The textile and fashion industry is one of the most extensive and unsustainable industries in the world. Fast fashion companies, and the consumers purchasing, using and disposing the items, have an especially negative impact on the environment. Previous research does not provide deep knowledge of how environmentally sustainable clothing disposal is performed in word and deed as a part of consumers everyday life. However, this is needed to improve environmental sustainability. This research study aims to contribute to and deepen the existing body of research regarding this, investigating female members of Generation Z in a fast fashion context. Thus, the purpose of the study is to contribute with a current understanding of the practice of sustainable clothing disposal by developing knowledge about how consumers perform disposal activities post-consumption, as well as revealing the meanings driving the behaviour. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research strategy was used. Empirical material was collected through ten semi-structured interviews with female Generation Z participants. The study uses a practice theory approach, viewing a practice as a complex interaction between what consumers say and do in a specific context. A practice consists of several different activities and is dependent on three elements: competence, material and meaning. Furthermore, the theoretical framework consists of previous research on sustainable clothing disposal behaviour. The findings reveal that the practice of sustainable clothing disposal includes a number of activities performed by the participants in the context in question. Several central tendencies are distinguished; showing how female Generation Z consumers perform the activities under different circumstances, through routinised actions and communication in their everyday lives. In addition, the findings identify five different forms of meaning driving the behaviour. Accordingly, both theoretical and practical contributions are generated. The findings build on the existing body of research, adding deep and current understanding of sustainable clothing disposal behaviour. Furthermore, actors in the textile and fashion industry can interpret the findings of the behaviour and meaning-making, and hence improve their adaptation to the consumer. Ultimately, this can cause a positive impact on environmental sustainability.

Consumers have changed their behaviour from passive roles to active ones, demanding their beloved brands to be integrated into long-lasting customer-brand relationships. With this ideology, which is the basis for the S-D logic, there is an on-going scientific debate on the value co-creation phenomenon and its effects on sustaining long-term brand-customer relationships in the context of the fashion industry. These effects are considered to have the potential to sustain a competitive advantage and affect not only the marketing of the fashion brands, but also other facets of such enterprises, including their value and supply chains. Additionally, the world has been experiencing a steep increase in technological innovation under the name of Industry 4.0, where machinery and human labour become integrated into smart systems and consumers have the ability to influence parts of brands which were not available before. Within this context, the interest of this research is to explore the value co-creation phenomenon in relation to the I4.0 dimension in the setting of two generic business models characteristic of the fashion industry (luxury vs. fast-fashion). In exploring the interconnectivity of these two phenomena, this study takes on the digital strategies of Burberry, Louis Vuitton, UNIQLO and Zalando, and assesses their co-creative processes targeted towards their consumers. In doing so, this study is also aiming at identifying the approaches of the chosen brands towards the I4.0 dimension and its relevance towards the process of value co-creation. In order to illuminate the co-creative processes within the digital strategies of the selected brands and to accomplish the research goal, this study takes on a comparative cross-case study methodology synthesising secondary data on both value co-creation and I4.0 as separate phenomena. The secondary data on the digital strategies of the selected brands is used within an existing model called “the Co-creation mix” which assesses the co-creative processes of the brands based on six different criteria: co-creator, purpose, locus, intimacy, time, and incentives. Interpreting the secondary data through such a model resulted in the identification of two different approaches to co-creation and I4.0. The findings indicate that the luxury case companies approach co-creation from a traditional marketing perspective where digital consumer engagement is the main co-creative process, whereas the fast-fashion case companies initiate co-creative processes designed to accomplish goals that are more supply-chain related. This result also brings several intriguing implications. First, the fast-fashion case companies are more technology-driven and are more open towards the implementation of innovative I4.0 technologies within the co-creative processes than the luxury case companies. Second, the consumer role in the co-creation process seems to become less central the more the I4.0 dimension is involved. Third, the model shows that the fast-fashion examples outperform the luxury examples at the dimensions where the latter perform the weakest, such as intimacy and time. And fourth, the study findings confirm the new research opinion that both industry segments have weak areas which can be handled by taking on a mix of the two identified approaches, rather than focus on the traditional one alone. Yet, these findings are not generalizable but only illustrative, meaning that the study provides plausible hypothesis and future research directions concerning value co-creation and I4.0 within the fashion industry context.

