The fast fashion vs environment debate: Consumers’ level of awareness, feelings, and behaviour towards sustainability within the fast-fashion sector

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge (cognition), attitudes, and behaviour of customers toward sustainability issues in the context of fast fashion. It incorporates empirical evidence that focuses on investigating what consumers know and feel, and how they behave towards fast fashion brands in the context of sustainability, and further explores whether consumers’ knowledge about fashion is not sufficient to evoke environmentally friendly purchases. To facilitate a shift towards more sustainable fashion consumption if this is desirable, providing clear information about the environmental and the social impact of products and creating strong feelings, seems to be promising. The descriptive analysis of data collected from 97 consumers reveals that although most consumers claim to be knowledgeable about sustainability-related issues, they lack precise and accurate knowledge on aspects linked to the sustainable supply chain, including fabric, materials, recycling, or re-use of fashion items. Women appear to be more knowledgeable about this topic than men, but men are willing to pay a higher price for fast fashion brands that reflect their moral values.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainability
• fast fashion
• sustainable consumption
• purchase behaviour
• consumer knowledge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ioanna Papasolomou

Dr Ioanna Papasolomou is a Professor of the Department of Management (School of Business Administration) at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. She is a certified Chartered Marketer of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing. Professor Papasolomou acted as a conference host for several international conferences and contributed papers to international conferences and journals (e.g., the Journal of Marketing Management, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Product and Brand Management, and the Journal of Marketing Communications). She has also written chapters and case studies for academic books and she is also a member of the editorial board and a reviewer for academic journals such as the Journal of Marketing Communications, International Journal of Corporate Communications, the International Journal of Social Responsibility, and the Euro Mediterranean Journal in Business.

Yioula Melanthiou

Yioula Melanthiou, is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Cyprus University of Technology. She holds a PhD in Marketing (University of Manchester, UK) and has been in academia since 2004 where she served as Head of the Department and Director of Doctoral Studies at the University of Nicosia. Her academic experience involves teaching Marketing at all levels and supervising doctoral students. Her primary research interests are in the areas of Social Media Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, presenting and publishing extensively on related topics. She has also served as Research Director and Marketing Consultant at a Multinational Company.

Anestis Tsamouridis

Anestis Tsamouridis is a marketing specialist. He graduated from the University of Nicosia with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Management (Cum Laude). His work focuses on brand building and digital marketing within the Cyprus yachting industry. His research interests are in the area of sustainability within the fashion industry.