The Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment

Introduction.

This section introduces the learners to the effects of fast fashion on the environment.  As a result, it elaborates on the major research questions by giving a brief description of every chapter.

Background of the study

On January 6^th 2017, Canada was declared as the second state in the globe to declare biodiversity and climate emergency. This reaction was propelled after the Rebellion and the extinction Climate revolution, which took place in April 2019, London. The United Nations report stated that the physical environment was in extreme danger than it used to be in any other time in history.  As a result, millions of animals have lost their lives while there is a rapid extinction of plant species.

Research Problem and Aims of the Research

A thorough review of past pieces of literature on Fast Fashion and Environmental Impacts depicts some gaps in the study of ecological sustainability of the key retailers and consumption performance in Canada. Therefore, this article aims at filling the major gaps based on the previous research. Although considerable researches have been done on the broader topic of fast fashion and environmental sustainability, this research has narrowed its focus on specific segments. Consequently, as previously stated, ecological sustainability is of increasing significance in the clothing industry. Based on the previous pieces of literature, a pair of six research question was chosen to analyze the degree of commitment towards the sustainability of some fashion consumers and retailers Ireland. As a result, the first set of research questions is directed towards consumers. Similarly, the second set of questions is addressed to the business operators. The current research will explore this phenomenon by collecting data. The data will be obtained from the by involving various participants on fast fashions such as the retailers and the consumers. Consequently, the article will compare and contrast their perceptions of the differences and similarities in environmental sustainability.

Subsequently, some researches have put more emphasis on what specific companies are performing to contribute to the moderating effect on the destruction, which results from the fast fashion in the retail industry. As previously stated, textile materials should be obtained from biodegradable sources. This would ensure environmental conservation after discarding them. Moreover, a subsequent concern would be the need to encourage recycling and the reusing of the sustainable clothing line. This would be environmentally sound compared to disposing of the textiles and other clothing. As a result, the cloth manufacturers and distributors should put more emphasis to ensure that textile and other apparel are reused and recycled in order to attain a sustainable environment.

Structure of the dissertation

The structure of this article is outlined and described in six chapters.  Every chapter has an interconnection to the subsequent section. As a result, section one of this article gives a brief overview of the background of the study and illustrates the summary of the following chapters in the entire research. Subsequently, section two of this research presents the review of the current literature in relations to fast fashion and environment impacts. Moreover, section three outlines the primary research objectives and highlights the research questions.  Subsequently, chapter four presents the findings of the research, while chapter five gives a detailed discussion of the findings of chapter four. Consequently, chapter six gives the recommendation and the conclusions alongside the imitations of the research.

CHAPTER 2:

 Literature Review.

Introduction

During the last three to four decades, the fashion industry has undergone some of the major changes. The industry has experienced the changes which aims at adopting the new tendencies while discarding the old ones. As a result, there is a continuous consumption of new products in the fashion industry is a complex global system.  The fast fashion has led to multiple outcomes. Some of them may include premature product replacement and obsolescence of fashion products.  According to many researchers, this business model has many negative impacts. For instance, the fast model affects the society, economy, and the environment at the baseline of the supply chain.

The low prices which have resulted in competition between products have resulted in an enormous consumption of fast fashion products. The high consumption of fast fashion globally has led to obsolescence and reduction of other related prices. There are crucial aspects with the apparel waste bearing the fact that most of the fast-fashion materials are discarded at the expense of being recycled or reused.

The Fashion Industry and Fast Fashion.

In contemporary society, the fast-fashion manufacture and retail have over the years evolved into a multi-trillion dollar industry. According to the statistics revealed by Pee Researchers,  the fast fashion industry was worth $3.4  trillion in 2016 and had continuously been increasing at a rate of 6.7 per cent annually. Moreover, the researchers were able to identify that more than 3.2 billion euros were released in Ireland in the year 2015.

Consequently, the recession in the year 2008 encouraged Irish consumers to move to regions which had stalls which sold fast fashion clothes at a lower price. Moreover, they migrated to those streets which could offer clothing which could be disposable after the use. Nonetheless, the stalls are very popular in giving extra services such as instant retail therapy. According to many researchers, there is a huge similarity between the clothing and food industry. For example, food must be produced and consumed urgently due to perishability. Similarly, clothes must be produced and used very fast before they become obsolete and lose value in the market. Therefore, manufacturers in fast fashion must ensure that they maintain the same speed they employed in manufacturing the products while making purchases and utilization. As a result, there is a mass production of products due to high consumption. Thus, this leads to many threats in the environment. Besides, according to many researchers, first fashions has led to the production of raw materials such as cotton and textile at extreme rates in contemporary society.

Subsequently, many types of research have been done to attest the negative and positive impacts of cotton on the textile industry. The researcher s identified that there are social and environmental impacts of fast fashion in relation to the clothing industry. As a  result, they concluded that every stage of production of the fast p fashion products has its distinct negative effects on the environment. Moreover, countless researchers have concluded that what may seem beneficial and important in any stage of production in fast fashion may lead to negative implications.

