Research questions:  How do social media influencers affect fashion purchase intent? How is slow fashion behavior affected by social media influencers?                                 Purpose:                  The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible effects that social media influencers have on slow fashion behavior, in addition to explore the effects of social media influencers on fashion purchase intent. Method:                   This research was conducted through a quantitative study and the data was collected using an online survey. The survey was constructed and distributed in collaboration with a research group at Mälardalen University.  Conclusion:             This study confirms that influencers have the possibility to influence consumers’ behavior and provides initial insight into how their communities can affect consumers. The study concludes that influencers can persuade consumers to purchase fashion products online. However, there is ambiguity into how much influencers affect consumers. The study showed that the relationship between influencers and their communities is not clear, and especially how the two concepts interact in the way they influence consumers to behave more sustainably. Despite the complex relationship, both have the capability to positively and negatively affect consumers’ slow fashion behavior. While consumers may not employ all behaviors favorable in the slow fashion movement, any positive behavior will make a difference.

The purpose of this study is to research which factors influence consumer satisfaction towards a fashion company. The purpose is also, to contribute with knowledge on the concept Slow Fashion.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to advance the knowledge on value co-creation in new product development (NPD) in the context of slow fashion, with specific emphasis on investigating the interest of slow fashion consumers to engage in the NPD process and brands' perspective regarding this. Via exploring the value co-creation phenomena in the slow fashion industry context, this study also intends to apply and discuss the suitability of currently available value co-creation theories for the slow fashion context. Methodology: This research employed an explanatory design with an deductive approach. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied using a self-administered online questionnaire for slow fashion consumers and semi structured interviews with two slow fashion companies. The questionnaire and interview questions were designed according to the subjects that emerged from a theoretical background constructed for the study. Findings: The consumers of slow fashion indicated a large interest for participation in value co-creation (VCC) activities in new product development (NPD), however on a low level of customer empowerment, mainly just giving suggestions and voting on design ideas by the brand. This wasn’t much affected by the customer typology or perceived relationship to the brand, however, the internalised extrinsic motivation lifted the contribution interest slightly. The two interviewed companies indicated to be interested to empower the customers to the same extent as the customers were mainly willing to. The companies saw the possibility to cater better for the customer needs as the main benefit, however, simultaneously they were concerned of the customers’ awareness regarding the garment quality factors or the lead times of the industry. Practical implications: The paper presents the current interest of the slow fashion consumers to participate in in VCC in NPD revealing their customer typology and perceived relationship to a brand as well as their motivations and barriers, which can be utilised by slow fashion brands when considering implementation of VCC in NPD. Originality/Value: The study represents an unexplored area of VCC in NPD research expanding knowledge by investigating the interest of slow fashion consumers to engage in the NPD process and the brands' perspective regarding this.

Using sustainability claims as a sales pitch is starting to be the new norm, even though some products aren’t even close to being environmentally friendly. Marketers are exploiting the consumers lack of knowledge in sustainability as a way to convince them that their products are a good choice, especially in the fashion industry. This study aims to investigate how micro- enterprises in the fashion industry use their digital channels to market their values and products in the most trustworthy and transparent way possible, without getting accused of green washing. The research uses a qualitative research method, semi-structured interviews, in order to understand how ”slow fashion” companies use their digital channels to market their values and products in the most transparent and responsible way possible. The data collected from the interviews is later discussed and analysed together with existing research that’s previously been made in the sustainability marketing field. The results conclude that communicating sustainability in marketing should be done with caution. Even though marketing non environmentally friendly products as “green” or “sustainable” can increase sales, it could damage the company's reputation and decrease sales in the future. Previous studies have shown that the new generations are more likely to engage with and buy sustainable products and services. Social media is the place to reach these consumers, and the sustainability communication through these channels should be informative yet engaging in order to maximize the reach and trust from the consumers. / Att marknadsföra sina produkter och tjänster som hållbara börjar bli den nya normen, även om de flesta produkter inte överhuvudtaget är miljövänliga. Marknadsförare utnyttjar konsumenternas ovisshet kring hållbarhet som ett sätt att sälja in sina produkter som hållbara och miljövänliga, framför allt inom modeindustrin. Denna strategi kallas grönmålning. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur mikroföretagare inom modebranschen kan använda sig av sociala medier och andra digitala verktyg, för att kommunicera sitt hållbarhetsarbete på ett så trovärdigt och transparant sätt som möjligt, utan att bli anklagade för grönmålning. Studiens resultat baserar sig på en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre olika mikroföretag aktiva inom modebranschen. Studien visar på att hållbarhetskommunikation via digitala kanaler bör göras med försiktighet. Även om att marknadsföra sina ej miljövänliga produkter som hållbara kan öka försäljning, finns risken att företagets rykte samt försäljning kan påverkas negativt i framtiden. Sociala medier är stället där dessa grupper nås bäst. Hållbarhetskommunikationen som sker via dessa kanaler bör vara informativ samt engagerande, för att maximera räckvidden samt kundernas tillit. Användning av sociala medier som marknadsföringskanal är till stor fördel för mikroföretagare, det är både mer kostnadseffektivt och engagerande än traditionella marknadsföringskanaler. Tvåvägskommunikationen mellan kund och företag via sociala medier och andra digitala verktyg är viktig för mikroföretagare inom modebranschen, då det hjälper dem att skapa långvariga och trovärdiga kundrelationer med de som delar samma värderingar som företagen själva. Det räcker inte längre att kalla sig för ”hållbara”, det måste finnas någon form av bevis. Därför bör företag även utforska nya sätt att kommunicera sitt hållbarhetsarbete på, till exempel genom spårbarhetsverktyg.

