Journal of Marketing Communications

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The fast fashion vs environment debate:

Consumers’ level of awareness, feelings, and
behaviour towards sustainability within the fast-
fashion sector

Ioanna Papasolomou, Yioula Melanthiou & Anestis Tsamouridis

To cite this article: Ioanna Papasolomou, Yioula Melanthiou & Anestis Tsamouridis (2023) The
fast fashion vs environment debate: Consumers’ level of awareness, feelings, and behaviour
towards sustainability within the fast-fashion sector, Journal of Marketing Communications,
29:2, 191-209, DOI: 10.1080/13527266.2022.2154059

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2022.2154059

Published online: 15 Dec 2022.

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JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
2023, VOL. 29, NO. 2, 191–209
https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2022.2154059

The fast fashion vs environment debate: Consumers’ level of

awareness, feelings, and behaviour towards sustainability
within the fast-fashion sector
Ioanna Papasolomoua, Yioula Melanthioub and Anestis Tsamouridisc
a
Department of Management, School of Business, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus; bDepartment of
Public Communication, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus; cUniversity of Nicosia, Limassol, Cyprus

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge (cogni­ Received 8 September 2022
tion), attitudes, and behaviour of customers toward sustainability Accepted 6 October 2022
issues in the context of fast fashion. It incorporates empirical evi­ KEYWORDS
dence that focuses on investigating what consumers know and feel, Sustainability; fast fashion;
and how they behave towards fast fashion brands in the context of sustainable consumption;
sustainability, and further explores whether consumers’ knowledge purchase behaviour;
about fashion is not sufficient to evoke environmentally friendly consumer knowledge
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 con­
sumers 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 knowledge­
able about this topic than men, but men are willing to pay a higher
price for fast fashion brands that reflect their moral values.

Introduction
The fashion industry is the third biggest manufacturing industry in the world, after the
automotive and technology industries (Zhang, Zhang, and Zhou 2021). It accounts for
over 1.3 trillion dollars in the global economy and provides 300 million jobs worldwide,
thus contributing significantly to economic development (McKinsey Global Fashion Index
2019). Even though it plays a crucial role in global GDP (Boston Consulting Group Annual
Sustainability Report 2019 (2020)), it ranks second as the most polluting industry after the
oil industry worldwide and overall, negatively affects the planet and its resources.
In the past few decades, the topic of sustainability has gained increased attention
(Papasolomou-Doukakis, Krambia-Kapardis, and Katsioloudes 2005; Aguinis and Glavas
2012; Papasolomou et al. 2019; Dabas and Whang 2022) caused by growing interest in
sustainability from internal and external stakeholders (Peloza and Shang 2011) and
motivated by increased concerns regarding unethical and unsustainable business

CONTACT Ioanna Papasolomou Papasolomou.i@unic.ac.cy Department of Management, School of Business,

University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
192 I. PAPASOLOMOU ET AL.

