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Fashion Theory, Volume 16, Issue 3, pp. 273–296
DOI: 10.2752/175174112X13340749707123
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The phrase “fast fashion” refers to low-cost clothing collections that
mimic current luxury fashion trends. Fast fashion helps sate deeply
held desires among young consumers in the industrialized world for
luxury fashion, even as it embodies unsustainability. Trends run their
course with lightning speed, with todays latest styles swiftly trumping
yesterdays, which have already been consigned to the trash bin. This
article addresses the inherent dissonance among fast fashion consum-ers, who often share a concern for environmental issues even as they
indulge in consumer patterns antithetical to ecological best practices.
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!eemingly adept at compartmentalism, and free of conflicted guilt, such
consumers see no contradiction in their "anus-faced desires. #an luxury
fashion, with ostensibly an emphasis on authenticity, and itsconcom
-itant respect for artisans and the environment, foster values of both
$uality and sustainability% !ince individual identity continually evolves,
and re$uires a materially referential re-imagining of self to do so, we
hypothesize that actual rather than faux luxury brands can, ironically ,
unite the ideals of fashion with those of environmental sustainability.
&'()*+! luxury brands, fast fashion, sustainability, $uality and
consumer behavior
Inr o$u%ion
Over the past decade, sustainability and ethical conduct have begun
to matter in fashion (Emberley 1998; Moisander and Personen !!";
companies have reali#ed that affordable and trend$sensitive fashion,
%hile typically highly profitable, also raises ethical issues (&spers and
'ov !!)"* +o% do todays young consumers, so conscious of green
values, balance their continual need for ever$ne%er fashion %ith their
presumed commitment to environmental sustainability- .n our research,
%e as ho% such consumers perceive fast fashion versus its lu/ury coun$terpart, %hat sustainability actually means to them, and, based on our
findings, ho% the fashion industry can address sustainability*
us!in!#ili&: >(e o%i!l onr!%
'ustainability0of necessity a primary issue of the t%enty$first centur y0
is often paired %ith corporate social responsibility (&guilera et al *
!!", informed purchasing decisions, and an emerging green or ienta$
tion at some companies (2ansal and 3oth !!!"* 4'ustaina bility5 hasmany definitions, %ith the three most common being an activity that can
be continued indefinitely %ithout causing harm; doing unto others as
you %ould have them do unto you; and meeting a current gener ation,s
needs %ithout compromising those of future generations (6letcher !!8;
Partridge !11; 3eport of the 7orld ommission on Environment and
evelopment 198"* 'eidman (!!: 8" notes, 4'ustaina bility is a bout
much more than our relationship %ith the environment; it,s about our
relationship %ith ourselves, our communities, and our institutions*5
'ustainability involves comple/ and changing environmental dy$
namics that affect human livelihoods and %ell$being, %ith intersect$ing ecological, economic, and sociopolitical dimensions, both globally
and locally* <angen%ater (!!9: 11" lists some essential principles of a
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sustainable policy for companies: 43espect for people (at all levels of
the organi#ation", the community, and its supply chain; respect for the
planet, recogni#ing that resources are finite; and generating profits thatarise from adhering to these principles*5 Organi#ations are embedded
in society, and reflect the value they offer society, %hich raises profound
issues* &s 2eard (!!8: ==8" states, 4>he difficulty (in the fashion in$
dustry" is to see ho% all the suppliers of the individual components can
be ethically secured and accounted for, together %ith the labour used to
manufacture the garment, its transport from factory to retail outlet, and
ultimately the garments aftercare and disposal*5 7ith a global reach,
the fashion industry supply chain is highly fragmented and inherently
comple/; as a result, fashion manufacturing is even less transparent
than agribusiness (Mihm !1!; Partridge !11"*
(& Is !s /!s(ion nsus!in!#le?
6ast fashion0lo%$cost clothing collections based on current, high$cost
lu/ury fashion trends0is, by its very nature, a fast$response system
that encourages disposability (6letcher !!8"* & formerly standard
turnaround time from cat%al to consumer of si/ months is no% com$
pressed to a matter of mere %ees by such companies as +?M and
@ara, %ith heightened profits to match (>oatli !!8"* 6ast fashion
companies thrive on fast cycles: rapid prototyping, small batches com$ bined %ith large variety, more efficient transportation and delivery, and
merchandise that is presented 4floor ready5 on hangers %ith price tags
already attached ('ov !!"*
>o eep customers coming bac, high street retailers r outinely
source ne% trends in the field, and purchase on a %eely basis to intr o$
duce ne% items and replenish stoc (>oatli and Ai#ilgun !!9"* >he
side effect of such continual and rapid turnover: a ne% form of seem$
ingly contradictory mass e/clusivity ('chran !!="* Moreover, lo%er
manufacturing and labor costs mean lo%er costs overall, %hich r esult
in lo%er prices, %hich, in turn, eBual higher volume* Even com paniessuch as @ara, %hich once manufactured all their goods in Europe, r e$
sulting in better Buality control, no% outsource at least 1C percent of
their manufacturing to hina and >urey* 'hipping time from
hina to Europe may tae three %ees, but it only taes five days
from >ur $ ey (>oatli !!8"* &dmittedly, fast fashion companies do
employ sta$ bles of in$house designers: more eye$catching designs lead
to tr endier , must$have fashions, %hich lure consumers into paying
full price no% rather than deferring gratification until the year$end
sales arrive* 7hen faced %ith tight delivery demands, fast fashion
companies %ill even use higher$cost local labor and e/pedited shippingmethods* .n due time, future financial returns %ill far out%eigh