Detta examensarbete är baserat på en designprocess som går ut på att influera kvinnliga klädkonsumenter i åldrarna 17-25 att göra mer hållbara val. Fast fashion är ett välkänt globalt problem i dagens samhälle och även om människor är medvetna om problemet, fortsätter vi att mätta marknaden. Varje individ har makten över sin egna garderob, däremot saknas det vägledning i hur man ska göra den mer hållbar. Genom att göra en designprocess som var inriktad på att jobba nära målgruppen har problemet undersökts. Arbetet utvecklades till ett koncept av en mobilapp som riktar sig till unga kvinnliga konsumenter och som genom nudging leder dem i en grönare och mer hållbar riktning, genom att de ser sitt köpbeteende och även får slow fashion tips.

I kontrast till fast fashion, som tampas med snabbt mode och massproduktion med korta ledtider har slow fashion-rörelsen kommit och anammats av flera aktörer på modescenen. Med hjälp av slow fashion vill man således inspirera till en hållbar och tidlös garderob som är genomtänkt och står stark mot modevärldens snabba svängar och därpå, bidra till att konsumtionen inte ökar i kvantitet utan i kvalitet. Problemet i hållbar konsumtion är att konsumenter ofta väljer att inte handla utifrån ett hållbart perspektiv trots att deras intention säger det. Forskning visar att det uppstår ett gap mellan vad konsumenter tänker göra och vad de faktiskt gör, ett attityds-beteende-gap. Studiens syfte är att fastställa egenskaper och undersöka kundbeteenden i samband med att handla slow fashion. Samtida forskning har presenterat gapet och dess existens, i vår studie vill vi bygga vidare på tidigare forskning och ta in teorin till slow fashion och kundbeteendet bakom ett sådant köp. Vad får en konsument att välja slow fashion produkter och vad profilerar en slow fashion konsument? För att förstå och tolka det empiriska materialet utformades en teoretisk referensram kring tre olika teorier, Attityd-beteende-gapet, Consumer culture theory och teorin kring behovsidentifikation. Studiens resultat visar att faktorer såsom identifikation, pris, tidlöshet och hög produktkvalitet påverkar konsumenten till att handla slow fashion-produkter. Vidare presenteras hur dessa faktorer prioriteras och planeras i köpprocessen. Planeringen är genomgående hos studiens alla respondenter och insikten diskuteras djupare. Slow fashion konsumeras således med ett stort engagemang och en hög pris-acceptans. / In contrast to fast fashion, which is tussled with mass production and with short lead times, the slow fashion movement has arrived and been adopted by several actors on the fashion scene. Slow fashion wants to inspire with a sustainable and timeless wardrobe that is well thought out and stands strong against the fashion world's quick turns and then, contribute so the consumption is not increasing in quantity but in quality. The problem in sustainable consumption is that consumers often choose not to act on the basis of a sustainable perspective even though their intention says it. Research show that there is a gap between what consumers intend to do and what they actually do, so called attitude-behavior gap. The aim of this study is to determine characteristics and examine customer behavior in connection with shopping slow fashion. Contemporary research has provided support for the gap and its existence, in our study we want to develop that result into further analysis. We want to investigate the theory about the attitude-behavior gap in contrast to slow fashion and its customer behavior and the reasons behind a purchase.Why does a consumer choose to buy slow fashion products and what is the profile of a slow fashion consumer? To understand and interpret the empirical material from this study, a theoretical framework was designed around three different theories, the Attitude-behavior gap, the Consumer culture theory and the theory of needs identification.The result of this study shows that reasons such as identification, price, timelessness and high product quality affect the consumer to buy slow fashion products. Further, it shows how these reasons will get prioritized and planned in a consumer journey within the buying process. The planning itself is through all stages by every respondent and the insights will be discussed further. Slow fashion are therefore consumed with engagement and a strong price acceptance. The study will continue in Swedish