Moreover, cotton is one of the raw materials which is used in the production of fast fashion products.  Biologically, it is one of the most plants which are vulnerable to many pests. As a result, to reap maximum benefits in the production of cotton, the farmer must emphasize on extensive use of pesticides and water. Moreover, the subsequent operations, which converts cotton from raw materials to finished products, involves enormous use of chemicals. For instance, the use of chemicals in drying, dyeing and finishing may lead to detrimental environmental impacts.  Besides, cotton production demands a lot of water which is achieved through irrigation. As a result, when there is excessive wastage of water through irrigation, many people in Central Asia perish.  Therefore, it is evident to indicate that excessive use of water in cotton irrigated farms is a sour r of human suffering in central Asia. This results in anthropogenic modification of the ecosystem in order to ensure the sustainability of the environment and the manufacturing of the first products. In addition, according to recent studies, cotton production in Asia is the major causes of the diseases and the resultant deaths.

Moreover, bamboo is a key raw material that is very imperative in the manufacture of fast fashion products.   Bamboo is used in the production of rayon. The process of converting bamboo in rayon is an intense chemical process.  Therefore, the higher demand for the first fashion has multiple negative effects on the environment. Besides, the use of synthetic fibre to reinforce appealing and quality clothes has led to use of high chemicals.  The synthetic fibre is naturally extracted from the non- renewable resources which result in production and transportation of the considerable amounts of energy.

The research that was done by Harvard University students indicated that the human population is increasing while the ecological life is threatened.   The higher the population, the higher the demand for fast fashion products. The demand for textile products is one of the leading causes of environmental pollution. In addition, textile products have a wide range of usage among many people in society.  Therefore, their extensive use exposes the globe systems to environmental risks.

Subsequently, the production of fibre is a continuous chemical process. Production of fibre in the plantation requires a lot of chemicals. Once it is produced, it is dried and extracted to produce useful products. However, when the fibre products become obsolete, they release a huge amount of energy which has high negative impacts on the environment. The toxic emissions from textiles are the leading causes of air pollution.  The impacts of both air and water pollution are experienced in global, regional and local levels.

Ethical and Sustainable Fashion

Some researchers argue that there several businessmen who are playing a critical role in a new wave of sustainable fashion. As a result, they employ the approach to make inferior fashion impacts by default.

Justification for Research Gap

The world is facing a vast crisis on a global scale in relation to close evaluation with the current state of the environment around the world. There are numerous activities which are perpetuated by make which has negative impacts on the world’s environment. As a result, the climatic conditions are influenced, resulting in phenomena such as global warming among others. Therefore, there is more need to control the dire desire for consumption of certain products until there is a strike of balance between consumer satisfaction and ecological conservation. According to research that was done by the United Nations Environment Program, the largest cause off pollution in the world is a resultant from the fashion and clothing industry.

The Attitude – Behavior Gap

According to a group of researchers, the attitude-behaviour gap is evident in the instance where individuals cling to pro sustainability ideas. However, these ideas eventually translate into sustainable responses. Therefore, there is a need for environmental conservation alongside ensuring that fashion products remain relevant in the competitive market.

Cotton.

Many researches has concluded that cotton production consumes a lot of waters from the environment.  The recent statistics have indicated that the best species of cotton can take at least twenty litres of water to produce one kilogram of cotton. One kilogram of cotton can produce only produce a single blouse and a pair of trousers. Nonetheless, the global production of cotton is not environmentally ethical (Härtsiä, 2018). As a result, there seems to be a contradiction of the sustainability of the production of cotton in the world in future. There have countless efforts employed by various institutions and governments to mitigate the negative effects of cotton production and the clothing and fashion industry. Thus it is imperative to conclude that the methods which are used to produce cotton are environmentally unethical (Finn,2008). The major environmental challenges which emancipate from the production of cotton are the resultants of heavy water consumption, use of intensive agrochemicals, especially the pesticides and the conversion of habitats to farms.

Nonetheless, the production of cotton has led to pollution and diversion of waters by cotton growing. Some of these impacts are evident in the major areas such as the Indus Delta,  Aral Sea and Murray darling River in Pakistan,  Asia and Australia, respectively. According to some agriculturalists and researchers, cotton is the leading agricultural product which consumes a lot of water. Besides, its production does not only affect the water and the air, but also affects the soil. Therefore, mass production of cotton can result in degradation of soil. According to surveys which were released by the United Nations Environment Program in 2016, the production of cotton has remained constant for the last sixty years.  However, mass production has negatively impacted the soil in the regions in which it is cultivated.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, cotton production is only achievable in the productive and fertile soils. Due to the high demand for cotton products in the textile and fashion industry, agricultural land has been depleted over the years. As a result, the cotton farmers have resolved to increase their portions of agricultural land by carrying out deforestation and setting up their residences in the riparian and unaccepted settlements.  Therefore, it is right to conclude that the production of cotton has immensely contributed to the destruction of the natural habitat.