current costs (achon and '%inney !11"*
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&vid consumers are no% primed to bro%se fast fashion stores every
three %ees or so in search of ne% styles (2arnes and <ea$Dreen%ood
!!)"* &ccording to a former >opshop brand director, 4Dirls see some$thing and %ant it immediately*5 >he fast fashion industry0in com$
mon %ith the technology industry, %hich similarly produces a constant
stream of ever$improved, ever more alluring, products0e/ists courtesy
of such impulsive behavior, employing the planned obsolescence prac$
tices recently identified by Duiltinan (!!9: !": limited functional life
design and options for repair, design aesthetics that eventually lead to
reduced satisfaction, design for transient fashion, and design for func$
tional enhancement that reBuires adding ne% product features* 6ashion,
more than any other industry in the %orld, embraces obsolescence as a
primary goal; fast fashion simply raises the staes (&brahamson !11"*
oung consumers desire for fast fashion is coupled %ith significant
disposable income (or, alternatively, the availability of credit"* 6ast
fashion e/ploits this segment, offering of$the$moment design and the
immediate gratification of continually evolving temporary identities0
a postmodern phenomenon (2auman !!"* 6ast fashion has been re$
ferred to as 4Mc6ashion,5 because of the speed %ith %hich gratification
is provided* >he frame%or is global, and the term 4Mc6ashion5 is, to
a degree, appropriate* &ccording to 3it#er (!11: 1", 4FMconaldi#a$
tion is a term that became fashionable in discussing changes in capital$
ist economies as they moved to%ard greater rationali#ation* >ypes of
production matter: manufacturing reliant on artisanal craft is a distinct
system, as are those of mass and more limited production*5 48raft5
denotes highly silled labor, using simple tools to mae uniBue items,
one item at a time, and accessible to only a select clientele* +ermes af $
fluent customers, for e/ample, might %ait for several years to acBuire
a particular bag (>ungate !!9"* 7ith fast fashion, ne% styles s%iftly
supersede the old, defining and sustaining constantly emerging desires
and notions of self* &s 2inley (!!8: )!" argues, the idea of 4multiple
selves in evolution5 is central to fast fashion lovers* 6ast fashion re$
places e/clusivity, glamour, originality, and lu/ury %ith 4massclusivity5
and planned spontaneity (>otali !!8"*Gnsurprisingly, fast fashion chains in Europe have gro%n f aster
than the retail fashion industry as a %hole (achon and '%inney
!11; Mihm !1!": lo% cost, fresh design, and Buic response times
allo% for greater efficiency in meeting consumer demand* 6ast f ash$
ion chains typically earn higher profit margins0on average, a si#ea ble
1) percent0than their traditional fashion retail counterparts, %ho
average only percent ('ull and >urconi !!8"* >heir success is in$
disputably significant* onsider the case of @ara, an e/emplar of f ast
fashion: the br and,s publicly held parent company, .ndite/,
oper ates,!! stores in more than si/ty countries, and is valued at G'H= bil$
lion, %ith annual sales of H8 billion (rofton and opico !!): =1"*
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>(e Rise o' -ni@onsumerism
'ome consumers, ho%ever, are disenchanted %ith mindless consump$tion and its impact on society (Ao#inets and +andleman !!="* >erms
that are often used to represent this anti$maret stance are: consumer
resistance, rebellion, boycotting, countercultural movements, and non$
consumption ('ha% and 3iach !11"* onsumers are also a%are that
individual consumption fosters organi#ational production, creating
an ongoing cycle of appetite, simultaneously voracious and insatiable*
2auman (!!!" calls it 4liBuid consumption*5 6luidity of identity and
uncertainty are the trademars of such a system, often leading to an
anti$consumerism position (2inley !!8"* &ccording to 2inley (!!8:
)!1", 47hile anti$consumerism defines a broad set of ethical and po$
litical positions and choices, it also operates on the every$day level of
mundane consumer choice, through critical discourses about the maret
itself, %here small decisions serve to anchor subIectivities in constructed
and heavily mediated narratives of lifestyle, self$hood, community, and
identity*5 &n/iety and responsibility can %eigh heavily on consumers*
.n the process of being catapulted to a postmodern lifestyle, 4identity5
as 2auman notes (!!: 11)J8", in liBuid modernity becomes 4an
endlessly cultivated and optimi#ed polyvalency of mobility, a silled
adaptability to a permanent state of ambivalence and unsettledness*5
'uch ambivalence allo%s individuals to continually reinvent themselves*
Multiple evolving selves, as %e argued earlier, are built on constantly
evolving fashion styles created by fast fashion* 2ut herein lies the para$
do/: the very possibility of reinvention can no% serve to disenchant the
consumer, as a means of revealing consumptions potential to harm oth$
ers and the environment; such information can no% realign consumers
%ith ecologically sustainable fashion (2eard !!8; Elsie !!C"*
Ae(o$olo*&: e!r%(in* 'or u#%ons%ious V!lues
.n our study, %e intervie%ed both male and female fast fashion consum$ers aged bet%een t%enty and thirty$five in +ong Aong and anada on
their o%n ideas of style and fashion, to highlight the issues involved in
their approach to consumption* +ong Aong is a long$time manufactur $
ing po%erhouse in the fashion industry, home to at least one centenary
company: <i ? 6ung, a self$described 4net%or orchestrator5 (Mihm
!1!: 9" founded in 19!), and no% the largest outsourcing firm in
the %orld, lining to 8C,!!! suppliers %orld%ide (6ung et al *, !!8"*
anada, by contrast, falls at the opposite end of the fashion industry
continuum, playing no maIor role* Gnsurprisingly, given its potent lure,
fast fashion has taen root %ithin +ong Aongs and anadas respectiveyouth cultures %ith eBual vitality*
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7e found that sustainability is not a term young consumers typically
associate %ith fashion, although they are very open to environmental$