practices such as production practices, the sourcing of raw materials, supply chain
methods, and working conditions (McWilliams, Siegel, and Wright 2006).
In general, the fashion industry has been criticised for being slow in recognizing and
responding to the need for sustainability (McNeil and Moore 2015), despite the
emergence and growth of sustainable options in other markets (Luchs et al. 2011).
Non-government organisations (NGOs) campaign to inform consumers of what con­
stitutes unsustainable practice, such as allegations of garment worker exploitation, the
environmental impact of low-cost clothing, and high levels of production (Allwood
et al. 2006). However, the successful implementation of sustainability is feasible only
through the adoption of a holistic approach, one that encourages cross-sectoral
partnership and engages all stakeholders, especially consumers, into the effort via
various initiatives (see Van Tulder et al. 2016; Van Tulder and Keen 2018). Tourky
et al. (2020) suggest that sustainability activities reflect a proactive agenda on behalf
of businesses that demonstrates responsibility towards their stakeholders. However,
such initiatives often focus on certain stakeholders and exclude others of a more
primary nature.
Despite the fact that sustainability seems to be high on the research agenda in many
industries including the fashion industry (Bong Ko and Jin 2017; Su et al. 2019; Mukendi
et al. 2020) research specifically on sustainability and consumer attitudes and behaviour in
the fast fashion sector has been relatively scarce. Moreover, several studies reported no
relationship between sustainable fashion consumption and sustainable fashion knowl­
edge (Khare and Sadachar, 2017), while others reported a positive (Chi et al., 2019) or even
negative relationship (Sadachar et al., 2016). Hence, these mixed results call for expansion
of research in this area.
To shed further light on these topics and resolve research gaps as specified above, the
present study aims to investigate the level of knowledge (cognition), attitudes, and
behaviours of customers towards sustainability issues in the context of fast fashion within
the Cypriot market. Although Cyprus has shown progress in terms of some of the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as reducing poverty, safeguarding
good health and high tertiary educational standards, it continues to rank low among the
EU countries (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/cyprus. Accessed
09/10/2022). Regarding the environment, Cyprus’ performance is below the EU average
in most SDGs characterised by serious challenges primarily regarding sustainable agri­
culture, clean water, and sanitation. The 2nd voluntary national review (VNR) carried out in
2021 revealed that Cyprus continues to lack behind with respect to affordable and clean
energy, responsible consumption and production and climate action: ‘Cyprus is facing
significant challenges regarding responsible consumption and production. Remaining
significant challenges pertain to the generation and recycling rate of waste with severe
deficit in achieving the national targets deriving from EU legislation.’ (Republic of Cyprus
Second Voluntary National Review – Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2021), p. 80).
These challenges have been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic which halted socio-
economic and environmental progress, and the highest influx of migrants in the EU with
the number of asylum applications rising to 8746 in 2019 compared to the EU average of
1411 applications (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/
282512021_VNR_Report_Cyprus.pdf).
 JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 193

Thus, building on the evidence generated from the 2021 VNR study carried out in
Cyprus, as a first objective, this research sought to explore the degree of customer
awareness and perceptions held by consumers regarding sustainability within the fast
fashion sector. Secondly, to understand consumer behaviour regarding sustainability and
fast fashion products, and finally, examine the feelings of consumers toward fast fashion
products and sustainability issues.
This paper is structured as follows. First, a literature review pertaining to the fashion
industry and its relation to sustainability is presented, with an emphasis on the fast
fashion sector and consumer behaviour within this sector. The methodology and the
chosen techniques to achieve the research goal follow. The findings of this research are
presented and discussed, concluding with managerial implications, research limitations,
and avenues for further research.

Literature review
Fashion industry and sustainability
According to the European Parliament (2020) the fashion industry is among the biggest
pollutants in the world primarily due to mass production techniques and practices that
are used to meet high consumer demand and achieve high profit margins (McNeil and
Moore 2015). The increasing consumption levels and high consumer demand have led
fashion businesses to adopt technological advancements in mass production, which,
however, can overtake natural resources (Niinimäki et al. 2020). Turker and Altuntas
(2014) also emphasize the impact of the extended fashion supply chain and the heavy
environmental burden that it causes due to increased transportation costs, and the need
to provide orders to consumers as fast as possible. A further consideration, perhaps for
another paper, is the growth in third world sweat shops and almost a type of forced
labour admittedly for local suppliers but aided, abetted, and encouraged by the never-
ending need for profits by well-known multinational brands and corporations. Bhardwaj
and Fairhurst (2010) argue that it is the pressure to respond to the heightened customer
demand for fashion at low prices without jeopardizing profit margins that led companies
to the relocation of the apparel production to developing countries which resulted in the
emergence of the fast-fashion industry and its imminent sweatshop implications (Adams
2002) that led to the degradation of people and their impoverishment, which is almost
a type of slave labour. Sweatshop labour in impoverished countries is widely regarded as
a paradigm case of wrongful exploitation (Berkey 2021) and the appalling sweatshop
working conditions in many developing countries have raised public scrutiny forcing key
stakeholders such as international buyers, readymade garment industry (RMG) factory
owners, government, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to play an active role
towards improving the overall factory working conditions and protecting worker rights
(Mansumi and Rahman 2018). These multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have been fuelled
by increased public scrutiny and legal pressure (Shamir 2011). Another factor that has
been stipulated by Lindenmeier et al. (2017) as one that could be hampering the use of
sweatshops is the degradation of people and their continued impoverishment which
causes heightened consumer guilt, which can potentially increase the market share of
fair-trade products and bring a favourable change in the marketing system’s output.
194 I. PAPASOLOMOU ET AL.

