The purpose of the thesis is to reveal and address macro-environmental sustainability problems in thefashion industry. A qualitative research approach was used to reach the purpose. Throughout the empirics, theexisting literature was studied, and two case studies were carried out. The one about Hennes and Mauritz isbased on secondary data by using its sustainability report, and in the other case, primary data were obtainedabout Ekovaruhuset, an ecological fashion company, through a face-to-face interview. It was found that thefashion industry has a significant environmental impact and often violates the fair labour practices throughout itssupply chain. The root causes of the unsustainable operation are the labour-intensity, water and chemicalintensity throughout the fashion supply chain, and the lack of political and legal regulations in the producingcountries. These problems can be addressed by careful sourcing, and higher control over the cotton growers,fabric mills and suppliers. In addition, using and developing eco-friendly raw materials, like organic cotton, andfabrics reduce the environmental impact. It can be concluded that there is much room for sustainabledevelopment in the fashion industry, but there are corporate social and environmental responsibility endeavoursfrom both small and big companies.

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Background: The Swedish fashion industry grows steadily, today it’s populated by many small and medium sized companies. Due to the big clothing chains dominant position small businesses risks to be ousted out of the fashion industry. Smaller companies may find it difficult to reach out to the customer by traditional advertising because their budgets are often smaller. It is therefore important for smaller companies to create loyal customers. If the smaller sized businesses in the fashion industry do not follow the rapid developments in society and focus on building strong brands and relationships, they will have problems with surviving in the long run. Problem definition: Which communicative factors are important in the choice of brand strategy to create a long-term survival for small and medium-sized companies in the fashion industry? Purpose: The purpose of the essay is to analyse and evaluate the brand as a communications tool for building a brand image. Method: The data which is being used in the essay is collected from interviews with companies and survey of each company's existing and potential customers. Theoretical perspective: Relationship Marketing Perspective and Transaction Marketing Perspective Theories: Brand Strategies, Total Communication, Brand Equity, Involvement Theory, Service Value Profit Chain. Empiric: The empirical data is primary data gathered from interviews with a representative for each company and from the questionnaires distributed to the customers of each company. Analysis: The analysis is an interpretation of the empirical material collected from interviews with each company and customers survey. Each company is being analysed along the characteristics that emerges in the theory chapter. Results: The results of the study show that the companies use a mixture communication form consisting of one-and two way communication. The results from survey show that the customer is highly involved and therefore it is important for companies to maintain a relationship perspective. Conclusions/Discussion: In order to achieve a long-term survival, it is important that smaller companies work from a relational consumers approach. In that way companies can create loyal consumers which can later on contribute to good Word-Of-Mouth. In its turn this can generate new consumers.

Media society is under a constant development and in line with this change, firms must adapt to the market. We have investigated what fashion companies in fact are doing to communicate in the dynamic market. We wanted to find out how to communicate and how they can market themselves in a new and innovative way to create long-term customer relationships. We have used a theoretical frame of reference based on marketing communication, fashion marketing, branding and relationship marketing theories. We have assumed four themes throughout the survey which are: customer contact and relationships, emotion in communication, branding and relational communication. The survey has been conducted by using qualitative methodswere we have interviewed three fashion companies and three consumers as well as a professor of communications. We have also examined and critically assessed the data we collected. Furthermore we have presented the empirical result of the interviews according to the previously mentioned themes. We have discussed above mentioned areas and different tools to create long-terms relationships within the fashion industry. In conclusion, we state that the one of the most effective strategy is to add more resources to create feelings among their customers with the companies advertising. It is also important to build up a strong brand that can represent the whole company.

Social entrepreneurship is a promising approach in addressing social issues, however, it is still relatively new to consumers. There is an increase in demand for products that have a positive social reputation. In order to reach consumers, social enterprises need promotion.  It is crucial for social enterprises since they are competing for public awareness of the company itself and its social mission. Social enterprises are addressing social issues and striving to reach their missions through different activities. There is  little research available of perceptions and purchase decisions of different consumer groups regarding social entrepreneurial activities. The purpose of the thesis was to examine how consumers perceive social entrepreneurship activities within the fashion industry and consequently, how consumers’ purchase decisions are affected by these activities. To fulfil this purpose, existing literature was reviewed and an online questionnaire was conducted. Total amount of 235 people living in Sweden participated in the questionnaire.    Promoted social entrepreneurship activities were observed through the Social Entrepreneurship Map and the results showed that activities related to ‘Job creation’ and ‘Help focus’ sector were the ones represented in the fashion industry. It was discovered that the promoted social entrepreneurship activities within ‘Job creation’ sector were triggering more positive associations than ‘Help focus’ activities. Despite the positive overall perception of the activities, the majority of consumers had not purchased products from social enterprises. The results showed that overall consumers were willing to purchase products from companies engaging in social entrepreneurship activities. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between purchase decisions and willingness to buy in the future. The more consumers had purchased products before, the more willing they were also to purchase in the future.