In today’s society the question about consumption are a real problem. With focus on clothing brands it can be seen as a possibility to expand due to the increased demand from customers. With new ways of marketing and easier ways of shopping creates opportunities for customers to shop without any problems. The trend of “fast fashion” have influenced clothing brands to keep a constant flow of new clothes. Which tends to affect brands to choose a way to maximize their profit, and therefore look for cheaper ways of producing. But because of the higher set demand on sustainability, clothing brands has put more focus on sustainability throughout the company. This leads to the question about the responsibility that clothing brands has for the grown consumption patterns together with making profit. How does clothing brands handle the high set demand from customers while influencing a more sustainable consumption. This study is focusing on four Swedish clothing companies that are currently international active. The empirical material consists of the sustainability communication on their website. A critical discourse analysis is used to determine patterns in the different marketing discourses to answer the purpose of this of this study and provide a recommendation for companies which are in line with the work towards sustainable consumption. In conclusion in this study we highlight the importance of well thought through market communication. With focus on sustainability it helps the company to make decisions and communicate more clearly and creates opportunities to influence consumers to make choices towards sustainable consumption. With a company stance towards educating customers also affect more than consumers. It affects the industry views to change and creates opportunities to change towards more sustainable choices. The website can be seen as the main stage for the clothing brands to influence consumers towards more sustainable consumption. Mainly with showing the great extent the companies goes to with their work with sustainability in all working part of the company. But also by showing the value it creates. With a focus on the value of the products, the company are able guide consumers to make sustainable choices and be more aware of their consumption patterns, in all aspects of their life.

Corporate social responsibility is a well-discussed phenomenon where existing researchers within the field of MNEs have found an increased interest in the CSR topic. Existing research between the two topics is still at an early stage where the main reason is the complexity of defining the CSR concept, as well as the MNEs cross-border operations in multiple contexts. Further, the fast fashion industry is generally characterized by frequent production and squeezed margins to maximize profit. CSR is significantly important for MNEs operating in the fast fashion industry due to their environmental and social impact, where they have to reconsider the impact of their actions. This thesis will examine two MNEs originated from Sweden and Spain to understand the differences and similarities of the selected MNEs strategic CSR focus and actions. Further, a qualitative research method has been conducted in order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis, where the empirical data has been conducted through secondary data. The common findings of this thesis indicate that both MNEs engage in multiple CSR activities, where the strategy mainly focus on environmental and social aspects. Further, the findings illustrated a clear connection to Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR where all responsibilities were included in the strategies. The outcome of the thesis indicates that both MNEs strategies involves actions to take responsibility for global and local issues.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera affärsmodeller hos ekoprenöriella företag, det vill säga företag grundade och baserade på hållbara principer, för att utveckla en större förståelse för hur dess delar kan leda till värdeskapande för kunder. Halla Halla har valts som fallföretag för att de har kunder som köpt från dem flera gånger, och kan därmed anses skapa värde för dessa, samt för att grundarna är ekoprenörer som bedriver produktion av badkläder gjorda av återvunnet material. Företaget verkar inom modebranschen där ​fast fashion​ är ett vanligt fenomen som innebär att mode och trender bidrar till snabb konsumtion, i många fall på bekostnad av miljön. I teoriavsnittet kombineras nio underkategorier ifrån Osterwalders et al. (2010) Business model canvas, översatt kanvasmodellen, tillsammans med Jung Choos et al. (2012) fyra faktorer för värdeskapande för kund, i en framtagen analysmodell. De fyra faktorerna för värdeskapande utgörs av pris, kvalitet, fördelar kontra kostnader och subjektivt värde. Analysmodellen används som ett verktyg för undersökning av fallföretagets affärsmodell och därigenom skapande av kundvärde. Det empiriska materialet i uppsatsen har främst baserats på två mailintervjuer med Halla Hallas grundare samt kundintervjuer med tio av deras kunder. Resultatet tyder på att affärsmodellen hos ekoprenöriella företag leder till värdeskapande för kunder på olika sätt. För företag vars målgrupp är unga kvinnor kan Instagram vara en lämplig plattform för att sprida sitt budskap. Det kan också vara av betydelse för företag att ha fungerande samarbeten med nyckelpartners, med vilka man tillsammans kan se till att produkter håller hög kvalitet. I dagens samhälle, där fast fashion är ett växande problem, är det även viktigt för företag att ha god förståelse för hållbarhetsproblemen vi står inför och skapa unika produktidéer motiverade av detta.