The main challenge for the fashion industry today is the development and adoption of
more sustainable strategies towards the stakeholders, the communities in which produc­
tion takes place, and nature itself. Firms must accept and address their social and
environmental footprints, and the planet’s capacity to withstand the impact of their
actions and regenerate (Antonini and Larrinaga 2017; Bebbington and Unerman 2018;
Schaltegger and Burritt 2018). There is a strong interrelationship between these chal­
lenges and corporate sustainability, which in turn emerges from the conventional concept
of corporate social responsibility (Hörisch, Freeman, and Schaltegger 2014, p. 341).
According to Salvioni and Gennari (2016) corporate sustainability encompasses those
practices that relate stakeholder interdependence to issues of management, economic
and socio-environmental responsibility, financial performance, and access to resources
and consensus. Baughn, Bodie, and McIntosh (2007) and Roszkowska-Menkes and
Aluchna (2018) argue that the increased pressure from governmental institutions and
markets enforces sustainability adoption for legal compliance reasons. The emerging
need for sustainability is supported by the international efforts towards a circular fashion
economy, with the European Commission being committed to supporting a more sus­
tainable industry aimed at transforming the sector, especially since it is one of the most
polluting industries globally (European Commission 2021). In March 2020, the
Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan, which constitutes one of the
main building blocks of the European Green Deal, and it is essentially Europe’s new
agenda for sustainable growth. The new Action Plan aims at enforcing new measures
along the entire life cycle of products (Ly and Tan 2021) including textiles, and in doing
that move closer to a green future whilst aiming at strengthening business competitive­
ness, environmental protection, and giving new rights to consumers and production
workers Pedersen, Gwozdz, and Hvass (2018) stipulate that achieving these goals depends
on bringing closer together internal and external stakeholders.

The fast fashion sector and its impact on the environment

There has been a notable growing trend within the fashion industry to offer clothes at
affordable prices. The concept of fast fashion relates to making fashion accessible to
people in their everyday lives and emerged in the early 2000s following the aggressive
business behaviour of international retailers such as Zara and H&M that focused on
making a quick turnover of trendy products to a predominantly youthful market. The
rise of fast fashion has meant that consumers even those belonging to low socio-
economic clusters are able to ‘regularly consume and discard fashionable clothing’
(Bruce and Daly 2006; Buckley and Clark 2012).
Fast fashion producers and their retail operations are investing in manufacturing
practices and buying processes that encourage mass production. Fernie and Sparks
(2014) described the fast fashion industry as an industry that is characterised by short
life cycle products, instability, volatility, and low predictability, with manufacturers focus­
ing on maximising their profits and capitalising on the fast pace of market consumption
(Christopher, Lowson, and Peck 2004). The fast fashion model is predominantly a fast
response system that, by its very nature, promotes disposability (Fletcher 2008) focusing
on standardised prototyping, mass customization and mass production capabilities,
techniques, work practices and processes, and creating effective shipping procedures
 JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 195

