Maria Reaney (BSc Geography) was awarded the Highly Commended prize for her dissertation that examines the fashion industry, clothing consumption and the steps that need to be taken for British residents to become sustainable clothing consumers.
Read on for more information about Maria's thought-provoking entry
Dissertation Title
Consumers Changing Clothes: what needs to change for British residents to become sustainable clothing consumers
Dissertation Summary
Our wardrobes hold complex stories. For the consumer, wardrobes can be treasure chests of identity and comfort. Yet, the journey of their contents usually comes with hidden costs, the story of which is increasingly being told.
By delving into the wardrobes of 20 participants, this paper sought to uncover British residents’ awareness of a need for a change within the fashion industry, in terms of the environment and human rights. Then to hear participants’ current clothing consumption behaviour to assess whether there is a need for such change. Then to understand what barriers hold them back from becoming sustainable clothing consumers.
This novel study based on Joosse and Hracs (2015) gives insight, for clothing businesses and policy makers, into the minds of consumers, to guide them in how best to transform the fashion industry for the sake of the planet and people involved.
Description of Social Impact of Research
Each step in the fast fashion lifecycle leaves a pollution footprint. Clothing is the fourth most environmentally impactful industry in the UK and contributes more to climate change than shipping and aviation combined. It depletes freshwater sources, increases plastic pollution, and creates a waste stream of over 2 million tonnes annually in the UK alone. Such environmental implications negatively impact humans. However, those impacted are rarely those causing these damages. Most of the environmental challenges harm areas of clothing production, which is 90% in poorer nations due to offshoring. Western consumers have such variety of cheap clothing options because much of the cost is subsidised by the cotton farmers’ health which is damaged by toxic chemicals, children and bond labourers’ well-being through poor working conditions and workers’ lives due to poorly-maintained factories collapsing. This dark side of the fashion industry is hindering the progress of every single UN Sustainable Development Goal in some way. Western consumers are also paying prices which are often ignored in the pursuit for more. ‘The Paradox of Choice’ suggests our overloading of choice can negatively impact mental wellbeing and ‘decision fatigue’ can lead to anxiety.
These are local, national, and internationally reaching social challenges which require a change in the fashion system to solve them. My research provides hope and direction to solutions.
Awareness of the impacts of fast fashion were overall high, 60% said they would like to have a capsule closet, and charity shops were the primary buying and disposal methods for younger people. However, only one person cited sustainability as a clothes shopping priority, only 35% had made some effort to be sustainable clothing consumers, and 55% of interviewees did not trust brands when they claim to be sustainable. There is an attitude-behaviour gap. People know there is a problem, but barriers to becoming sustainable clothing consumers included the effort, not caring and not believing their change would make a difference. This means sustainable businesses should invest in promoting their vision and ensuring their transparency is clearly displayed. 75% said they would pay on average 24% more for an item to be sustainable, therefore, if people could easily access and trust these items, the slightly higher cost should not be a major issue. Policy makers creating and properly enforcing such transparency measures would help tackle greenwashing of brands which hinder progress.
A transition to Degrowth and the Circular Economy are strongly encouraged by this paper. With the 20 participants owning an estimated 3020 items and not wearing 31% annually, it is clear we as a nation own too many clothes. If businesses transition to creating higher quality items and fewer ‘trends’, then items would last longer both materially and socially. Then, combined with a circular model of items being designed to be sent back at the end of their life to be recycled into new items. This is the future of fashion.
In short, the findings from this report provide the fashion industry with a clear mandate: make less, better, circular.