Moreover, cotton production heavily depends on the use of fertilizers and pesticides. These agrochemicals as detrimental effects on the soil composition (Lundblad et al. .2016).  Besides, they significantly influence the biodiversity of life in the downstream, which facilitates irrigation. Nonetheless, the intense use of pesticides and fertilizers in the production of cotton has resulted in complications of the health workers and individuals who work and live around the farms.

According to the results of data on organic cotton production, production of cotton is mostly monoculture. As a result, it is a pesticide consuming plant. Though the research indicated that the growth of cotton globally in relation to other products constitutes to three per cent, it consumers over twenty per cent of the herbicides and pesticides produced for all crops. These detrimental chemicals are streamed through the soil. Eventually, they end up polluting the flowing waters, thus acting as a major threat to aquatic life. Nonetheless, the extensive use of pesticides can result from using the extinction of secondary pests which are not harmful to cotton plants.

Moreover, cotton production has resulted in immense climatic change.  Huge portions of renewable energy sources are applied in the production of industrial fertilizers which are used in the production of cotton. As a result, huge portions of carbon dioxide is released in the atmosphere.  Besides, a large number of nitrates and released in the atmosphere. The production of the laughing gas in the atmosphere is very hazardous. According to a recent survey, the release of laughing gas in a plantation is three hundred times than the effects of carbon monoxide. This is the leading cause of global warming. Soils has high affinity of absorbing the carbon monoxide. As a result, when huge amounts of carbon monoxide are absorbed in the soil, the greenhouse effect is evident. Sustainable development can be defined as the production which takes in considerations the environmental aspects and the demands of the fast fashion.

Implications for fast fashions

Eco-fashion consumption is the leading participant in sustainable development. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of the ecosystems would help the clothing and textile industry to meet the demands of their customers while conserving the environment. Fashion can be defined in terms of clothes, handbags and shoes which are regarded with high esteem to a specific individual at a particular time.  Fashion undergoes a series of the process before it is accepted by the members of the society. For instance, in the introduction stage, style is accepted by a small portion of individuals and later on accepted immensely on the acceptance stage. In the regressive stage, the style gradually becomes ineffective and completely obsolete.  However, the longevity of the style in fashion depends on various factors. A style may remain fashionable for weeks and completely or remain relevant for years.

However, in the recent past, the fashion and clothing industry has reduced the longevity of a style by incorporating the fast fashion entrepreneurial approach. Therefore, many institutions should advocate for the styles which remain competitive in the market for a span of one month or less. The above objects have been made realistic by the use of modern technology and globalization.

There has been increasing needs for people to wear fast fashions in contemporary society. This has been contributed by major factors such as the availability of cheap products at an affordable price in the market. In addition, people are continuously buying for the products at a time rather than waiting for a specific season to buy.  In addition, there is an increased advertisement on the media and the newspapers review the celebrities and the top leaders in fast fashion. This has raised the buying patterns of the consumers rapidly.

Although there is no specific time that a person should buy or dispose of a product of garments, many consumers have halted cheap wearing clothes due to their low quality. Moreover, the trending fashions have also played a significant role in ensuring that the clothes that are being disposed of in the market place for sale are of high quality. Besides, some clothes are bought for certain occasions and when the occasions are done, and over, they are stored or discarded. As a result, the end up being unhelpful in society.

Ethical perspective

Froman ethical standpoint, individuals and societies should live peacefully without doing harm to themselves or the environment. Therefore, many institutions have formulated laws which emphasize on the sustainability, environmental conservation, human rights and health conservation at national and global levels. Therefore, many guidelines and laws should be reinstated to ensure that products which are realized to the market meet the customer needs by satisfying their desire while conserving the environment.   Moreover, the governments and institutions should encourage practices such as recycling and reusing of clothing and textile products. In addition, the clothing industry can put more emphasis on greenwashing and hand washing. The subsequent chapter explains the need for the methodology that as applied in the research.

Response from Retailers

Goods in the market have been competing in the market based on their tag prices prevailing in the market before the 1960s. However, another characteristic of a good emerged in the mid-60s and quality took over the costs. In the goods market, during the 1980s, retailers took an interest in how fast to produce goods termed as the speed of production and logistics. Indeed, the two factors were mainly determined by manufacturers and retailers geographical position. Also, it was brought about by the use of computer skills used in creating virtual enterprises.

Due to increased consumption and production, during the 1990s era, certain irregularities created what was termed as the competition tool defined as ecology. However, in today’s society, there has been a step have put forward as they tend to view goods in terms of ethical impact and social effect (Finn, 2008). The textile industry and modern textile have also borrowed the new trend of the consumers understanding in their organizations.

CSR- Corporate social responsibility has been interpreted and defined differently. For instance, the European Commission, the corporate social responsibility demands that companies should pursue voluntarily strategies in protecting the environment, respect over the public interest and safeguard the stakeholder’s relationships. Therefore, according to CSR, companies are required to deliberately involve in those activities that are likely to benefit the community in which the company is found in (Fletcher, 2013).