Background: Corporate Social Responsibility has been studied since the 1970s, but was originally controversial and met opposition from e.g. Milton Friedman who viewed a company’s responsibility as being strictly economic. Since then, CSR has grown in scope and importance, especially within the fast fashion industry, and is now a central part of academia and business operations. However, the debate whether companies’ responsibilities are only economic or also include responsibilities such as social, environmental, and transparency- related is still ongoing, and it is therefore interesting to study how companies view their own responsibilities. Purpose: Our research aims to fill the existing research gap regarding how companies view their responsibilities by providing an overview of how the CSR work has changed over time in fast fashion companies. Research Question: How has the focus of the CSR work changed over time in large, international, fast-fashion companies? Methods: A qualitative content analysis inspired by grounded theory was used to answer the research question. The data material consisted of H&M’s sustainability reports from 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2019. The material was categorized into social, environmental or transparency dimensions, along with several under-categories. A simpler analysis of news articles regarding sustainability during the period 2002-2019 was also performed. Results: The results suggest that the fast fashion industry has increased their sense of responsibility as the expectations of stakeholders in the area has grown, and that CSR work increasingly is seen as a possible competitive advantage. The results also show that the most difficult parts to fulfill is the ethical level of the CSR pyramid, due to the difficulty of comprehending and fulfilling the stakeholders’ different expectations and demands, and the social dimension, because of its profound complexity, especially within fast-fashion.

Background: The phenomenon of CSR has become an increasingly adopted strategy among companies, as a result of the frequent discussion on climate change. At the same time, consumers have attained further awareness regarding sustainability and how consumption impacts the environment. Further, the fast fashion industry has been highlighted as one of the most harmful and unethical industries that negatively impacts the environment and lives of all. Thus, it is interesting to explore which factors influence consumers’ purchase decisions, and determine whether sustainability and CSR are taken into consideration. Purpose: This thesis aims to explore millennial consumers’ attitudes toward Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as well as which factors consumers take into consideration when they are making purchase decisions. Method: In order to meet the research objectives, data has been collected with exploratory and qualitative methods. The research philosophy follows interpretivism, and adopts an abductive approach. Furthermore, 13 semi- structured interviews were conducted, which aim to explore and provide and understanding for consumers’ attitudes and perception. Interview participants were selected based on a purposive sampling method, with two identified criteria. Additionally, a coding system was constructed based on the literature review, which was used to analyse the data collected from the interviews. Conclusion: The results, extracted from the empirical data and analysis, suggest that there are two categories with factors influencing millennial consumers’ purchase decisions. The first category includes product related factors, whereas the other category includes a number of consumer related factors. The empirical results further conclude that the participants generally experience positive attitudes toward sustainability and CSR, while product related factors are more influential in the decision-making process.

