M. Tech. (Fashion, Department of Arts and Design, Faculty of Human Sciences): Vaal University of Technology / Criteria used by fashion consumers to assess the quality of apparel products during the decision-making process are a good indication of what considerations to keep in mind for customer satisfaction. Evaluative criteria of concern to apparel customers are intrinsic attributes, involving physical features such as design/style, materials and construction and performance features such as aesthetic and functional aspects and extrinsic attributes such as price, brand, store image, label, country of origin and appropriateness for the occasion, in this case casual day wear. The broad research aim of this exploratory study was to determine which evaluative criteria were used by female fashion consumers in the Vaal Region to determine apparel quality when purchasing casual daywear, and to what extent the various criteria were applied. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Sections 1 and 2 measured the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic clothing evaluative criteria. Section 3 investigated the frequency with which the respondents bought casual daywear at various store types, namely specialty, department and discount stores, while section 4 gathered the demographic information of the respondents. A representative sample was chosen from the academic personnel of all seven tertiary institutions in the Vaal Region. The majority of the lecturers (38.00 percent) were between the ages of 31 and 40, which can be described as relatively young, constituting a group sometimes referred to as baby busters or Generation X. Although the predominant population group was white (65.71 percent), a quarter of the respondents were black. They all had a tertiary qualification, indicating a relatively high educational level, and an average income. These espondents were predominantly married, either by orthodox or customary marriage. Regarding the application of evaluative criteria for quality assessment, these respondents used intrinsic apparel attributes to a greater extent than extrinsic attributes. Three functional performance aspects namely durability, comfort and fit were rated equal and most important for judging quality, followed closely by an extrinsic attribute namely appropriateness for casual daywear. Three clusters of respondents could be distinguished, each with a specific disposition towards the evaluative criteria. The most popular store type for clothing was Department stores, followed by Discount and Specialty stores.

Abstract  Background: The fashion industry in its current state operates in conditions that are considered unsustainable. In order to appeal to the growing environmental and ethical concern of consumers, fashion brands have started to employ strategies of green marketing, often focusing on clothes marketed as consisting of sustainable or eco-friendly fabrics. Meanwhile, fully sustainable fashion brands have emerged, where sustainability values are carried throughout all organisational practices.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how sustainable fashion brands market themselves and which types of consumers the current strategies attract. It aims to lay out an initial foundation for further research carried out in the future.  Method: A multi-case study of six sustainable fashion brands and an expert on sustainable fashion consumption was conducted under an interpretivist paradigm. A thematic analysis of the data received through semi-structured interviews provided an initial in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under consideration.  Conclusion: Sustainable fashion brands emphasized the importance of a holistic approach to conducting business under sustainability values. This understanding expressed itself in direct implications for design and longevity of fashion garments and a coherent approach to communication and retailing of products utilizing storytelling and a criteria-based choice of retailers. Main consumer groups identified were sustainability-minded consumers, as well as design-interested ones in some cases.

Due to the adverse environmental impacts today’s clothing consumption behaviour is causing, it is necessary to accelerate the awareness of sustainable fashion among consumers. Fashion companies are facing difficulties, as sustainable consumption has not yet made an impact on consumers’ fashion purchasing decision. To accelerate the sales of newly produced sustainable fashion, the willingness to purchase has to increase. This study suggests that it through different factors is possible to influence consumers’ rational behaviour. It examines the gap between Swedish fashion consumers’ willingness to purchase sustainable fashion and their actual actions from data collected through focus groups. The difficulty to recognize sustainable fashion, as well as the limitations of product options, appealing aesthetic and design explains the emerged gaps. Consumers are also requiring a modified usage of the concept as sustainability today is used without a consistent meaning. Findings indicate that fashion consumers’ demands sustainable fashion with appealing design, high quality as well as varied product options. It also showed a request for a standardized, simple and easily accessible label, representing the idea of sustainability equally without any room for interpretation. A standardized label symbolized with a consistent meaning could also be apart of the development of making sustainability a sustained trend - making sustainability the ‘new black’. / Dagens klädkonsumtion innebär en negativ miljöpåverkan som kräver nödvändiga åtgärder såsom att öka medvetenheten av hållbart mode bland konsumenter. Eftersom hållbarkonsumtion hittills inte har någon större inverkan på modekonsumenter i deras köpbeslut står modeföretagen inför en utmaning. För att öka försäljningen av nyproducerat hållbart mode måste viljan att handla hållbara plagg öka. Denna studie föreslår att det genom olika faktorer är möjligt att påverka konsumenters rationella beteende. Den undersöker vad som påverkar gapet mellan svenska modekonsumterns vilja att konsumera och deras faktiska ageranden genom två fokusgruppsintervjuer. Svårigheter att identifiera hållbart mode, likväl som begränsningen av utbudet, tilltalande estetik och design förklarar hur gapen uppstått. Konsumenter efterfrågar dessutom en förändrad användning av begreppet hållbarhet eftersom det idag används utan en konsekvent innebörd. Resultatet i studien visar på att modekonsumenter kräver hållbart mode som har en tilltalande design, god kvalité liksom ett större utbud. Den visar också på att de efterfrågar en enkel, lättillgänglig och standardiserad märkning som bör användas av alla modeföretag och som tydligt förklarar innebörden av hållbarhet utan att ge rum för tolkning av begreppet. En standardiserad märkning kan också bli en del av en ihållande trend som gör hållbarhet till det nya svarta.

This thesis covers a qualitative case study of corporate social responsibility work in medium-sized fashion companies in the moderate price range. The aim of the study was to research the barriers and opportunities to corporate social responsibility in medium-sized fashion companies within the moderate price range in order to understand which aspects that are most important for these companies to focus on. Corporate social responsibility, shortened CSR, means taking environmental, social and financial responsibility for all actions of the company. The industry of the company as well as different company characteristics creates different contexts in which a company may work with CSR. The fashion value chain is a context for fashion companies. In order for a fashion company to be sustainable, the entire value chain should be considered, but it is within the upstream part of the fashion value chain that the most damaging processes occur and it is therefor the upstream part of the value chain that was focused on in this study. The size and price range of a company are characteristics that affects how a company may create successful CSR practices. The study also focused on the consumer perspective and the added value that CSR may bring. The study identified several perceived barriers and opportunities to CSR in medium-sized fashion companies within the moderate price range that may be important to consider in order creating successful CSR practices. Costs, quality assurance, communication and coordination where identified as important barriers. The study also identified that the added value of CSR to the brand and the increased consumer willingness to pay as important opportunities. The study found that cost-consciousness, quality assurance, communication and coordination and the added value perspective may be the most important aspects for medium-sized fashion companies in the moderate price range to focus on in the CSR work. By being aware of these barriers and opportunities, companies may create better CSR strategies, which focus on achieving the opportunities while avoiding the barriers.