Are We Truly Committed to Making a Change?

March 15, 2024

People who are highly involved in fashion are 'less willing to choose the sustainable fashion option."

---

Behind every fast fashion steal is a web of controversy and ethical dilemmas, leaving many people and critics struggling with the question: Is fashion sustainability truly achievable in the fast fashion world?

The more people are involved in a particular scenario, the less likely they are to critique the repercussions. Fast food, for example, is widely consumed because it is cheap and quick to obtain, as the name suggests. Many people find themselves indulging in the flavors and going back for more, despite its potentially unhealthy ingredients that may be found in those meals. Many people are indifferent to these repercussions, whether factual or rumor.

The same concept can apply to fast fashion—if someone has a store they always go to for the best prices or selection of clothes, they are less likely to stop going all of a sudden. According to a study published in the Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, it will be more difficult to convince a frequent customer who has a high involvement, in things such as loyalty points, personal discounts, or special markdowns, than someone who doesn't shop for clothes very often.

Many special offers are designed to be used for specific products and for a specific customer. So the immediate thought for any shopper would be to spend less money with the rewards they already have than to spend more money purchasing another possibly more expensive item. This same study defines these incentives as a "nudge," essentially the driving force companies use to encourage people buy more products.

Another research from the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management states that fast fashion consumers (or any fashion consumers in general) often feel disconnected from production. Countries where there is cheap labor or unethical worker conditions are often far away from the main markets that 'consume' these clothing. Due to this distance, there is a "cognitive separation" of people and places of occurrence.  This detachment makes it challenging for consumers to empathize with the plight of textile workers and the damaging process of producing these pieces.

Consumers feel removed from the process and therefore find it challenging to connect with this issue.

Additionally, brands rarely provide complete transparency in their supply chains and manufacturing processes, adding to this distance barrier.

To foster stronger emotional connections and influence buyer choices, one method is to 'humanize' the processes and individuals behind the garments. Campaigns and initiatives that highlight the personal narratives of textile workers and production processes can create awareness among consumers. By putting faces and stories to the effect behind clothing production, consumers can better understand the true impact of their purchasing decisions.

Written by Jessica Ilok

---

Sources

Irene Roozen, Mariet Raedts & Laura Meijburg (2021) Do verbal and visual nudges influence consumers’ choice for sustainable fashion?, Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 12:4, 327-342, DOI: 10.1080/20932685.2021.1930096

Stringer, T., Payne, A. R., & Mortimer, G. (2022). As cheap as humanly possible: why consumers care less about worker welfare. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management., 26(4), 717–737. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-06-2021-0158