In business sectors, ethical issues are becoming more complex. Thus, it becomes the most significant concern to be discussed on the environment and the impact of business activities. **definitely, the clothing manufacturing industry is one of the industry in the business sector that has been a subject of this matter. In the last two decades, the production of clothing has now become an operation that is done globally. A research was done by Ji et al., (2012) depicts that this increased clothing production globally is due to increased changes brought about by economic context and global politics in the industry. However, when comparing the clothing production with food production, it is clear that clothing manufacturing practice is less transparent (Hur et al., 2013). Actually, there has been a continuous restructuring and modernization since companies have been struggling to stay competitive. As a consequence, the companies have made efforts to invest in research, product innovation and development, investment in new technologies and lastly, adopting the latest concepts in business activities (Bly et al., 2015).

Also, sustainability is a crucial concept to be understood since it is a problem related to both clothing products and textile. There are two aspects of sustainability involved with the environment. This includes society and the economy.

Moreover, for the sustainability of the production process, after manufacturing and marketing aspects of socioeconomic and environmental should be taken into account. The main aim of the ecological perspective is minimizing the unattractive impact of the environment on ecosystems, animals, water, soils and energy (Todeschini et al., 2019). According to the socioeconomic aspect, it expects the improvement of working conditions among the enterprises.

Many of the practitioners and researchers are fully are dedicating their time to the topic as they are undergoing drawbacks of balancing the business needs and the environment (DiVito & Bohnsack, 2017). Through different researches done, clothing industries are entitled to problems associated with the damaging climate directly.

Research done by Lundblad et al. (2016) postulates a solution to the problem associated with clothing textiles to satisfy the need to protect the environment. First, there is a need for choosing harmless materials that are also friendly to both human and environment. Additionally, the recycling method should be done to textile clothing’s, which are discarded (Joy et al. 2012). The techniques of recycling and reuse is viewed as environmentally friendly and is a remedy to ensure no disposal of other textiles and use clothing.

Moreover, research conducted by Han, et al., (2013) has discussed briefly on the impact of SMEs- Small and Medium Enterprises on the environment. Some textile industries have practised regulation on the protection of habitat within their geographical area through institutional practices and settings. ** supports the study in research done where fashion companies are viewed to be having the capability of ensuring sustainability. However, the main question here is whether consumers and retailers are also involving mitigating the environmental disasters caused by this industry. Despite many types of research done to offer a guideline on this topic, with possible data collected, there is still a gap of insufficient knowledge on activities that consumers and retailers have to do to address this problem.

The response from customers

Social and environmental effects within the supply chains are caused by global textile consumption, which has an estimate of 30 million tons and above every year. The fashion industry assumes sustainability as the major crucial issue within the sector. Firms in the fashion industry of developing countries take advantage of lower environmental awareness to reduce their production costs. The consumers that are keen on clothing information on the latest fashion tend to enjoy buying new clothes. Different consumers have different opinions on matters concerning shopping as their decisions are based on their lifestyle, and motivations (Sadaba-Garraza et al., 2018). Consumers who enjoy shopping are mostly engaged in shopping-related activities such as recreation shopping and promotional events. Consumer’s recreational and social identities indicate their motivation in shopping (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Consumers were interested in appearing as well put and being able to purchase the products that they like.

Most of the clothes that consumers purchase from the street retailers lose value after a few spins in the washing machine and tumble dryer. Such clothes are transformed into lags used for washing the sink or floor. The garments that lost value at a fast late became rubbish for landfills. Consumer realized that purchasing high-quality clothes which are a bit expensive meant that the garments were eco-friendly (Martino, 2017).

Some researches indicate that there exists some difference between fashion consumption sustainability and the current trends that consumers are interested in. The above comment leads into a subdivision of consumers into three groups; ‘sacrifice’ consumer, social consumers, and ‘self’ consumers. Different kinds of consumers play a significant role in the fast fashion industry. According to Sadaba-Garraza et al., (2018), there exists a relationship between behaviours of the consumers and sustainability perception, fast fashions, and luxury brands.

The fashion product life cycle

Clothing is perceived to have a long and complex life cycle, which includes the sophisticated “down-stream” process that occurs after the manufacturing stage and the supply chain process. The life cycle captures different phases that re involved in the production of fast fashions such as the production and extraction of resources, manufacturing of fibre and yarn, textile manufacturing, assembly of apparel, packaging, transportation, and distribution, use by consumers, recycling and ultimate disposal of the product (Martino, 2017).