ism* 'uch contradictory sensibilities need to be understood in order toalter perceptions and attitudes*
Karying levels of interest in fashion and brands not%ithstanding,
fashion is ey to many of the younger adults, (those under t%enty$eight
years old", in our study, %hich is %hy %e chose that specific demo$
graphic; as %ell as a slightly older group (aged bet%een t%enty$eight
and thirty$five", %hose fashion choices %ere more closely lined to their
professional lives* .n both anada and +ong Aong, students %ho %ere
invited to Ioin our study led us to other students, until %e reached theo$
retical saturation and redundancy* >able 1 lists participants by name,
country, age, and occupation*
>o gather and analy#e data, %e combined phenomenological inter $
vie%s %ith the @altman Metaphor Elicitation >echniBue (@ME>", a
method of accessing subliminal thoughts by probing the meta phor ic
sub$conte/t of images self$selected by research subIects* 7e initially
met %ith each participant individually, instructing them to select ten
images representing %hat fast fashion meant to them, at least thr ee
images representing sustainability, and five indicative of lu/ury* Par $
ticipants %ere encouraged to source their images from online sites,
print advertisements, photo albums, maga#ines, and the lie, and to
consider the implications of their respective choices* &t f ollo%$up
meetings, each participant offered a personal narrative describing %hythey chose specific images, and %hat meaning they attached to each
image* 7e also ased informants to sort their respective images into
three relevant categories of their o%n devising (e*g* industr y$r elated
activities, advertising, and lu/ury$defining locations such as Par isian
landmars"* Participants then described ho% any t%o of their catego$
ries %ere more similar to each other than to the third* 7e conducted
this triad tas to probe for deeper meanings and values associated
%ith choices*
>able provides a list of images that participants provided* 'piggle
(199=", as %ell as >hompson (199)", provide a detailed analysis of thisapproach, including categori#ation, abstraction of categories, com$
parison of instances %ithin data, and discernment of emergent themes*
Karious techniBues have been proposed to tap into the subconscious,
%here most decisions are made* +eisley and <evy (1991" describe the
importance of visual elicitation techniBues, as does @altman (199",
the developer of @ME>* &ccording to @altman (199" 9 percent of
%hat consumers thin and feel is never e/pressed verbally; mechanisms
that elicit responses are needed* Our par tici pants, respective r es ponses
to images of their choosing revealed subtle assumptions, desires, and
beliefs; their self$selected and self$interpreted images served their pur $ pose %ell*
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Table 1
<is o' p!ri%ip!ns.
ame #ountry /ge 'mployment
3o/anne anada ! 'tudent
<ynn +ong Aong C1 +omemaer
<inda +ong Aong 1 'tudent
3ita +ong Aong C +omemaer
ave anada C Merchandiser
7endy +ong Aong ! 'tudent
Lora anada C 'hop assistant
<ara anada 1 'tudent
2rendan anada C! 'ales cler
Eva +ong Aong C onsultant
<eticia +ong Aong CC Office %orer
&le/a +ong Aong C >eacher
atherine anada C Office %orer
3ita anada ! 'tudent
ynthia +ong Aong C <a%yer
athy +ong Aong CC Office %orer
'heena anada C! 'hop assistant
enny +ong Aong ! 'tudent
+enry anada 1 'tudent
avid anada ! 'tudent
&licia anada Drocery store %orer
>ania anada ! 'tudent
&ndre% +ong Aong ! 'tudent
Ellen +ong Aong C1 'ales assistant
oanne +ong Aong ! 'tudent
Melissa anada 'tudent
<inda +ong Aong 'tudent
Paula anada C! +omemaer
>om anada C! 6ashion store manager
ohn anada C! 'ales manager
>im +ong Aong C 6inancial officer
Eric +ong Aong C! 2an teller
>anya +ong Aong C! +omemaer
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Table 2
Im!*es.
6ast 6ood
6lash Dordon (fast fashion"
>rends$'tyle (cat%al"
Pop &rt (actress: &udrey +epburn"
Aaleidoscope
& +ouse on the <ae (%ater"
Plastic Korte/ in the Ocean
Eco$fashion
Mona <isa (face"
E/clusivity0Pate Philippe (%rist%atches"
haumet e%elry
Our overarching finding is that consumers from both +ong Aong
and anada, %hile concerned about the environmental and social im$
pact of their non$fashion purchasing decisions, did not apply such prin$
ciples to their consumption of fashion* >hey taled in general terms of
saving the environment, %ere committed to recycling, and e/pressed
dedication to organic food* .n the strict fashion conte/t, ethical fashion
refers to 4the positive impact of a designer, a consumer choice, a methodof production as e/perienced by %orers, consumers, animals, society,
and the environment5 (>homas !!8: "* et, these very same con$
sumers routinely availed themselves of trend$led fashionable clothing
that %as cheap: i*e* lo% cost to them, but high cost in environmental
and societal terms* >hey also e/hibited relatively little guilt about fast
fashions disposability, seeing little discrepancy bet%een their attitudes
to%ard sustainability and their fashion choices*
Our finding is unsurprising; other studies have similarly documented
irrational consumer choices that are poorly connected to, or completely
disconnected from, consumer values (Moisander and Personen 1991"*>he moral$norm activation theory of altruism proposed by 'ch%art#
(19C" states that environmental Buality is a collective good, and there$
fore %ill motivate consumers to embrace environmentalism in all aspects
of life* >he rapid rise of fast fashion implies other%ise* 'ch%art# theory
presumes that consumers %ill thoughtfully evaluate the life cycle of dif $
ferent products, and %ill then select %hichever product has the least
environmental load* +o%ever, in our study, participants had little over $
lap %ith the 4ethical hard liners5 (those living entirely in line %ith their
commitment to sustainability, and thus purchasing only eco$fashion"
discussed by Liinimai (!1!: 1" in her study of eco$fashion in 6in$land* 'olomon and 3abolt (!!=" argue that sustainability is simply not
an attribute that most consumers consider %hen purchasing clothing*
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Figure 1
I$eni& pl!& !n$ '!s'!s(ion.
