INVESTIGATING CONSUMERS’ AWARENESS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN CLOTHING: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN

  • Faiza Azeem
  • Afzal Adamjee

Abstract

Sustainability is the most pressing issue of our time and it is particularly relevant in the textile industry, especially when it comes to Fashion. The fundamental change that is essential to go down the path of sustainability in fashion is to transform into a circular economy which is the very radical substitute to a traditional economy that start from scratch, redesign, reuse, and fully remodel an item of clothing. This is the proper use of available resources by preserving the value for a period while reprocessing the fabric after it has completed its life cycle. Wasting textiles cause major climate change; therefore, reducing, reusing, and recycling are the steps that must be taken for the sustainable fashion industry. Considering the importance of sustainability in today’s world, this research is much needed to determine the degree of awareness among Pakistani consumers concerning Sustainable clothing. The collected data showed that consumers were conscious but to some degree and required further growth, as in their view, sustainability is limited to the definition of biodegradability, recycling, usage of organic materials and less use of chemicals. Additionally, it is also observed that while consumers are concerned about the negative impacts of the fashion industry and aware customers are willing to pay extra for sustainable clothes based on quality and design, but still there is enough gap in their understanding of ethical fashion which needs to be filled. This paper also analyses the disposal behavior of consumers and found that donating cast-off clothes is the most widely used method in Pakistan

Author Biographies

Faiza Azeem
Faiza Azeem is a research scholar at University of Karachi. Her email address is ms.faizaazeem@gmail.com
Afzal Adamjee
Afzal Adamjee is working as an assistant professor and Head of Research in Textile Institute of Pakistan. He can be contacted at m.afzaladamjee@gmail.com

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Published
2023-01-02