Clothing has certain environmental impacts, which include the production of solid waste, emissions of wastewaters, and over-exploitation of resources such as water, minerals, fossil fuels, and land. The environmental impacts are considered by an evaluative tool called Life-cycle assessment (LCA). LCA considers the production and execution of raw materials, production, and assembly of apparel, transportation, and lastly, the actual usage of the product and its disposal (Moon, 2015). LCA is capable of evaluating the appropriate indicators of the environment (Hur et al. 2013). These indicators include the establishment of aspects that explains the performance of the environment. Also, the indicators reveal ways of accessing the relative and absolute approaches used in production processes. LCA helps in obtaining a clear understanding of the stage at which a garment can cause much harm to the environment (Martino, 2017). Lastly, LCA assists in demonstrating how environmental, financial, and social aspects are interrelated and the modes in which they can interact. The next part elaborates more on consumers and fast fashion.

Consumers and fast fashion

Consumers can purchase clothes that are environmentally friendly when they conduct researches to seek new knowledge in fashion. Change in consumer’s attitude towards apparel consumption has led to impulse buying in the fashion industry. Impulse buying leads to a reduction in the cost of production and sourcing of raw materials from other countries (Perera & Dharmadasa, 2016). Studies show that the young generation has less awareness of the social effects of their fashion consumption. Younger consumers have a higher demand for a new style that emerges in the fashion industry every week. Designers of fast fashion prefer producing items that are worn fewer than ten times before been disposed of.

Ethical and sustainable consumer behaviour

Ethical consumers are consumers that take into consideration the effects of their consumption on other humans, animals, and the physical environment. There exists a shift in many industries in sustainable practices. Buyers have not yet fully adopted the culture of purchasing durable goods that are environmentally friendly. An increase in the number of apparel consumers has a more significant impact on the consumption of sustainable products (McNeill & Moore, 2015). The establishment of ethical consumption behaviour makes it difficult for consumers to occupy moral spaces exclusively.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, I will describe the research methodology that I will adopt and also outline the various steps that I followed to address my research questions. Moreover, I was able to choose a research onion study done by (Zamani et al. 2017) that I used as a supportive guideline that will help me take over my research process.

Figure 3.1 Research Onion study (Zamani et al. 2017).

Research philosophy

(Barnes, et al. 2010) defines research philosophy as a system of assumptions and beliefs that focus on knowledge development. Also, having a look at how people view the world becomes a significant basis for understanding this philosophy. Therefore, for such reasons, research was conducted to find out how the natural world was considered. Thus, it served as a guideline basing on how to do this research.

Epistemology

(Collett, et al., 2013) epistemology is explained as having to do with legal knowledge, assumptions dealing with knowledge, what is constituted as being acceptable, and finally, knowledge is communicated to others. Moreover, (Park et al., 2016) outlined epistemology as being what is related to knowledge, to what establishes knowledge, and to what process that creates knowledge. Besides, the subsequent section will discuss positivism and interpretivism as the main approaches.

Positivism 

(Kozlowski, et al., 2012) refers to positivism as a philosophical stand of natural science that involves social reality working to produce the law-like generalizations. According to positivism, there is accurate knowledge that is highly structured and typically deductive. Also, large samples are used mostly used in quantitative surveys. Furthermore, the study makes use of the inductive approach in exploring the correlation between fast fashion and consumer behaviours. However, regarding this research, interpretivism was the best approach considered.

Interpretivism 

 (Barnes, et al. 2016) defines interpretivism as being a philosophical stand which postulates that human being is viewed differently from the physical sensations because the human has reasoning capacity. Thus, knowledge is based on interpretation. Moreover, because human beings are complex, they cannot be studied similarly, like physical phenomena. To establish a relationship between fast fashion and consumer habits, historical data was used employing an informal interview. Indeed, the approach becomes best suited for this study.

Research Approach

 Inductive Approach

Data collection was the best inductive approach used in exploring the phenomena, identifying patterns and themes, and finally creating the conceptual framework (Pookulangara et al., 2013). Also, the deductive approach becomes an alternative approach where I was able to develop theories and conducted different tests based on the assumptions. Through the inductive method, explanations were based on laws that allowed phenomena anticipation, how often they occur, and thus, enabled them to be controlled. Hence, according to the deductive approach, it was not able to suite this study. According to (Song et al., 2013) considered qualitative data as basically inductive since research begins with an element of data like the phrase, and it’s then compared with another component of data. Thus, this comparison is made to identify similar patterns in the element of the data. The phenomena were subjected to qualitative research; therefore, this approach becomes the best for this study.

Philosophical Stance

My research questions and design were majorly based on concerns, beliefs, understandings, and assumptions regarding the environmental impact of fast fashion. Additionally, interpretive research, which dealt with human behaviour and its effect on the environment, becomes the best approach for this study. Indeed, through this assumption, I was able to understand the consumption patterns regarding fast fashion and the environment.

Research Methods

Methodological Paradigm

Methodological paradigms are ways through which a researcher examines the aspects of methodology on their dissertation to determine the methods of research to be used and techniques of analyzing data (Cook et al., 2017)

Qualitative research method 

This is a type of research that is non- numeric; that is, it focuses on words rather than numbers when collecting data. Also, this type of research combines aspects of interpretive, subjective, and inductive (Härtsiä, 2018).