>%o themes predominate in our analysis: 4speed and style at lo%
cost5 and 4disposability and limited durability*5 >hese options enable
consumers to constantly alter their identity* >he infographic in 6ig$ure 1 delineates these emergent themes* .n addition, three themes that
emerged from discussions of lu/ury in both locales are desireNdream,
historyNheritage, and eleganceNart* 7e focus belo% on only those themes
directly relevant to the issue of sustainability*
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>(e -$"en o' (e!p (i%
Often participants combined several themes in their descriptions* 'peed%as described as part of the fast fashion industry mode* Gpdated loos,
greater variety, and limited editions, along %ith the speed of their avail$
ability, mae this industry very attractive to many consumers0initially
a younger cro%d, but no% attracting older segments as %ell* 'ome
participants even taled of speed that resembled that of the fast food
industry, although they recogni#e the problems associated %ith creat$
ing goods for mass cultural consumption ('tillman !!C"* 3o/anne,
a anadian student, echoed the vie%s of the >opshop brand director
mentioned earlier: 4. %ant to see ne% things and styles that can help
me create and recreate my %ardrobe and %ho . am* 2ut . dont %ant
to loo lie someone else0so the limited edition satisfies this need to
be uniBue* 7hen . see it on the cat%als or in maga#ines, . %ant it
immediately*5 3o/annes desire is characteristic of ho% purchases are
made in stores lie @ara* &s one participant, 3ita, a anadian student,
mentioned, 4.f you do not buy the item that you lie right a%ay, you
%ill not be able to get it later*5 >he supply side of fast fashion ensures
scarcity, %hich in turn drives demand* <ynn, another participant from
+ong Aong, referenced fast food, noting:
'ince the speed %ith %hich***the display and collection changes
is fast, it fast fashion is similar to the fast food store* .n +ong
Aong, most of us go to fast food restaurants at least once a
%ee0the same is true of fast fashion* 7e lie ne% things and %e
dont have to %ait too long before %e o%n these items*
<inda, a +ong Aong student, noted: 46ast fashion (lie 6lash Dordon"
is moving at the speed of light, speeding up deliveries, and reinventing***
itself and***its designs as Buicly as possible*5 learly, time is of the
essence* &s ave, a thirty$five$year$old anadian merchandiser,
pointed out, 4Patience used to be a virtue* 2ut nobody lies to be ept
%aiting* Once consumers have seen the latest fashion sho%s, they %antto o%n the high$fashion item &'&P*5
>he possibilities of endlessly defining the self are envisaged* 7endy,
a +ong Aong student, said: 4ust recently . purchased a coctail dr ess
for my f r iend,s %edding party* . sa% a similar dress at Marc acobs0 a
velvet beaded dress0but . bought this one at @ara for a fraction of
the price* .t may not be premium Buality, but it is a trendy piece and
very affordableQ5 >he choice of that item %as more than satisf actor y,
so %hy spend more- 'ince the dress %as available at @ara, it suggested
style* Lora, a anadian shop floor assistant, commented: 4>he tr endy
items allo% me to update my %ardrobe more regularly than before* .f the style is going to be dead in a year, %hy should . buy a piece that
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%ill last longer- .n a nutshell, it is affordable pricing and acce pta ble
Buality*5 <ara, a anadian student, noted: 4.t is cheap chic0it is a
trend %orth buying into* . visit @ara and +?M t%ice a month and if . see something, . buy it*5
>he fact that all our participants %ere students or recent, employed
graduates, and that all %ere under thirty$five years of age, inevitably
se%ed the responses* +o%ever, it is this demographic that is conscious
of the cat%als, slavishly follo%s trends, and is perennially in pursuit
of specific pieces that are both uniBue and stylish* >hey are also prag$
matic* 7hy spend money on something that %ill last, at most, several
seasons- .nstead, acBuire a number of items that are cheaper and offer
a %ide variety*
>he fashions themselves are seen as ne% and lively* 2rendan, a thirty$
year$old anadian salesperson, reported:
.n$house designers in these stores offer an eminently affordable
tae on the seasons trends from the cat%al* >hey bundle differ $
ent values together in the goods* One is freshness, ne/t novelty,
and then trendiness* >he pleasure from shopping for these goods
it seems is endless* >here is something ne% and cute each time
they %al into a store lie @ara*
>o$!&Cs >re!sures, >omorroCs>r!s(
isposability plays a ey role, along %ith speed and style, in fast fash$
ion* Edith, a thirty$five$year$old +ong Aong consultant, said:
>hese companies referring to +?MP use designers lie 'tella
Mcartney and Aarl <agerfeld to create limited, one$time col$
lections, %hich generally sell out %ithin days* 'o they are very
creative %hen it comes to strategyQ &ffordable prices mean that
consumers are buying more clothes more freBuently* 2ut it alsomeans theyre truly disposable* ou may eep an item after ten
%ashes, but the item may lose its lustre by then, or it may have
gone out of fashion*
>he reference to ten %ashes is derived from fast fashion compa$
nies themselves, %ho openly proffer the number as a benchmar, after
%hich an item %ill no longer be e/pected to retain its original value,
due to poor$Buality materials and manufacturing* >he companies pay
no price for such revelations, nor do most customers e/perience regret
in tossing out clothes based on this principle* <eticia, a +ong Aong of $fice %orer, did, ho%ever, have guilt pangs: 4. fill up big garbage bags
of things and then thro% them a%ay* .t is a lot of %asted goods0some
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2B4 -nn!mm! o&, o(n . 0(err&, r, -ll!$i Ven1!es(, e'' !n* !n$ Ri%1& (!n
of %hich . may not even have %orn more than once* . do feel guilty, but
. have a small apartment and . cannot eep them*5 'he rationali#es her
actions on the basis of limited space, but sho%s no attempt to reducingher shopping sprees* &le/a, a +ong Aong teacher, too specific steps to
assuage her guilt: 4. give all my clothes to my maid***she is al%ays in
fashion after .ve had my fill %ith these clothes* 2ut at least . dont feel
guilty* .t is recyclingQ5 +ong Aong has a recent history of bringing in
domestic %orers from the Philippines, and, unsurprisingly, they have
a reputation for dressing %ell (onstable !!"* atherine, a anadian
office %orer, noted, assessing an image she chose of escalators:
>oronto artist Michel &%ad captures urban movement in his pan$
oramic photographs* >his picture captures images of escalators at
one of anadas busiest shopping centers on one of the cra#iest
shopping days02o/ing ay* <ots of people are conveyed in and
out of the same place every hour, every minute, and even every
second* >his is e/actly lie the fashion industry; varieties of style
are put on and off the shelves at the same time*
ynthia, a +ong Aong la%yer %ho had selected an image of a aleido$
scope among her choices, pointed out:
Pop &rt favoured figural imagery and the reproduction of e/$
