Consumers’ Attitudes towards Sustainability and Sustainable Labels in the FashionIndustry : A Qualitative Study

Abstract: In the last decades sustainability has become a major topic in society. The population isgrowing, which has increased production and has resulted in a negative impact on the environment. The fashion industry has become a big contributor to the negative impact on the environment through fast fashion. Although consumers continue buying low price garmentson a weekly basis, more and more consumers are becoming more aware of sustainability. As aresult, sustainable labels have entered the industry with a controversy confusing consumers with the different labels available in all industries. It has also created doubt in the reliability of the labels expressed by consumers. Using sustainable labeling is a way of spreading information and awareness about sustainability and to understand how consumers prefer to receive information, and how this affects their purchasing behavior. This has lead to the purpose of the study, which is to explore Generation Y’s attitudes towards sustainability and sustainable labels within the fashion industry. The research was a qualitative study with an exploratory approach. The research used two focus groups from generation Y to collect empirical data about consumers’ attitudes towards fashion sustainability. The sample was purposively chosen with generation Y being the most consumption-oriented generation of all time, and more socially and environmentally aware which was preferred in this study. Conclusions that could be drawn from the study were that the participants knew about sustainable labels and could name several labels, although only in general and not in regards to apparel. The participants were also critical towards sustainability within the fashion industry due to overproduction and environmentally unfriendly materials that the industry uses, making consumer question the fashion industry’s real intentions. There is an interest insustainable clothing but it is perceived as too expensive and unavailable, where one must actively seek for sustainable products. A preferred way to receive sustainable information through labeling was to use a comprehensive regulatory requirement schemes, similar to the one the appliance industry uses.