and finished products that can be quickly sold in global markets (Aspers and Skov 2006).
Thus, this fast-fashion model is based on a highly responsive supply chain (Caro and
Martínez-de-Albéniz 2015) that can deliver the latest fashion trends at lower prices albeit
accompanying detrimental social and environmental outcomes.
Turker and Altuntas (2014) argue that the industry’s processes and structure are closely
related to some of its unique elements, such as the ‘shortened lead-times, fast inventory
turnovers and high-order fulfilment rates of their products for customer demand’. Its
highly competitive structure puts pressure on costs and has an everchanging and
impressively fast rate of new products offered to capture the latest trends. The drive to
meet high consumer demand has led the sector to adopt a business model that aims to
offer similar styles inspired by high-end fashion shows at a much lower cost, in a shorter
time and by using lower quality materials. With increased consumer demand, retailers
have been encouraged to offer more fashion collections; notably, from 2000 to 2011 the
number of collections released in the European apparel industry had grown from 2 to 5,
while in some cases, retailers such as Zara offered as many as 24 collections per year
(European Parliament 2021). These conditions require the industry to demonstrate a high
degree of flexibility combined with the drum beat of production efficiency (Tokatli and
Kızılgün 2009), however in order to maintain high levels of responsiveness this generates
various ethical, employment, and environmental concerns (Turker and Altuntas 2014).
Today, the fashion industry disposes large quantities of waste with a catastrophic
impact on the environment (Zhang, Zhang, and Zhou 2021) and is allegedly the second
largest industrial polluter in the world (Vehmas et al. 2018). The notion of sustainability
within the fast fashion sector refers to products with sustainable characteristics such as
using organic and biodegradable fabrics, following zero waste methods, being plastic-
free, and adopting the circular economy framework. Following international pressure, fast
fashion businesses are gradually engaging in green practices, and textile manufacturing
companies increase renewable resources and energy (Ly and Tan 2021; Papadopoulou,
Papasolomou, and Thrassou 2022). In fact, some UK high street fashion retailers that have
incorporated sustainability within their marketing campaigns. For example, Marks &
Spencer (M&S) promote their Plan A commitment (McDonagh and Prothero 2014),
which rewards consumers who donate their unwanted garments to Oxfam with an M&S
voucher. H&M offers a voucher for clothes recycled instore and Zara encourages recycling
without a reward (Papadopoulou, Papasolomou, and Thrassou 2022). These fashion
retailer recycling initiatives have nonetheless been scrutinised as tokenistic, particularly
since the focus is to encourage more consumption which further fuels the cycle of
production and disposal (Gould 2017).

ConsumeR behaviour in the fashion industry

Being a multifaceted and interdisciplinary concept, several authors have studied the
relationship between environmental sustainability and consumer behaviour (Cervellon,
Wernerfelt, and Choi 2012; Aprile and Punzo 2022). Motivated by its unique nature,
researchers often adopt wide and diverse theories and measures to explore it. In fact,
over the years, various academic frameworks have been used by researchers to investi­
gate consumer behaviour.
196 I. PAPASOLOMOU ET AL.

Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) described consumer behaviour as the behaviour that con­
sumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and
services. The affect, behaviour, and cognition (ABC) model of attitudes of Ray (1973) and
Solomon (1996), also known as the tripartite model of attitudes and emerged from Yale
University Communication and Attitude Program in the 1950s and 60s (Augoustinos, Walker,
and Donaghue 2014), has been widely adopted by researchers to understand consumer
behaviour within different sectors (Hu et al. 2021). The model compares consumers’ cognitive
(‘knowing/belief’) and affective (‘feeling’) judgments toward products with the degree of
consumer’s involvement (‘high/low’) during the personal behavioural process to recommend
products, because attitudes (‘doing’) toward a product are not simply explained in one
dimension. It has thus been considered as a useful means for studying the relationship
between sustainability and fast fashion in the context of consumer behaviour.
According to Ho et al. (2019) in the standard learning hierarchy, when consumers (e.g.,
Eastern consumers) place emphasis on the function, price, and availability of high-
involvement ‘knowing’ products, their recommendation process follows a Beliefs-Affect-
Behaviour sequence. In the experiential hierarchy, consumers (e.g., Western consumers)
act based on emotional reactions (‘feeling’). This perspective focuses on the idea regard­
ing intangible product attributes (e.g., aesthetic and brand) to shape consumers’ attitude
toward a product. Even though the ABC model has largely lost its ground in social
psychology since the 1990s because it is widely understood that behaviour should not
be subsumed under attitude and instead considered as separate (Sutton and Douglas
2020), there is evidence to support its usefulness in exploring consumer behaviour. Using
the ABC model, this research will seek to unravel if consumers’ knowledge, feelings, and
beliefs towards sustainability can impact their purchase decisions of fashion products
with sustainability traits.
Bhamra, Lilley , and Tang (2011) stipulate that traditional economic theories do not
take into consideration the emotional component of consumer purchase decision-making
instead they emphasize economic stimuli. A branch of microeconomics suggests that
consumer theory shows how individuals make choices, subject to how much income they
have available to spend and the prices of goods and services, with price and income being
the two most significant variables that affect consumer purchase decision-making (Hands
2010). Based on this perspective, we can suggest that even though consumers’ increased
levels of awareness regarding environmental problems may motivate them to select
fashion products that have sustainable features, for example, made of biodegradable
fabrics, the products’ high prices may discourage them from buying them.
It could be argued that consumers are often misled as to what underpins sustain­
ability and without guidance on the implications of production for sustainability (Phipps
et al. 2012; Prothero et al. 2011) consumers will continue to passively purchase low-
priced fashion. Given that some fashion retailers launch 24 new collections annually
(Gould 2017), marketing seems to contribute to fashion unsustainability as opposed to
providing practical solutions. Dihr et al. (2021) suggest that consumers’ knowledge
about products such as food items if not sufficient will evoke environmentally consider­
ate purchase choices. To facilitate a shift towards more sustainable consumption (Yates
2009), fashion retailers need to provide understandable information about the environ­
mental impact of products in accessible and effective ways. Most research has consid­
ered how consumers view ethical debates within the fashion industry, such as the
 JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 197

exploitation of garment workers and child labour, and how they impact their consump­
tion behaviour (Ritch and Schrӧder 2012; Phipps et al. 2012; Ritch 2019). Other research
studies have considered worker conditions and environmental concerns in the context
of sustainability (McNeil and Moore 2015; Jung and Jin 2016), and the ways in which
these concerns impact consumption patterns. However, there is little understanding of
how and why consumers bypass ethical concerns and instead of adopting a more
sustainable fashion consumption they retain previous habits that do not necessarily
reflect their personal values, or indeed whether such values seriously impact behaviour
in any way.
In 2018, the average Cypriot household spent approximately 150 euros more on
clothes than the average European household (Euratex 2022). Despite the pandemic
lockdown, average spending in consumer goods per transaction was 17% higher when
compared to the preceding period and the corresponding period in 2019, indicating that
during the pandemic Cypriot consumers were performing fewer but larger purchases
(KPMG, 2021).
The overarching aim of the empirical study was to investigate the level of knowledge
(cognition), attitudes, and behaviours of customers towards sustainability issues in the
context of fast fashion within the Cypriot market. Thus, the three key research questions
that underlie this inquiry are
RQ1: ‘To what degree are consumers knowledgeable regarding sustainability issues when
buying fast fashion brands?’ (Cognition component – ABC Model).

RQ2: ‘How do consumers feel towards sustainability issues relating to fast fashion brands?’
(Affective component – ABC Model).

RQ 3: ‘What behaviours do consumers exhibit when purchasing fast fashion brands?’

(Behaviour component – ABC Model).

Research methods
Sample and data collection
In an effort to obtain a peripheral view of the level of awareness of the consumers of the
fast fashion industry in Cyprus, an exploratory study was carried out. Ninety-seven
participants were selected employing the snowball sampling method. A questionnaire
was sent to different online communities living in Cyprus, and data collection lasted ten
days. Bradley (1993) postulates that snowball sampling is indicative of subjective research,
gives access to participants with similar lifestyles and ideology (Berger and Luckmann
1966), and has been used by other similar studies exploring ethical consumption
(Schröder and McEachern 2004; Szmigin, Carrigan, and McEachern 2009). According to
Collis and Hussey (2009) non-random samples are utilized when generalization is not an
aim, and (Kupers 2000) states that the significance of this technique is that the partici­
pants are involved in framing the research through targeting a particular network of
participants with similar lifestyles, outlooks, and professions and therefore share a mutual
perspective.
198 I. PAPASOLOMOU ET AL.