isting and everyday obIects* >his movement eliminated dis$tinctions bet%een good and bad taste, and bet%een fine and
commercial art techniBues* On the other hand, a aleidoscope
is a tube of mirrors* Once the tube is rotated, the tumbling of
the coloured obIects presents the vie%er %ith varying colour s
and patterns* >he main feature of both Pop &rt and the aleido$
scope is the alteration of an e/isting obIect to a small e/tent 0in
the form of a silhouette, color, pattern, and so on* .t is similar
to the design process in the fast fashion business* >hat is %hy
it is dis posa ble*
Of the thirty participants in both locales, only si/ taled overtly about
the societal do%nside of fast fashion* athy, an office %orer in +ong
Aong, suggested: 4.t maes producers violate guidelines on the treat$
ment of %orers, and brea the la%s on overtime* Even if the factory
o%ner is a good man and %illing to pay %orers legally, he cannot
control the %oring hours*5 enny, a young +ong Aong fashion student
%ho is appalled at the %aste and unsustainable practices, described ho%
she reuses her clothes: 4. tae bits and pieces from my old clothes that
do not fit anymore or are not in style and se% them together* .t %ill
become a ne% piece of clothing that is in style and . can %ear it for another year *5
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/!s /!s(ion, 0us!in!#ili&, !n$ (e ;(i%!l -ppe!l o' <u=ur& r!n$s 2B5
n$ers!n$in* us!in!#ili&: Is ;%o@'!s(ion !
Vi!#le Opion?
3esponses to %hat sustainability meant to individuals %ere robust, %ith
details of ho% personal acts of consumption led to sustainability* +enry,
a anadian student, said, 4'ustainability means to live a life %here you
are not taing any more from the earth than %hat you are giving bac*
ou are trying to minimi#e the environmental footprint that you leave
behind*5 .t is important to him; he notes that he does not buy boos
anymore, but is involved in e$learning* +e believes in not turning on
the %ashing machine unless there is a full load, and even hang$dries
his clothes* et, he e/periences no guilt in buying clothes designed to
have no long$term value* avid, a young anadian student, observed:
4'ustainability is the level at %hich humans are able to live and co$e/ist
indefinitely %ith the natural %orld %ithout harming or causing damage
to either side*5 6or him, partnership %ith nature is a mechanism by
%hich he is reminded to act in sustainable %ays* +e recycles bottles for
money, conserves electricity, and uses %ater very carefully* et, he
too shops for fast fashion items regularly* &licia, %ho %ors in a
grocery store in anada, taled about ho% important it %as to be
vegetarian, given large$scale agribusiness detrimental impact on the
environment* 2ut &licia %as oblivious of the lins bet%een
environmental issues and her obsession %ith fast fashion*
'ome of the images that participants used to illustrate sustaina bility
suggest that they tae it Buite seriously* avid provided a picture of a
plastic vorte/ in the ocean that he noted 4includes all inds of plastic
litter, including rocs that %e used last year* 7e are destroying our
oceans*5 >ania, a anadian student, chose an image of a big, br and$
ne% house to demonstrate ho% easy it is to fall victim 4***to the f alse
Lorth &merican reality that possessing material things eBuals ha ppi$
ness* >he purpose of life is not to buy, but to live and feel*5 Melissa, a
anadian student, said, 42y recycling, . am helping to save trees and
allo% more clean o/ygen to be produced***. attempt to consider sustain$
able values in all area of my life, including at home, at school, and at%or*5 oanne, a +ong Aong student, summari#ed it %ell: 4. am ha ppy
to do my bit for the planet and recycle, etc* 2ut fashion***this is another
thing* Maybe if designers used eco$labelled materials and designs, the
change %ill happen* 2ut at this point the eco$fashion . have seen is not
fashion0they are Iust plain dull and for older people per ha ps*5
7hen participants %ere ased if they %ould buy eco$fashion, the
Buic response %as only if the clothes %ere stylish* Gsually the choices
available to them %ere only >$shirts* Even %hen other items %ere avail$
able, as in offerings by companies, such as &merican &pparel, that use
organic cotton, participants sa% the clothing as frumpy* &s <inda, a stu$dent from +ong Aong, said, 4. %ould never buy these clothes, because
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they are Iust as boring as those from Dap* .t is so out of sync %ith %hat
is happening no% on the cat%als*5 7hen %e probed further, Paula, a
anadian participant, said, 4ou need to get the designers %eighing inon this issue and using organic cotton and the proper dyes and so on*
.f Marc acobs did it, %e %ould all be buying these clothes*5 hange
is possible, but it has to come from the fashion domain* &esthetics is
crucial to the appeal of eco$f ashion*
&s noted above, participants cared greatly about sustainability, but
only as it related to food, recycling, and, in some cases, cosmetics (no%
available containing organic ingredients"* .f consumers recogni#e the de$
mands that fast fashion maes on the environment, they seem to bloc
it from their consciousness (oergens !!)"* &esthetics trump ethics, at
least for the time being* Liinimai (!1!" notes that, %hile ethical hard
liners are increasing in number, that number is still lo%*
Moreover, Liinimae argues, cost is far from the sole barrier to em$
bracing eco$fashion: style, Buality, color, compatibility %ith ones cur $
rent %ardrobe, and an ongoing desire for ne% clothes0%hich means
valuing volume over ethical considerations0affect consumer purchase
decisions as %ell*
<u=ur& /!s(ion: Dre!ms !n$ Desir es
7hen %e ased participants about lu/ury fashion, the three main
themes that emerged %ere dreams, e/clusivity, and beautyNart* 6ast
fashion allo%s dreams of lu/ury to come true* 'tyle is achievable even
if Buality is compromised; if an article of clothing is not really 4beauti$
ful5 and 4elegant5 as is the genuine item, consumers can nonetheless
afford the fast fashion option* 6or our participants, the idea of o%ning
e/clusive, uniBue items from a lu/ury brand is both an aspirational
dream and a desire; yet, even as aspirations motivate them to pursue
their dreams, pragmatism prevails* &s >om, a thirty$something ana$
dian fashion store manager, said: 4Polo is not only a traditional game
played by the upper classes (e*g* Prince harles", it also refers to thesocial and emotional attitude of people to%ards e/clusive and lu/ury
products* >his is a dream that . cherish***but it is not %ithin my reach
currently* . hope my dreams %ill come true one day*5 >he notion of
e/clusivity, accessible to only a select fe%, is also evident* ohn, a ana$
dian sales manager, noted: 4. chose a picture of a %oman taing a bath
in om Perignon champagne***a symbol of the lifestyle of an e/tremely
rich social class***. dont care about the money so much as the freedom
to do %hat you %ant and %hen you desire it*5 .mplicit in the conception
of e/clusivity is that of a signifier of status* >im, a +ong Aong financial
officer, chose a picture of a Pate Philippe %atch* +e stated: 4People in+ong Aong %ant to o%n at least one %atch lie this in their lifetime* .