Moreover, qualitative data can be characterized by: textual, non- numerical, focusing on the story, non-visual, and visual portrayals. Business qualitative research has the capability of addressing the objectives of the business by interpreting the phenomenon with no numerical measurement. Similarly, it aspires to discover new insights and inner meanings.

(Black, 2008) views qualitative research as a way in which human beings perceive their societal world. It is comprised of material and interpretative practices that seem to change the world into a series of interpretations, including conversations, recordings, interviews, and field notes. Therefore, researchers dealing with qualitative research focus on their natural settings and interpret phenomena according to how people make meanings out of them.

Through the process of qualitative research, it focusses on giving answers to procedures and questions involving data collected from human’s natural settings. Hence, this data is then analyzed inductively into a general form from the particulars and interpreted to make the information meaningful.

According to a study done by (Härtsiä, 2018) explains the quantitative research as being deductive, focusing on numerical data form or data in numbers. Considering the research questions, a qualitative approach became the best method for data collection.

Mixed Methods Research Approach 

(Cook, et al., 2017) mixed methods research is defined as a branch that involves the use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection and procedures for analyzing data. However, research done by (Park et al. 2016) is contradictory to the above research because there are different philosophical foundations concerning the two methodologies; therefore, it cannot be used as mixed methods research. Nevertheless, a mono method as an alternative method for analysis in opposition to the mixed method due to time constraints.

Methodological choice: an exploratory study

(Kozlowski, et al., 2012) exploratory is viewed as a means of asking open-ended questions to get a better insight to the topic in question. Therefore, this type of study is best when there is a need to simplify issues, phenomena, or problems when uncertainty arises. According to the exploratory research, it acts as an aid to understanding how fast fashion impacts the environment and how business and consumer’s habits are affected. Moreover, exploratory studies are characterized by their adaptability to change and the flexibility to be conducted through focus groups, interviewing experts, and literature reviews (Zamani et al 2016). Basing on this research, exploratory design was appropriate since it commenced with the literature review followed by interviews, which added knowledge to central themes.

Time horizon

(Barnes, et al., 2010) developed two studies, cross-sectional studies, and longitudinal studies. Firstly, cross-sectional studies were viewed as the study of a specific phenomenon at a given period. Also, the longitudinal studies are studies that take long for development and change. According to this dissertation, it is a cross-sectional study rather than longitudinal since it seeks to identify the habits and views of the consumers and owners of businesses regarding too fast fashion and its impact on the environment over a short time spun. Therefore, I preferred a cross-sectional study because it took care of time constraints.

Data Collection

To be in opposition to establish a relation between fast fashion and its impact on the environment, there is a need to develop various methods for data collection. Thus, the process of data collection preferred is as explained below.

Primary research data 

(Härtsiä, 2018) postulates that primary research data is that kind of data which is directly obtained from the field through observation by a researcher who is involved in that specific research project. Moreover, it is regarded as a new knowledge where data is obtained from primary sources, also known as sources of data. Besides, primary data gives a new understanding of the phenomena. An exploratory study is best for collecting primary data, whereby it makes use of semi-structured interviews as an appropriate way to collect data.

Additionally, semi-structured interviews are based preferred as a method of data collection since it provides more in-depth insight into fast fashion and impact on the environment. Primary research data is a flexible method of data collection, making it attractive and suitable for conducting the exploratory type of research (Gwilt, 2014). However, fundamental research data has got one drawback in that it is time-consuming since data has to be analyzed after undertaking each interview.

Secondary Data 

Secondary data is a type of data that has been compiled in some other places by another person and not by the researcher. That is, it is data that already in existence and not created by the research; for instance, the data can be sourced from books, journals, websites, and reports. About the study of fast fashion’s impact on the environment, data is sourced from textbooks, websites, and peer-reviewed academic journals (Joshi & Rahman’ 2013). The secondary data is chosen for data collection since data can be later be retrieved for clarification when needed, unlike the primary data, once an interview is conducted, it is challenging to re-interview.

Validity and Reliability

According to research done by Pookulangara et al., (2013), efficacy is explained as to how truthful, meaningful, reasonable, robust, and how useful research is while reliability is simply an indicator of dependability of the extent to which research can be relied on in obtaining results. (Park, et al. 2016) propose there is a necessity to establish and access qualitative and quality research, which provides an alternative towards validity and reliability. Thus, reporting must be ensured of being reliable and accurate in an honest manner and conducting transparent research by following guidelines and ensure that there is reliability.

Interviews

 According to research conducted by Black (2008) explains how unstructured interviews are viewed as informal and mainly used to topics of interest. Thus, for this study, there is a need to use the semi-structured interviews where research questions are set and ordered concerning how the conversation flows. Some of the research questions used are structured below.

Questions for users

1. What does fast fashion mean?
2. Two what is the impact of fast fashion on the environment?
3. What do you consider when buying clothes, price, or sustainability?
4. Do you mind the sourcing materials used to make the clothes?
5. How do you utilize the clothes you do no longer use them?

