to measure value perceptions. The model was verified by a survey conducted among a random sample of 520 participants. The factors were extracted by using exploratory factor analysis and then confirmed by using confirmatory factor analysis. The hypotheses in the conceptual model were tested for different consumer groups, and the strength of the relationships was calculated by using multigroup analysis in structural equation modeling.

It was observed the environmental concern raised the need for getting knowledge about the environment. The impact of environmental knowledge on the value perception of sustainable fashion products varied for the consumers affected by Covid-19 at different levels. Quality perception and price perception were influenced most by environmental knowledge in that order for the consumers with “high fear and uncertainty” and “low fear and uncertainty”. Similarly, the perceived emotional and social values were influential on purchase intention for consumers with high fear and uncertainty, whereas price and social value perceptions were influential for the consumers with low fear and uncertainty.

This study is the initial study that investigated the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the consumption of sustainable fashion products. The integration of theory of consumption value into the knowledge, attitude behavior model allowed identifying the relationship between environmental issues and sustainable fashion consumption. Using the PERVAL scale for measuring perceived value, the study provided valuable insights for understanding the most important value dimensions for sustainable fashion products for consumer groups affected by Covid-19 at different levels. The results regarding the changes in the rankings related to the impact of environmental knowledge on dimensions of perceived value and the impact of perceived values on purchase intention enabled the integrated model to explain the attitude–behavior gap.