also %ant to o%n one of these, %hich helps increase my status as a man,
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/!s /!s(ion, 0us!in!#ili&, !n$ (e ;(i%!l -ppe!l o' <u=ur& r!n$s 2B7
and sho%s to my close male friends that . am also able to buy lu/ury
products*5 Pate Philippe, unlie 3ole/, is not %orn by a large number
of people in +ong Aong* .t is a dream product, %hile 3ole/ is seen asreadily accessible* .t taes no%ledge to select a Pate Philippe %atch;
this participant aspires to a loo that is very cultivated*
8eri!*e !n$ u!li&
7hile the dream Buality is essential to a lu/ury product, in some in$
stances, a long history and heritage further intensify a brands strength*
<ouis Kuitton, for instance, prides itself on having provided royalty
%ith luggage* Ruality is assured in all aspects of its business (or so is
the claim", since <ouis Kuitton Moet +ennessy has designed e/clusive
obIects for the nobility* 7hile Pate Philippe may not have served the
nobility, it does have a rich tradition of creating e/clusive and e/traordi$
narily %ell$crafted dream products* reating such products taes time,
%hich in turn limits availability; highly trained artisans %or %ith care$
fully chosen, e/clusive materials that are not produced en masse*
>he dreamlie Buality of lu/ury products has its origin in elaborate
craft ateliers %here generations of artisans have created one$of$a$ind
products* athy, a student participant from +ong Aong %ho selected an
image of haumet gold earrings among her choices, observed: 4hau$
met has served royalty since the early eighteenth century* Each piece is placed in a frame lie a piece of fine art, and can be seen through the
shop %indo%* .t sho%s they the earrings are uniBue, special, and have
a rich history* Only people %ho are in the no% %ill use such fine and
e/clusive products*5
+eritage and Buality appeal because they do not conIure up pollu$
tion, d%indling natural resources, and global %arming0most of %hich
are associated %ith the oil and transportation industries* >here is little
e/ploitation of labor, since most ateliers are attached to big fashion
houses located in maIor fashion cities, such as Paris and Milan, al$
though outsourcing to countries such as hina and .ndia is raising thespecter of s%eatshop operations*
e!u& !n$ -r
>he final theme of beauty, elegance, and art is important as %ell* >anya,
a +ong Aong participant, commented: 4Pearls give us a sense of lu/ury
because they are elegant, bright, luminous, e/pensive, and gloriously
beautiful* +igh fashion brands***mae us loo elegant*5 atherine (the
anadian participant referenced earlier", lined lu/ury brands to artand said: 4. chose the picture of the Mona <isa to represent the artistic
Buality of haute couture* . associate it %ith the personali#ation of the
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2BB -nn!mm! o&, o(n . 0(err&, r, -ll!$i Ven1!es(, e'' !n* !n$ Ri%1& (!n
artistNdesigner* 'ome people refer to haute couture as moving art*5 .t is
clear from the observations of the participants that they dream of e/$
clusivity, beauty, art, design, and heritage0all of %hich are associated%ith lu/ury brands* et, this ideal seems distant* >hey love the glamour
and style, but lament the e/pense* >hey see that the ne/t best alterna$
tive is to buy fast fashion items* >hese items appro/imate the loo,
but at a fraction of the cost* onsumers compromise on Buality, the
factor central to undermining sustainability* .f the items used featured
high$Buality material and stitching, they %ould not fall apart after ten
%ashes* et fast fashion companies highlight a limited product life span
as a special attribute* onsumers are trained to continuously purchase
and consume fast fashion replacements* urability in fast fashion ap$
parel is the iss of death*
on%lu$in* Rem!rs !n$ Impli%!ions
.n this article, %e have e/plored the perceptions that consumers in both
+ong Aong and anada have of sustainability, fast fashion, and lu/ury
fashion, and have sho%n that sustainable fashion is not a priority for
them* >he bul of the data suggest that young people separate fashion
from sustainability* >hey definitely support the idea of sustainability,
but do not apply such ethics %hen it comes to sustainable fashion* >heir
moral imagination (7erhane 1998" seems Buite impoverished in this
category* >his state of moral stasis may gradually change* &s arrigan
and &ttala (!!1: " note, 4Perhaps in time ne% generations of con$
sumers %ill not only thin more ethically, but also act more ethically*5
2onini and Oppenheim (!!8: )" argue that, around the %orld,
there is a great deal of concern about environmental issues, but, 4%hen
it comes to actually buying green goods, %ords and deeds often part
%ays*5 >he apathy to%ard eco$fashion can be partly e/plained by the
fact that, %hile clothing is central to the body and the definition of
identity, it has not been related to health concerns (Petit !!"* More$
over, the term 4eco$fashion5 conIures up the hippie and environmentalmovements of the 19)!s and 19!s, during %hich ecologically sensitive
fashion often meant shapeless recycled clothing (7elters !!8"* 7inge
(!!8: !" goes one step further, distinguishing bet%een eco$dress and
eco$fashion* Eco$dress is %hat she associates %ith the hippie movement,
%hereas eco$fashion currently represents lu/ury and cultivated taste*
.n Europe, eco$fashion has become prominent; some of the producers
are smaller companies maing clothing and accessories from organic
cotton sourced through fair trade practices* Our participants felt that
these clothes %ere drab and boring* 7hile organic cotton >$shirts
may be cool to %ear to class or %hen hanging out on %eeends, onlystylish clothes %ith panache %ould do for other social occasions* Eco$