Research samples

The research samples taken for interviews are small and of different sex and age; thus, purposive non- probability sampling is used to research this study.

Access

(Kozlowski, et al., 2012) defines Access as a circumstance where a participant in research offers to share data voluntarily with the researcher. The mode of data collection was through face to face conversations; however, due to fear of intimidations, participants were assigned pseudonyms. 

 (Härtsiä, 2018) describes TA as the analytical process of which systematic research is done to ascertain patterns in describing phenomena. Thus, TA is appropriate to central themes in Data Analysis 

Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Research Data

addressing the research questions. Text analysis was also done with Nvivo, which was in handwritten 12 to transcribe the audio recordings to text.

Data analysis using Nvivo 12

Ethical Considerations

Despite ethical manners like respecting all persons, employing fairness, and safeguarding the wellbeing of all, this research on matters of moral risk did not postulate ethical risk to participants involved.

General Data Protection Regulation

Through (GDPR) to ensure that all participants had all the required information like; contact details and identity of the data controller and ensuring privacy and also data security, the data obtained is hidden. Also, another protection measure involved the use of a password to ensure that computers are protected. The use of a password was to protect the folders.

Study Design and Data Collection

Over the personal interviews I had to conduct within homes and within the restaurant in the city centres, lasted between 3minutes to 50 minutes. Interpretivism became a philosophical approach that I considered best for my research study. Moreover, the procedure provided an interpretation and a background understanding of how different people participated in their cultural and social life phases. Indeed, through this understanding, the research has been able to allow learning and understanding of people’s actions.

However, positivism does not provide a clear fundamental understanding of this research since the approach lacks a philosophical approach to help in answering the study research questions. It is a fact that the positivism approach is mainly focused on dealing with the testing of the hypothesis that is already established. Therefore, explanation using this approach through the measured world’s knowledge.

Summary of Primary Research Methodology

This research project will depict key activities concerning this fast fashion industry and its damage to the environment. Also, users of this fast fashion have been interviewed in the past study; therefore, in this research, useful information is provided, and ten interviews carried out on users of fast fashion.

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS

The analysis of the data was done through qualitative thematic research coding. The data used was obtained through interviews. During the coding process, many themes and sub-themes were detected.

Findings – consumers

The findings obtained from the data collection process were coded and grouped into different kinds of themes. In different researches, codes are based on behaviours, activities, events, specific acts, or tactics. McNeill & Moore (2015) suggests the techniques used to identify themes that involve indigenous categories, repetition, transitions, metaphors, and analogies. Also, some themes include similarities and differences, missing data, linguistic connectors, and theory related materials.

4.1.1 Fast Fashion and It’s Meaning

The concept of fast fashion was perceived differently by most of the participant that were interviewed. Different views were obtained from the participants to support this notion. One of the participants, Maryann, had a feeling that big industries produce different fashions and change them in a period of two or three weeks. The second participant, Milton, thought that the price of those clothes determines the clothing of different individuals. People tend to choose relatively cheap clothes. Linet commented that people usually select a term that explains fast fashion brands that tend to imitate the style of High-end brands, but they tend to use cheap materials and fabric. Another participant called Mark said that fast fashion was all about cheap clothes that last for a short period.

The uncertainty that arose on the topic of fast fashion was considered as a recurrent theme experienced when conducting interviews. Few participants completely understood the issue of fast fashion while others had just an idea, but there were uncertain about what the topic entailed. For instance, a participant by the name Madison was not sure about what the topic of fast fashion meant. Another participant called Gabriel stated that he had heard the subject mentioned, but he had not taken his time to research more on the topic. There was a participant named Patel, who linked fast fashions to the products that are retailed by high street retailers.

4.1.2 Impacts of Fast Fashion on the Environment 

Different participants responded to the question of what they knew about the impacts that fast fashion has on the environment differently. There were a variety of answers various participants provided that5. For instance, Milton responded that the production process uses a lot from the environment where a lot of fast fashions are produced, but people tend to use those products for a short period. The response from Maryann indicated that she was aware that one of the impacts of fast fashion on the environment is the depletion of natural resources, which are used in the business model.

Moreover, Maddison stated that fast fashion affects the environment negatively as it uses resources such as water, and it causes much waste to the environment. Linet answered that she had known a few apparel production companies that use harmful chemicals during the production and supply of fast fashion. Linet also mentioned that she had heard a lot of complaints about synthetic fabrics that are capable of releasing plastics, which pollutes water bodies. She stated that there existed many documentaries that revealed the actual prices of fast fashion. Fast fashions are capable of reducing the costs of brands while ignoring the laws and human rights that exist in a country.

Nevertheless, some participants expressed that there had no information concerning the impact of fast fashion on the environment. For example, Patel said that he did not know anything concerning the topic of fast fashion. Similarly, Gabriel said that he has never researched the topic of fast fashion; therefore, he had less information about the subject.