Background: With apparel and clothing being one of the most highly consumed products for everyday life, businesses within the fashion industry have much demand. In order to gain leverage in a competitive market, many retailers have different strategies and loyalty programmes have been an attractive way for customer relationship management.    Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to provide additional understanding of fast-fashion retailers’ consumer behaviour, while focusing on their perceptions towards loyalty programmes as an influencing purchasing factor. This study can be beneficial for fast-fashion retailer businesses seeking to improve their loyalty programmes for the development of customer retention.  Method: The study is conducted with a qualitative research design through conducting 16 interviews, with deductive reasonings to understand the phenomenon. The theoretical framework is interpretivism, which allows exploratory type of research to explore the paper’s purpose. For findings and analysis, thematic analysis was adopted to allow flexibility in the modification of data collection and research design.  Conclusion: This study’s findings and analysis identified three main themes linked to customer’s perception towards loyalty programmes: shopping criteria, benefit perception, and behavioural impulse. This suggests that customers do not regard loyalty programmes as an influential factor in their purchasing decision, but rather a second thought. By doing so, the purpose of loyalty programmes is hindered, resulting in repetitive purchasing behaviour being affected as well.

Background: Consumers are today valuing sustaible brands and products, and green advertising has become an important part of marketing. Sometimes brand do not live up to their green claims and perform what is known as greenwashing. Prior research has concluded that the act of greenwashing hurts consumers' attitude towards brands and this research further explores the effect of greenwashing on attitude formation. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how greenwashing affects consumers' attitude formation towards brands.  Methodology: For this research, a qualitative research approach with an exploratory nature was used. When gathering the empirical data, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The questions were designed to be open-ended in order to gain in-depth information. Before conducting the interviews, a pilot test through two semi-structured interviews was conducted in order to identify if there were any questions that could be improved. For the main study, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants within generation Z, both men and women.  Findings: The key findings is that greenwashing only has a short-term effect on attitude formation which resulted in consumers avoiding the accused brand. The participants' attitude formation changed from the experiential hierarchy to the standard learning hierarchy when greenwashing was discovered.  Conclusion: Cognition had the largest impact on attitude formation as greenwashing was discovered, since it created negative feelings towards the brand. However, the acccusations were seen to be easily forgotten and consumers would go back to old behaviour (experiential hierarchy) in the long-term.

Background: As an effect of the growth of Instagram during the past few years, more brands have started to use this platform to communicate with their consumers, and a generation that has been shown to be particularly interesting for fast fashion brands, is Generation Y. During the past few years, a term called body-positivity has increased in popularity among social media platforms like Instagram, which purpose is to encourage exposure to different body types. There are several studies that have highlighted the issues regarding the use of exclusively thin models among fast fashion companies, and that this increase body dissatisfaction among women, especially in the Western culture where the ideal is unrealistically thin. This has resulted in criticism towards marketers which have led to some brands starting to use more larger models in their advertising. However, some brands still use exclusively thin models because they believe that this is what people wants to see. Evidently, there are different opinions regarding the subject. However, what has yet not been studied thoroughly is female consumers attitudes regarding the use of body diversity in advertising on Instagram and how this influence brand attitudes and further, their purchase intentions. Purpose: As the authors of this study found a research gap regarding consumers attitudes within the subject – the purpose of this study will be to explore female Generation Y consumer’s insights regarding body diversity in Instagram advertising, resulting in judgment, feelings, and attitudes towards the advertisement and the brand, and how these attitudes influence purchase intentions. The aim is also to explore to what extent the case companies include body diversity in their Instagram advertising. Method: The research purpose was fulfilled by doing an exploratory study, using an abductive research approach and qualitative method. The authors of this study did a semiotic analysis of the advertising content, and further on collected the empirical data by doing 12 semi-structured interviews. The data was further analyzed by incorporating a thematic analysis. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that Nelly was the only case company including some body diversity in their Instagram advertising. NA-KD and Zalando evoked mostly positive feelings among the participants while Nelly evoked mostly negative ones. Further, the majority of the participants had favorable attitudes and positive purchase intentions towards NA-KD and Zalando. None of the participants had exclusively favorable attitudes towards Nelly’s advertisement, although half of the participants had positive purchase intentions towards the brand. Generally, the majority of all attitudes that were formed towards the case companies were not influenced by the body diversity (or no body diversity) that they were exposed to, but their attitudes were influenced by other things. The results also showed that including body diversity in Instagram advertising is important, for female Generation Y consumers. However, other factors might be more important and furthermore have a greater influence on their purchase intentions, like for example ethnic diversity.