fashion did not meet these needs* Perhaps it may do so in the future, as
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/!s /!s(ion, 0us!in!#ili&, !n$ (e ;(i%!l -ppe!l o' <u=ur& r!n$s 2B9
consumer attitudes evolve, much as, to a degree, they have done %ith
food* 7itness the ever$broadening acceptance accorded the artisanal
slo% food movement*>ellingly, 6letcher (!!8" prefers to use the term 4slo% fashion5
rather than eco$fashion, arguing that 4slo%5 in this conte/t refers not
to time (as opposed to the 4fast5 in fast fashion, %hich most assuredly
does refer to time", but rather to a philosophy of attentiveness* &s in the
slo% food movement, that philosophy is mindful of its various stae$
holders respective needs (%ith 4staeholders5 referring to designers,
buyers, retailers, and consumers", and of the impact producing fashion
has on %orers, consumers, and eco$systems*
&ccording to 2onini and Oppenheim (!!8: )" there are five barri$
ers to being green: 4<ac of a%areness, negative perceptions, distrust,
high prices, and lo% availability*5 >rust %as not an issue for our par $
ticipants, but style %as* Prices and availability did not emerge as maIor
barriers in our discussions*
<hough a shift in po%er from corporations to staeholders has oc$
curred, accelerated by e$commerce and online activism ('caturro !!8",
our participants in both +ong Aong and anada seemed oblivious to
this shift* 7hile they do tae their brands seriously (as in fast fashion
and lu/ury", sustainable fashion brands are simply not on their radar0
or, at least, not yet* Even though Lie made the ne%s for running s%eat$
shop operations, our participants in +ong Aong and anada did not
boycott the companys products* .n any event, Lie has since made
dramatic changes to its operations, pushing its %ay to the forefront of
sustainable fashion (3amas%amy !!8"*
>(e )oer o' Dissu!sion: )romoin* us!in!#ili& "i!
-ris!ns(ip -ppr e%i!ion
<u/ury brands are often tarred %ith the same brush as fast fashion
and other types of disposable fashion (Aapferer and 2astien !!9"*
+o%ever, because of their long$standing concern for Buality andcraft, lu/ury brands could effectively counteract some of the problems
endemic to fast fashion and provide leadership on issues relating to
sustainability* 'ome consumer researchers may refer to this as 4ethi$
cal mainstreaming50a process %hereby consumers are %illing to pay
a premium for such products (>hompson and osuner$2alli !!:
1C"* &ccording to these authors, this is another guise for bourgeois
consumerism0rather than Buestion the system, such practices may %ell
be supporting the very system it purports to critiBue* 7e, on the other
hand, suggest that a lu/ury brand company can be both 4green5 and
4gold*5 2lendell and Aleanthous (!!" provide provocative insightinto the meaning of 4deeper lu/ury5 to the consumer and producer*
.ncreasingly, they argue, the pursuit of lu/ury is lined to the brands
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290 -nn!mm! o&, o(n . 0(err&, r, -ll!$i Ven1!es(, e'' !n* !n$ Ri%1& (!n
stance on important social issues, such as saving the planet* 7hether
mareters can effectively reposition costly lu/ury brands to play au$
thentically in a more holistic ecology of value (&dolphson !!=" is a pressing Buestion* learly, presenting lu/ury brands as fulfilling an eco$
logical need is controversial, in a %orld %here lu/ury is accessible pri$
marily to only the fortunate*
'ustainable fashion, in common %ith its lu/ury counterpart, em bod$
ies living harmoniously %ith nature, employing trained artisans in safe
and humane %oring conditions (Partridge !11"* 2ut if sustaina ble
fashion items are neither meeting consumer desires, nor being offered at
affordable prices, %ho %ill buy them- &ccording to Kan Les and r a$
mer (!!", %hen ased %hat they %anted from future eco$fashion, con$
sumers listed their primary reBuirements as durability, Buality, and style*
Lot coincidentally, durability, Buality, and style are e/periences
that materially interpenetrate lu/ury brands, along %ith a sense of
personal achievement* >he sustainable consumption challenge for such
brands is their need to embody artisanship, emphasi#ing authenticity,
and both environmental and societal respect* 'ince lu/ury brands
create desire through innovative design, and influence consumption
processes, they can become leaders in sustainability* >he methods by
%hich products are manufactured, purchased, used, and disposed of
affect the environment in many %ays* >he call to ecologically
sustainable fashion is appropri$ ate at a time %hen, clearly, people
consume more natural resources and produce more pollution than the planet can sustain* 2usinesses must begin to operate %ithin the
ecological carrying capacity of the planet*
Many lu/ury brands are already maing ecologically sustainable
fashion clothing and accessories, such as 'tella Mcartney, 6erragamo,
and Kivienne 7est%ood, among others* 7est%ood acno%ledges that
she is very concerned %ith climate change and that she tries to do some$
thing about it* 'he notes: 4>here is a real connection bet%een culture
and climate change* 7e all have a part to play and if you engage %ith
life, you %ill get a ne% set of values* Det off the consumer treadmill and
start to thin and it is these great thiners %ho %ill rescue the planet5(Ecouterre !1"* 'imilarly, 'tella Mcartney says:
Eco$friendly fashion is something .ve al%ays felt strongly about*
ou have to create demand so the customer base %ill gro%* 7eve
been doing organic for years in my o%n collection, in my linge$
rie and %ith the &didas collaboration* 7e touch on it across the
board* . thin its a bit more sincere to do that* .ts part and
parcel for us as a brand* (L2 Le% or !11"