Background: The globalisation of the fashion industry has allowed competition to increase and speed up the production. This has influenced supply chains to give up on ethical factors in order to push sales of cheap, Fast Fashion. The concept of Slow Fashion developed to challenge the unsustainable business models of fast fashion, implementing conscious production. However, it is hard to compete with cheap price and rapid production and therefore the promotion plays a crucial role in the survival of Slow Fashion companies. Even though green marketing and demarketing have been investigated as promotional strategies, no research has been dedicated towards promotion strategies that benefit Slow Fashion business models through keeping the company values.   Purpose: This paper seeks to identify how it is possible to promote the Slow Fashion business model to motivate the customer to choose Slow Fashion.   Method: In order to fulfil the purpose and answer the research question, a qualitative study was implemented through semi-structured, in depth interviews of which the results were compared and analysed with existing research and theories. The interviewees were all selected from their expertise regarding the subject. Participating companies were selected through convenience sampling and the experts participating through snowball sampling   Conclusion: The results shows that providing the consumer with transparency, information and anti-consumption would be a successful way to promote Slow Fashion businesses in order to stay competitive. However, it is uncertain if using one of these strategies leads to a competitive advantage. One has to keep the same message through all elements of the promotion in order to stay true. The proposed promotion strategy ought to be involving the consumer through communities and repair shops and going together as a movement of the whole industry.

The fashion system has increasingly been imbued by ecology and sustainability. While in the recent years a lot on approaches to more sustainable consumption behaviour from the con- sumers’ side have been suggested, this study focuses on the very practice of how sustainabil- ity - in an applied matter - is realised within a fashion company. In this dissertation, two Swe- dish fashion brands, Nudie Jeans co and Filippa K, are being investigated and analysed due to their brand philosophies and concepts dealing with sustainability. If Nudie Jeans co’s first all- organic denim collection launched in Autumn 2012 or Filippa K’s emphasis to the longevity of clothing by classic shapes and plain colours; both ideas foster a slow fashion movement. One of this thesis’ implications is the fact, that the term sustainability is much more far- reaching and expansive as commonly defined. Also timelessness and tradition could be sus- tainable, if still taking care of environment and society. Finally, concepts of sustainability which are commonly not highlighted shall be identified and fill the yet existing gap.

Background: Kate Fletcher coined the concept of Slow Fashion in 2007, as a reaction to the throwaway society, called Fast Fashion. Fast Fashion is all about companies who choose to work in a quick and cheap way, while Slow Fashion is all about designing, producing and living in a better way for the environment and social sustainability. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore if, and in that case how, fashion firms can combine encouragement to Slow Fashion by their marketing and at the same time be able to increase sales in their business, or if it is even possible to combine. Theories: The PESTLE-model by Baines (2011), Sustainability model by Söderqvist et al. (2014), Seven forms of sustainable fashion by Green Strategy (2014), Slow Fashion Process by Pookulangara & Shepard (2013) and Marketing Mix by Baines (2011). Method: A qualitative method has been applied to the study, where four semi-structured interviews from selected Slow Fashion firms have been made, also homepage inspections and facts about the firms has been collected as secondary data. Conclusion: The conclusion of the study is that it is possible for fashion firms to combine encouragement to Slow Fashion and at the same time be able to increase their sales. This is possible through widening their range of products or stealing costumers from the Fast Fashion industry. / Bakgrund: Begreppet Slow Fashion myntades av Kate Fletcher år 2007 och är en reaktion på det snabba modet som idag produceras, som kallas Fast Fashion. Fast Fashion handlar om att företag väljer att arbeta på ett snabbt och billigt sätt medan Slow Fashion istället handlar om att designa, producera och leva på ett bättre sätt för att främja miljömässig och social hållbarhet. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om och i så fall hur modeföretag kan förena uppmaningar till Slow Fashion via deras marknadsföring och samtidigt kunna öka sin försäljning, eller om det ens är möjligt att förena. Teorier: PESTLE-modellen av Baines (2011), Hållbar utvecklingsmodell av Söderqvist et al. (2014), Seven forms of sustainable fashion av Green Strategy (2014), Slow Fashion Process av Pookulangara & Shepard (2013) och Marketing Mix av Baines (2011). Metod: Till studien har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats, där primärdata är i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer från fyra valda Slow Fashionföretag samt sekundärdata i form av hemsidegranskning samt material om företagen.        Slutsats: Studiens slutsats är att det är möjligt för modeföretag att förena en uppmaning till Slow Fashion samtidigt som de vill öka sin försäljning. Detta är möjligt genom att bredda sitt sortiment eller genom att stjäla kunder från Fast Fashionföretag samt öka sin kundkrets.

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