The questionnaire was created with the support of ‘Survey Monkey’ and was distrib­
uted through online social media platforms such as Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber,
Telegram, Email, and Instagram. The questionnaire used was adopted from Zhang,
Zhang, and Zhou (2021) and questions were designed based on five-step Likert scales
(Saunders et al. 2015), analysing data descriptively.

Findings and discussion

Most respondents were women (65%) as opposed to (34%) who were male. Previous
studiesfor example, Hwang and Choi (2017) and Obermiller and Isaac (2018), identified
that women, especially within the age of 18–34 years, are knowledgeable regarding issues
relating to sustainability perhaps more so than men. A study carried out by Brough et al.
(2016) indicated that there is a close perceived link between sustainability and femininity
that may explain the reason why men are possibly less likely to engage in eco-friendly
behaviours. The average age of participants was 25 years old, and most of them (85%) are
Generation Z (18–26), whilst 12% Generation X and 3% Baby Boomers. Men spend less
than 10% of their budget in fast fashion purchases, whereas 35% of women revealed that
they spend above 30% of their budget in fast fashion consumption. The study’s findings
are in line with the current literature since women have been found to be more involved
with fashion than men (Goldsmith and Clark 2008; Horton 2018), liable to spend more
money on fashion (Johnson and Attman 2009), and more likely to go shopping for leisure
(Bakewell and Mitchell 2003).

Consumers’ level oF awareness (cognition component)

Consumer demand for sustainable fashion depends on knowledge and understanding of the
multiple issues that affect sustainability (Moisander, Markkula, and Eraranta 2010). The study’s
findings indicate some consumers’ sustainability concerns arising from unethical business
practices adopted by the fashion sector that impact the society and the environment.
Figure 1 represents the results of three questions (Q7, Q8, and Q9) that were used to
directly explore consumers knowledge and awareness regarding fast fashion industry
unsustainable practices.

Figure 1. Consumers’ level of awareness (cognition component).

 JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 199

● Q7: I am aware of social equity issues in the fast fashion industry worldwide, such as
working conditions of factory workers and fair trade.
● Q8: I am aware of child labour and unethical issues in the global fast fashion industry.
● Q9: I am aware of environmental issues in the fast fashion industry such as waste and
air pollution caused by excessive production of garments and mass production.

Most of the respondents (75%) are aware and understand the social and environ­
mental impact that the sector’s business practices have on society such as fair-trade
violations, child labour, and increased pollution. Moreover, the knowledge content of
consumers’ responses has a ‘general’ nature and when asked to switch to a more
specific focus on fashion, it becomes evident that they lack precise knowledge. For
example, one would expect that consumers who claimed to have a strong knowledge
of sustainability issues in fashion would have an accurate knowledge of aspects linked
to the sustainable supply chain such as fabrics and materials. But consumers perceived
cotton to be the most eco-friendly fabric, whereas the most eco-friendly fabric is
modal.
Cypriot consumers have a general vision of the fashion industry and its impact on
sustainability and when it comes to making actual purchase choices, their lack of precise
knowledge and understanding does not reinforce their values. This inconsistency advo­
cates for the building of strong knowledge of sustainable fashion among consumers. In
their study that involved experiential learning, Armstrong et al. (2016) suggested that by
providing consumers with an understanding that mass-produced fast fashion is not the
only business model that can be adopted and that there are alternatives such as smaller
and service-oriented retail models, consumers can gain heightened awareness of both the
barriers and benefits associated with reduced consumption. The Cypriot consumers relied
on the retailer to communicate the ethical status of fashion garments. This is an important
finding because it depicts that consumers depend upon the retailer to source and label
ethical products. This growing need to strengthen consumer knowledge regarding sus­
tainability can potentially allow retailers to innovate, through packaging, distribution, and
sourcing (Prothero and Fitchett 2000).

Consumers’ feelings (emotional component)

Questions 16 and 17 mainly focused on the negative feelings of respondents and
emphasized on the negative industry impact towards sustainability.