Modebranschen är en ständigt föränderlig bransch som präglas av långa ledtider, osäkra prognoser och starkt trendfokus. Ahlvar By Frida Ahlvarsson är ett svenskt modeföretag som verkar inom just denna bransch. Ahlvar upplever precis som många andra små modeföretag problem kopplade till branschens uppbyggnad. Problemen som företaget upplever är främst ekonomiska men har också att göra med höga lagernivåer och hög arbetsbelastning. I detta arbete görs en granskning av Ahlvars inköpsprocess med hjälp av Business Process Management (BPM) för att identifiera orsakerna bakom de problem som företaget upplever. Det fastslås att företagets ekonomiska problem främst är kopplade till höga produktionskostnader medan de höga lagernivåerna främst beror på avsaknaden av statistiska prognoser. Den höga arbetsbelastningen verkar i sin tur ha att göra med det faktum att det som enmansföretag är svårt att handskas med inköpsprocessens många steg och parallella processer. För att identifiera lösningar till dessa problem presenteras teori kring inköpsprocesser och även information om hur tre liknande modeföretag arbetar. De tre andra företagen är Filippa K, Företag X och House of Dagmar. Tillsammans med teorin görs en jämförelse mellan dessa tre och Ahlvar. Jämförelsen visar att det finns många likheter mellan företagen och att mycket av deras arbetssätt har goda kopplingar till teorin. Dock i identifieras även vissa markanta skillnader mellan Ahlvar och de andra företagens arbetssätt. Utifrån jämförelsen fastslås tre huvudsakliga rekommendationer för hur Ahlvar ska förändra sin inköpsprocess i syfte att förbättra sin ekonomiska situation med hjälp av en mer effektiv försörjningskedja. Rekommendationerna är att företaget bör hitta fler leverantörer, byta leverantörsland från Kina till ett eller flera länder i Europa och att börja göra enklare prognoser på tidigare års försäljning. Som en följd av bytet av leverantörsland rekommenderas även företaget att förändra sitt val av transportslag från flygplan till lastbil och båt vid frakt av produkter.

Background: Even though the fashion industry has grown to become one of the most digitized and consumed industries in the world, it seems to be an issue for physical fashion companies to break through within ecommerce. This is due to the lack of ability for physical companies to adapt to the digital development and the changing customer behavior prevailing on the internet. E-commerce has gone from selling goods and comparing prices online, to provide valuecreating experiences for customers. As a result, the competition has drastically increased, which makes the customer able to easily move and choose between a variety of e-commerce platforms. As an increased understanding of customer experience in e-commerce can provide profit-sharing competitive advantages, it is important for physical fashion companies to take customer preferences into account. Purpose: The aim of this study is to generate an understanding of valuecreating activities in e-commerce and what customers value on ecommerce platforms. Methodology: This thesis is based on a qualitative research strategy with an abductive research approach. The empirical material has been collected by means of semi-structured interviews and observations with seven respondents in the ages between 19 and 40 years. Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it is necessary for fashion companies to maintain an utilitarian and hedonic approach to generate value-creating activities. The conclusions indicate that the utilitarian activities should be designed in a standardized manner, while the hedonic activities rather should keep an unique and distinctive approach.

