What is sustainable fashion?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine what the term sustainable fashion means from the perspective of micro-organisations, experts, and consumers. Design/methodology/approach – 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 – Findings indicate that interpretation of sustainable fashion is context and person dependent. A matrix of key criteria provides the opportunity to find common elements. Research limitations/implications – 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. Practical implications – 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. Microorganisations should take advantage of identifying key sustainable fashion criteria, which will enable them to promote their fashion collections more effectively. Social implications – The criteria identified provide assurance for consumers that sustainable fashion is produced with social aspects in mind (fair wages, good working conditions). Originality/value – The paper proposes a matrix that allows micro-organisations to clearly identify their collections as sustainable

Communicating sustainability practices and values: a case study approach of a micro-organisation in the UK

This article investigates sustainability communication through the lens of integrated marketing communication (IMC) by focusing on one case organisation that sees aspects of sustainability at the heart of its operations. This qualitative inquiry utilises a case study approach and a variety of methodological tools, including in-depth semi-structure interviews and semiotic analysis of online and offline media. Findings highlight although the case organisation seeks to use an IMC approach across their multiple communication channels the same message cannot always be conveyed as, especially social media channels, have restricted formatting settings. As a result the encoded message is confusing and leads to a loss of meaning. Although this research is based on a single case study, it allows for an in-depth investigation of a phenomenon and practical recommendations on how to overcome challenges with online platforms. This research is of value as it investigates IMC in and under researched context micro-organisations, as well as combines it with challenges of effectively broadcasting sustainability messages to an end-consumer

Consumption strategies and motivations of Chinese consumers: The case of UK sustainable luxury fashion

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese consumers’ motivations to purchase luxury fashion products in the UK and how far sustainability plays a role in the decision-making process, by extending the consumer typology of translators, exceptors, selectors. The authors further add an additional dimension to defining “luxury”. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory design utilising multiple qualitative research tools (semi-structured interviews, focus groups) provides the basis for this research. A grounded analysis was applied. Findings: Findings map motivational drivers to purchasing luxury products and establish a fourth consumer type “indulgers”. Well-being further emerged as a key characteristic that defines “luxury”. Research limitations/implications: The sample size is limited to Chinese consumers purchasing luxury fashion in the UK, and thus may not be generalised. Practical implications: This research helps managers to understand the consumer types and underlying motivations of Chinese consumers purchasing luxury fashion in the UK. As one of the largest target groups, this research informs managers on how to further capitalise on this market. Originality/value: This paper creates a new consumer typology that not only categorises consumers according to their consumption aspects, but further identifies their underlying motivations to do so

Consumers’ intentions towards sustainability: A Spanish fast-fashion perspective

This paper examines consumer intentions towards sustainable fashion in the Spanish fashion industry. It explores consumer knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral response to sustainable fashion. The research was conducted using a mixed-method strategy. The quantitative questionnaire examines consumer attitudes towards sustainable fashion, underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behavior. This was supported by a qualitative enquiry using semi-structured interviews to explore consumer knowledge of and attitudes towards sustainable fashion in Spain. Consumer familiarity with sustainable fashion was found to be high and broad in definition scope. Social aspects of sustainability were predominant tangents. A disjuncture between company’s sustainable communication and consumer perception was apparent as well as attitudes and actual purchase intentions towards sustainable fashion. Opportunities to foster further sustainable fashion business practices and communication were identified. The findings highlight that fashion retailers should clearly communicate the meaning of sustainability and their proactive response to sustainability. The development of effective communication strategies that clearly highlights retailer’s compliance with and efforts to becoming more sustainable is a prerequisite arising from the study. This study contributes to burgeoning research on sustainable fashion within mainstream marketing and management literature. By contextualizing it to the Spanish market, it provides a novel counter-point consumer perspective on attitudes and intentions towards sustainable fashion

The hoarder, the oniomaniac and the fashionista in me: A life histories perspective on self‐concept and consumption practices

Increased negative media attention has focused on the environmental impacts the fashion industry has on the natural environment, thereby calling for solutions, focused on clothing purchase, use and end‐of‐life treatment. This research explores the relationship between consumers and their clothing consumption (from purchase through to disposal), through the lens of life histories, and thus exploring what impacts on end‐of‐life clothes treatment. The novelty of this study lies within connecting fashion consumption practices with the self‐concept in the context of clothing consumption (pre‐ purchase through to disposal), from an individual's life history perspective. This qualitative enquiry utilised life histories, thereby conducting 20 in‐depth semi‐structured interviews that were analysed through a grounded approach. Findings indicate that fashion consumption is heavily influenced by an individual's “self”, in that those that have a positive perception of themselves have reduced shopping habits, whilst those with a negative perception increase them. Our results show that our participants go through various consumption practices (hoarder, oniomaniac, and “fashionista”) that co‐exist within them and are influenced by the individual's self. Our study calls for more intergenerational research exploring fashion consumption and disposal

Cradle-to-Cradle Versus Consumer Preferences in the Fashion Industry

Sustainability is a buzzword within the fashion industry and has received increased attention due to heightened negative media focusing on environmental and social concerns. Cradle-to-cradle lays the foundations for the circular economy, which seeks to challenge the current system’s thinking approach of a linear economy, by fostering the opportunity to design materials for circularity, and thus create closed loop systems that allow for products to have multiple life cycles prior to their end of life. However, the fast fashion paradigm fosters a see-now-buy-now behavior in customers, which could be seen as counteractive to the cradle-to-cradle approach, and impact on consumer preferences

Adipose tissue is influenced by hypoxia of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome independent of obesity.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and diabetes independent of obesity. We investigated whether adipose tissue dysfunction is exacerbated due to increased tissue hypoxia