Retailers play an important role in persuading consumers to purchase sustainable fashion (SF), but little is known about how, and why, SF retailers persuade consumers. This research aims to understand their choices for marketing and communication tactics. We interviewed 25 SF retailers about the drivers that they presume motivate consumers’ purchases, and about the drivers they actually target in their marketing practices. Our findings show that retailers do not base their marketing tactics on what they presume drives SF purchases: most retailers presumed that personal benefits and advantages motivate SF purchases, however, they targeted cognition-related drivers in marketing communications. Retailers’ current marketing communication endeavors show a disproportionate focus on persuading consumers to choose SF as a category, instead of persuading consumers to purchase their specific products. Based on this study, we recommend researchers and marketeers to support SF retailers with knowledge of effective marketing and communication tactics to address SF purchase behavior change, and the industry and public authorities to provide an effective SF information campaign for consumers.
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This paper presents the results of the research project ‘Going Eco, Going Dutch’ (2015- 2017), which investigated the production, design and branding of fashion textiles made from locally produced hemp fibers in the Netherlands. For fashion labels and designers it is often difficult to scrutinize the production of textile fabrics manufactured in non-European countries due to physical distance and, often, non-transparency. At the same time, many designers and established fashion brands increasingly search for sustainable textiles that could be recycled or upcycled after being used by consumers. For the project ‘Going Eco, Going Dutch’, local textile manufacturers and fashion brands closely collaborated to explore how to develop fashionable textiles made from locally produced hemp – from the very first fiber to the final branding of the fashion product. In addition to the technical insights on the production of hemp, this paper will present and highlight the importance of the visual identity of the textiles, which was created by using Dutch traditional crafts – suggesting that this should be understood in terms of Kristine Harper’s ‘aesthetic sustainability’ (2017) as an essential design strategy. In addition, this paper will reflect on the importance of storytelling by focusing on locality and transparency, and on creating an emotional bond and connection between producer, product and consumer. This paper will argue that this form of ‘emotional durability’ (Chapman, 2005, 2009) is essential to both design and branding strategies. Moreover, this paper will critically reflect on the performance of Dutchness – Dutch national identity – through these locally produced fibers, textiles and fashion products.
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This study offers a new perspective on clothing consumption by uncovering the systemic nature of the wardrobe. The research builds on systems theory and aims at drawing a map of the wardrobe as a system with particular structure and behaviour. By co-designing fictional 'smart wardrobe' services with experts and discussing these services with wardrobe users, we identify characteristics of wardrobe structure and behaviour that give input for a preliminary wardrobe map. Lastly, the wardrobe map provides a basis for discussing sustainable design approaches aimed at reducing clothing demand, in the context of growing clothing production volume and its associated environmental impacts.