Brand loyalty has long been an important factor for companies’ sustainability and profitability, as it is less expensive to retain existing customers than acquiring new ones. In correlation to the importance of brand loyalty, there is a new vast generation, called the millennials’ or generation Y coming in to the market that is different than any generation before. This generational cohort has shown tendencies of being very disloyal, yet not all authors agree. Furthermore, some positive evidence has been found that millennials consider brands as a way of expressing their own identity and are driven by a need of having a trendy social image. The role of brand identity has therefore been chosen as an important key factor to examine this generation’s brand loyalty. Due to the poor research and the complexity of understanding millennial’s brand loyalty, the purpose of this study is to acknowledge the role of brand identity and to enhance the knowledge about brand loyalty of millennials when it comes to fashion brands.The research is of a quantitative and deductive nature where the primary data of the study was collected through surveys. 108 people participated in the study and the participants were millennials between an age interval of 18-38 years. The result of the study shows that there is a link between brand identity and brand image and that there is a positive relationship between brand image and brand loyalty. Moreover, comparing the brand image of two companies H&M and Ralph Lauren to the respondents’ brand loyalty towards the fast fashion and luxury fashion industry showed a correlation of equivalent loyalty towards the two industries. However, the respondents that were loyal towards the luxury fashion industry were shown to have a higher general brand loyalty.The findings of this research provide evidence that millennial can be loyal, but their loyalty may differ depending on the industry. Therefore, millennials display equal loyalty to the fast fashion and to the luxury fashion industry, but overall loyalty of luxury fashion followers is higher in general.

O design geralmente está associado ao fator estético e funcional dos produtos. Porém, desde a década de 90 este conceito tem mudado e o significado deste termo tornou-se mais abrangente. Atualmente, esta palavra associa-se a fatores estratégicos nas organizações. O objetivo da pesquisa visa estudar a inserção da gestão do design no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos de empresas de confecção de Araranguá. O referencial teórico desta pesquisa mostra que nas grades curriculares das faculdades de design ainda não se enfatiza suficientemente a gestão nos cursos da área, impossibilitando que os designers desenvolvam habilidades gerenciais. Sobretudo, o presente trabalho visa analisar como as empresas de confecção de Araranguá, no Estado de Santa Catarina, inserem o design em seus processos. A análise foi realizada através de uma comparação com o Modelo de Gestão de Design apresentado pelas autoras Bruce; Cooper e Vasquez (1999) como elemento norteador desta pesquisa. O estudo de caso englobou cinco empresas desenvolvedoras de produtos de moda cuja análise dos dados qualitativos resultou em sugestões de melhorias para cada empresa estudada. / The design factor is usually associated with aesthetic and functional products. However, since the 90's this concept has changed and the meaning of this term has become more embrasing. Currently, this word is associated with strategic factors in organizations. The objective of the research aims to study the inclusion of design management in the process of product development companies making Araranguá. The theoretical framework of this research shows that in the curriculum of the schools of design still is not enough emphas is on management courses in this area, becoming impossible for designers to develop management skills. Above all, this reserach also aims to analyze how fashion industries in Araranguá, Santa Catarina State, use design. The analysis is performed through a comparison with the Management Model of Design presented by the authors, Bruce; Cooper e Vasquez (1999) as a guide element of this research. The case study comprised five companies that develop fashion products whose qualitative data analysis resulted in suggestions for improvements for each company studied.

O design geralmente está associado ao fator estético e funcional dos produtos. Porém, desde a década de 90 este conceito tem mudado e o significado deste termo tornou-se mais abrangente. Atualmente, esta palavra associa-se a fatores estratégicos nas organizações. O objetivo da pesquisa visa estudar a inserção da gestão do design no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos de empresas de confecção de Araranguá. O referencial teórico desta pesquisa mostra que nas grades curriculares das faculdades de design ainda não se enfatiza suficientemente a gestão nos cursos da área, impossibilitando que os designers desenvolvam habilidades gerenciais. Sobretudo, o presente trabalho visa analisar como as empresas de confecção de Araranguá, no Estado de Santa Catarina, inserem o design em seus processos. A análise foi realizada através de uma comparação com o Modelo de Gestão de Design apresentado pelas autoras Bruce; Cooper e Vasquez (1999) como elemento norteador desta pesquisa. O estudo de caso englobou cinco empresas desenvolvedoras de produtos de moda cuja análise dos dados qualitativos resultou em sugestões de melhorias para cada empresa estudada. / The design factor is usually associated with aesthetic and functional products. However, since the 90's this concept has changed and the meaning of this term has become more embrasing. Currently, this word is associated with strategic factors in organizations. The objective of the research aims to study the inclusion of design management in the process of product development companies making Araranguá. The theoretical framework of this research shows that in the curriculum of the schools of design still is not enough emphas is on management courses in this area, becoming impossible for designers to develop management skills. Above all, this reserach also aims to analyze how fashion industries in Araranguá, Santa Catarina State, use design. The analysis is performed through a comparison with the Management Model of Design presented by the authors, Bruce; Cooper e Vasquez (1999) as a guide element of this research. The case study comprised five companies that develop fashion products whose qualitative data analysis resulted in suggestions for improvements for each company studied.