● Q16. I feel disgusted when I learn how much waste and pollution are generated by fast
fashion industry.
● Q17: I feel angry when I learn about labor slavery and child labor in fast fashion global

Q18 and Q19, on the other hand, investigated positive feelings and aimed to search for
a positive stimulus in sustainability.

● Q18: I feel interested in a fashion brand that engages in promoting sustainability.

● Q19: I feel good with myself when I buy from sustainable fashion brands that engage in
promoting sustainability.
200 I. PAPASOLOMOU ET AL.

As illustrated in Figure 2, most consumers (80%) indicated strong negative feelings

when they learn how much waste and pollution is generated by the fast fashion industry.
More women (44%) than men (29%) have strong negative feelings about the impact that
the fashion industry has on both society and environment. Respondents appeared to be
more concerned regarding child labour issues than the environmental impact of the
industry.
Both gender groups share strong negative feelings regarding practices that impact the
society such as the use of child labour or unfair labour relations. Overall, Cypriot con­
sumers (70%) have strong positive feelings when they buy a sustainable fashion brand
and 80% of consumers state that they develop a strong interest in a brand that engages in
sustainability and consequently, develop an intention to buy it. When consumers buy
sustainable fashion brands, they tend to feel happy and good with themselves.
These findings align with Gazzola et al. (2020) who stipulate that consumer tastes are
shifting, and more are becoming interested in purchasing environmentally friendly pro­
ducts and with Sawers, Bolster, and Bastawrous (2021) who found that customers are
more worried about unethical behaviour and place a high value on sustainability; none­
theless, these emotions do not always translate into action, particularly when it comes to
fashionable products, as also seen next whilst analysing consumers’ actions.

Consumers’ actions (behavioural dimension)

Although consumer involvement with ethical issues evokes a wide array of commitments
(Cherrier 2007), it can be agreed that ethical consumption implies the avoidance of
practices that are detrimental either to other people, to animals or to the environment
(Follows and Jobber 1999). People increasingly recognize sustainability and ethics-related
aspects of consumption (Carrigan and de Pelsmacker 2009).
Even though Cypriot consumers share strong feelings and attitudes towards the need
for sustainable fashion practices, some choose to engage in purchase behaviours that are
contradictory to their personal values, with only a small portion of respondents willing to
pay a higher price for sustainable fashion products; a finding misaligned with an earlier
study carried out by Shen et al. (2012). Low prices are often reflected in the garments’
quality, and along with the continuously changing cycle of new fashion styles encourage
disposability (Harris, Roby, and Dibb 2016), which in turn leads to concerns for

Figure 2. Consumers’ Feelings (Emotional Component).

 JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 201

overconsumption within a throwaway society (Krystallis et al. 2012). Consequently, mar­

keting encourages more frequent impulse consumption with low price strategies, limited
stock availability and an over emphasis on price reductions and special offers, rather than
a strong focus on sustainable production to support the creation of long-term value and
careful use of scarce resources (McDonagh and Prothero 2014).
The study further on specifically revealed that only 20%–30% of fashion purchases
made by Cypriot consumers are sustainable. Consumers tend to opt for the appropriate
‘alternative’ choices if these are affordable and available, which is in line with the literature
(Carrigan and de Pelsmacker 2009). Even though most of the consumers studied claim to
be interested in sustainable brands, they are only willing to pay an extra 20% for them.
The participants appear to be price conscious since they sought out lower priced fashion
goods, confirming findings by Ross and Harradine (2009) and Moisander, Markkula, and
Eraranta (2010). Thus, participants felt restricted financially in applying sustainability
principles to fashion consumption. It is evident that financial considerations were of
concern for the participants which explains the trend followed by several fashion retailers
which is to seek to attract consumers with inexpensive fashion (Barnes and Lea-green­
wood 2006; Morgan and Birtwistle 2009).
Interestingly, men tend to buy more fashion brands that are sustainable than women
and are also willing to spend more money to do so. Women though tend to spend
a higher proportion of their budget in fast fashion purchases aimed at satisfying primarily
social and self-esteem needs, as also posited by Brough et al. (2016), Hwang and Choi
(2017), Obermiller and Isaac (2018); and Zhang, Zhang, and Zhou (2021). Although
consumption is an activity, we often engage in to meet certain needs, as society has
evolved, it is used to define social status, power, and class, engaging in conspicuous
consumption a term coined by Thorstein Veblen (1899) in his seminal work, The Theory of
the Leisure Class.

