FACTORS OF CUSTOMER PREFERENCE BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE AND FAST FASHION

Abstract

There is a growing market for accessible ‘fast fashion’ and sustainable alternatives within the fashion industry. This research investigates what drives consumers’ choices of fast fashion versus sustainable fashion, specifically probing on the aspects of price, environmental concern, social media impact, consumer guilt, and income level. As consumers experience internal contradictions within the fast fashion industry, it will be critical for brands who wish to stay relevant during a time of significant change and competition to understand how these ethical dilemmas are navigated. This thesis integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Social Influence Theory to build hypotheses regarding the interaction of pro-social and anti-social consumer behavior and social perception. Respondents’ attitudes towards social media, self-inflicted guilt, and price awareness are quantitatively analyzed through survey data to identify the relationship between price sensitivity, sustainability, and decision guilt. Additionally, the effect of income is examined as a moderating factor in the ethical consumption versus affordability debate. The results show that people’s lack of cost effectiveness remains the most notable impediment towards adopting sustainable fashion practices even with increasing awareness of eco-friendliness. KOL or influencer impact on social media is critical towards fostering positive perceptions among followers, and it has been noted that these social media celebrities are good at marketing sustainable fashion to the younger generations. Still, there is a gap in people’s willingness to act upon their awareness towards sustainability, where a lot of consumers accept the negative consequences of fast fashion but still decide to buy on the basis of cheap prices and simplicity. This analysis forms part of the understanding of how consumers behave in the fashion sector and provides useful recommendations to policymakers and sustainable fashion designers. The study underlines paying attention to the price barrier to sustainability and argues that education, transparency, and creativity in marketing especially through social media and influencer platforms may change the narrative for more responsible purchasing publics. Additionally, it highlights that there is a gap that has to be filled by brands in terms of reasonable pricing and environmental sustainability, so that more people are able to afford eco-friendly fashion.

Keywords: Consumer preferences, sustainable fashion, fast fashion, price sensiitivity, environmental impact, marketing strategies, demographic analysis