Consumer Acceptance of Sustainable Design Strategy for Reducing Raw Material without Sacrificing Style Variety

Abstract

The fashion industry is facing environmental sustainability issues. Among the principles of the "4Rs", namely, "reduce," "recycle," "reuse," and "renew," the reducing of the demand for raw material and manufacturing of garments is a better potential candidate of success because the recycling, reusing and renewing of used garments or textiles typically involve another form of energy usage, such as manpower or chemicals rather than efforts put forth by consumers. Naturally, consumers prefer to save the planet without any sacrifice on their part. In this article, a solution is proposed to reduce the usage of raw material while maintaining the same level of choice for fashion styles. The central idea of the solution is based on the fact that a piece of garment is made up of components. New styles can be created if these components are replaced. In theory, such a solution is technically feasible. However, if consumers are not ready to adopt this solution or unwilling to pay higher prices, the proposed solution cannot be commercially implemented. A feasible market segment has been identified and their willingness to spend is reported. Finally, the concerns of the proposed solution will also be discussed with a future plan.