7hile fast fashion companies can emulate lu/ury products, they may beless able to match deeper elements of value, such as high ethical stan$
dards in sourcing, efficient use of material, lo%$impact manufacturing,
assembly, and distribution; and the availability of repair and upgrade
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/!s /!s(ion, 0us!in!#ili&, !n$ (e ;(i%!l -ppe!l o' <u=ur& r!n$s 291
services* &ll these values represent an opportunity for lu/ury brands
to Iustify their share of purchases by affluent customers (2lendell and
Aleanthous !!", even as they address conventional criticisms, such asthe role of precious stones in financing conflicts, the impact of mining
operations on land (e*g* gold mining", %orers rights in companies and
supply chains, responsible mareting, and the trade in %ildlife$derived
products (>ungate !!9"* <u/ury brands need to also seriously consider
%hat Partridge (!11: '1!" calls 4supply chain democracy50that is
political, social and economic accountability*
.n some areas of the economy, consumers have demanded more in$
formation about product sourcing and manufacturing, including, to a
degree, in the fashion industry, %ith Lie dra%ing the %rath of pro$
testers around the %orld (if not, as referenced above, from our partici$
pants"* 6ast fashion companies such as >opshop and Dap (Mcougall
!!", have also come under relatively recent scrutiny concerning their
compromised manufacturing ethics* onsumers are demanding more
information about sourcing and manufacturing, %hich can be a point
of differentiation by companies* 'uch changes in the maretplace sug$
gest that there is a greater need to understand the relationship bet%een
ethical marets and mainstream consumer marets* &s 'ha% and 3iach
(!11: 1!9" note, 4it is through individual and collective struggle that
continually sets the parameters and maes meaning over %hat is consti$
tuted as Fethical %ithin the dominant maret*5
lar (!!9: =8" raises the issue of ho% the idea of 4slo% fash$
ion5 could be nurtured, by de$emphasi#ing %hat is seen and heard (i*e*
fashion 4bu##5", to one that values actual, tactile e/perience* +o% that
approach can be transferred to fashion remains to be seen* +o%ever, the
promise is evident, provided the focus is shifted from fashion as image,
to the materiality of fashion*
7hile dreams and desires feed consumer behavior, they must be con$
strained if sustainability is to be viable* oung consumers %ill need to
em$ brace a significant shift in consumerism: no longer routinely
pur chasing on impulse, and no longer routinely vie%ing their
acBuisitions thr ough the lens of short$term thining* .n fact, sustainablefashion should become their dream, and all staeholders in the fashion
industry should strive to$ %ard this goal, %ith lu/ury fashion playing a
maIor role in the tr ansition*
&esthetics plays a ey role in this transition, calling upon the con$
sumers ability to discern and value artisanal Buality* +eidegger argues
that a %or of art is never finished %hen the artist stops %oring on it;
rather, it needs a vie%er to mae present the 4being of a thing5 (&t%ood
!!=: =8"* >he same can be said of lu/ury: only once a lu/ury item has
become an element of a consumers self$definition, %ith its innate appeal
both reflecting and reinforcing the consumers individual aesthetic, canit be said to be fully complete*
<u/ury brands can become the leaders in sustainability because of
their emphasis on artisanal Buality; %hy toss an item designed to last, %ith
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292 -nn!mm! o&, o(n . 0(err&, r, -ll!$i Ven1!es(, e'' !n* !n$ Ri%1& (!n
timeless0as opposed to deliberately time$limited0style- issuading
consumers from fast fashion poses a significant challenge, ho%ever, given
their acute addiction to its transient thrills* +o%ever, since identity iscontinually evolving, and reBuires a materially referential imagining of
an individual,s identity, an alignment of fashion %ith saving the envi$
ronment could mae dissuasion possible (Parins !!8"* 'uch a pr ocess
cannot be tied to the conceit of a self that is fully transparent to itself and
to %hom %e are able to assign agency (2utler !!"* &s 2inley (!!8:
)!" notes, 4&mbivalence itself is no longer the enemy of identity, but
the basis for an on$going proIect of the self, tuned to the endless pr e$
production of fluidity, mobility, and indeterminacy as a permanent state
through a variety of life choices, daily practices, and on$going proIects
of the self*5 7e tend to believe lie 2utler (!!" does, that the basis
for morality is not so much self$identity but the e/posure to other s0 the
continued desire and attempt to not close do%n the tas of narr ative
itself* 6ashion, especially sustainable fashion, lends itself to such cr eative
practice (Ent%istle and 3ocamora !!)"* &s 7ilson (!!=: C81" sug$
gests, 46ashion, the epitome of consumerism, is also its stealthiest cr itic*5
-%nole$*mens
>he authors gratefully acno%ledge receipt of an ''+3 grant Lo:
=1!$!!=$1=9 in anada and an internal grant from the +ong AongPolytechnic Gniversity in +ong Aong*
Re'eren%es
&brahamson, Eric* !11* 4>he .ron age: Ggly, ool and Gnfashion$
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&dolphson, * !!=* 4& Le% Perspective on Ethics, Economics, and
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&guilera, 3* K*, * E* 3upp, * &* 7illiams and * Danapathi* !!*
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ment Review C(C": 8C)J)C*
&spers, P* and <* 'ov* !!)* 4Encounters in the Dlobal 6ashion 2usi$
ness*5 Current Sociology =: =J)C*
&t%ood, * &* !!=* 4+eidegger and Dadamer: >ruth 3evealed in &rt*5
Eudaimonia !he "eorgetown #hiloso$hic Review 1(1": =8J=* 2ansal,
P* and A* 3oth: !!!* 47hy ompanies Do Dreen: & Model
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