Managerial implications
The findings of this study have revealed that consumers lack precise information about
how materials, fabrics, and other key components of fashion products impact the envir­
onment and the society; yet those consumers who do have general knowledge about
sustainability and unethical business practices, are still not motivated enough to consume
sustainably resulting in the attitude-behaviour gap, as also postulated by Oskamp et al.
(1991), Scott and Willits (1994), Mainieri et al. (1997), Nordlund and Garvill (2002),
Bamberg (2003), Hiller Connell and Kozar (2012a,b), and Pereira-Moliner et al. (2021).
The environmental impact of the fashion industry has become increasingly detrimental
due, in part, to consumer demand for new fashion (O’Cass 2004), reduction in fashion product
prices (Morgan and Birtwistle 2009), and low production costs achieved through production
processes based in developing countries with their dubious employment practices (Jones
et al. 2005). With very few exceptions, fashion retailers have been slow to respond in offering
consumers’ fashions that promise not to exploit either people or the environment (Ritch and
Schrӧder 2012). Whether this would be believed or seen as greenwashing is debatable. The
concept of ‘ethical fashion’ has been advocated strongly by London Fashion Week through
the inclusion of Estethica, where designers adhere to sustainability principles (British Fashion
Council 2010). However, this relates mostly to designer or luxury fashion, where the main
202 I. PAPASOLOMOU ET AL.

barrier of access for consumers is affordability. Thus, to enable access to sustainable fashion
requires high street retailers embracing sustainable principles (Gashi 2010).
Retailers claiming to engage in sustainability must develop products that are correctly
labelled and give adequate information about their products that is not only compre­
hensible but also credible and useful. This will consequently improve consumers’ accuracy
in evaluating the environmental friendliness of fashion products should they desire to do
so. The findings suggest that the adoption of environmental sustainability labels by
fashion retailers, a practice adopted by other sectors such as the food sector (Aprile and
Punzo 2022), should be pursued and combined with effective information policies across
the sector aimed at increasing consumer awareness. Although today several fashion
companies have introduced new sustainability initiatives which challenge the conven­
tional business models within the industry introducing various take-back, resell, reuse,
and recycle programmes (e.g., Marks & Spencer, Patagonia, Levi’s, Bestseller, and H&M)
(Pedersen, Gwozdz, and Hvass 2018), more corporations need to follow their lead and
make a pledge toward sustainability values and goals. A pledge, however, which must be
backed by actions of the appropriate nature. Further, consumers who claim to be
environmentally or sustainability oriented should take steps to ensure their behaviour
corresponds to these laudable goals.
Understanding consumer behaviour toward fashion in the context of sustainability is
undoubtedly fraught with difficulties and complications. It is the complex nature of the
relationship between sustainability and fashion which fashion retailers must understand
to change consumer mindsets, organisational practices, and marketing strategies to
create an environment that is conducive towards sustainability. In fact, complexity has
been identified as prohibiting ethical consumption (McCallum 2008), and consequently
the ever-increasing levels of fashion consumption foster a shameful situation whereby
neither retailers nor consumers have as yet implemented sustainability principles to
a significant degree (Ritch and Schröder 2012).
Although this study provides some preliminary insights, it is not without limitations.
The study relied on country-specific data thus limiting the study in generalising the
results, however future studies could employ larger and more diverse samples.
Moreover, this exploratory in nature study carried out a descriptive analysis, but further
research utilising probability sampling or even a mixed-method approach will unques­
tionably result in stronger findings.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors
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
 JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 203

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, 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 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.

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