4.1.3 Purchasing with Sustainability, Price or Both in Mind

A large number of the participants that were interviewed revealed that they observed the rates of different clothes before they can purchase them. Mark mentioned that the topic was favourable to him as it made him think more about his habits regarding fast fashion. Mark admitted that he concentrated much on the prices of different products and not their sustainability. Another participant, Gabriel, said that he would consider the price, quality, and brand of a product and nothing else. He knew nothing about the sustainability of a product. Linet said that she usually considered both durability and price, but the price had a more significant impact on her decision. Maryann was a student during the time of the interview. She felt that prices had a more substantial effect than sustainability as students are faced with a problem of non-steady income; hence they experience issues of affordability. Maryann stated that when she gets a steady income in the future, she would consider purchasing her clothes from companies that deal with sustainable attires. Few participants involved in the interview stated that both prices are sustainability are factors that should be considered when purchasing clothes. For instance, Maddison said that both elements are of greater importance as he tries to acquire footwear that will last for an extended period.

4.1.4 Sourcing of Materials

Many participants mentioned that they did not consider the sources of the material used to make the clothes that they purchased. However, several participants had comments that affirmed that they lacked information on the sourcing of the clothing materials. For instance, Simon said that he had a habit of checking the label to know the place where the goods are made and not to check on the materials that are used to produce that clothe. On the other hand, Linet stated that she usually considered the stuff that was used to make the product. She mentioned that the quality of a product is determined by the fabric used. Product made from natural fibre such as cotton, wool, viscose, or flux is of high quality. Maryann mentioned that she dislikes boots or shoes made from synthetic fabrics as they are of low quality.

Additionally, Maryann stated that she had less concern about the source of the materials, but she always wondered how the employees that made the product were treated. She quoted that she had heard many scandals concerning the matter through news and broadcast. The scandals raise the question to the public, but it had not raised a query to her. Maryann raised the issues of CSR and how different companies express concern regarding different effects that they cause on society and also on the environment. She said that the impacts caused by such a product might not be experienced at that time, but it could be a problem for society at a future date. Milton commented on the topic where he stated that documentaries always open her mind. He often thinks of the effects of the products on the environment. Still, he does not consider the same when purchasing products.

4.1.5 When Clothes are No Longer Used

The majority of the participant had similar answers regarding this question. Large numbers of the participants involved in the interview said that they use to give out their clothes to friends, relatives or give them out as donations to charitable organizations. Some participants said that they were faced with a thought of selling out their clothes. Participants rarely revealed the act of disposing of their textiles in bins. The answers that were given by the participants are as follows:

Maddison answered that he usually donates his clothes to charity organizations. Gabriel responded that he would share his clothes with his close relatives such as cousins or otherwise give them to charity organizations. Maryann said that the mode of disposal depended on the state of the clothes, but she usually offered them out to charity. Maryann went on and explained her habit of donation. She said that she shared her house with the other two ladies and that they had had a bag where they had could put their clothes which they did not wear frequently. They could give them out to charity shops as they considered as not being helpful. She explained that they disposed of the clothes depending on their state.

Patel hesitated in answering the question. He said that he usually offered them to charity or homeless people. He also stated that if the clothes are in an unfavourable state, he could give them to H&M when he could get a token in return. H&M is a program sometimes established by trade retailers to recycle old clothes. They are created to express fashion retailers’ concern on CSR concerned with the condition of the environment. However, there exist researches that are conducted on this topic. The studies show that the recycling of clothes is a form of greenwashing done on behalf of the production companies. Some of the other participants also mentioned these programs.

Linet confirmed that she used to sell her clothes in on a platform when she wanted to dispose of them when in a good state and arranged of them in case they were in a bad state. Also, Linet mentioned that she had thoughts of giving her clothes to charity or taking them to the recycling programs where she could get some vouchers in return. She said that she had never taken her clothes to the recycling programs, but it was part of her plans. Similarly, Mark stated that he used to dispose of his unused garments. He had a feeling of giving them donations to the charity organization. He admitted that he had to change his behaviours. Mark expressed behaviour that was evident among many of the participants. Milton admitted that he loads his fallow clothes in is a wardrobe, but he had thought of giving them away to relatives or charity organizations. She added that she had not checked her closet and that she had lost weight when many of his clothes were not fitting him. Therefore, he had to dispose of his unfit clothes, where he considered giving them away to someone.

4.1.6 Thoughts about clothes after being discarded

Some questions were among the last questions that were asked during the interviews. These questions aimed at discovering where participants were interested in knowing what happens to their clothes after they dispose of them. The most participant gave similar answers. A variety of participants confessed that they did not concentrate much on what happens after they discard their clothes.

Gabriel mentioned that he had no thoughts on who got the clothes, but he believed that they landed on the hands of someone who needed them. Similarly, Mark said that he does not think about the clothes, but he went further and raised the issues of clothes banks. Mark mentioned that there were some clothes banks in the city, but citizens were not aware of them as they had less knowledge concerning the recycling of clothes in recycling bins. Maddison responded that he knew that the clothes went to landfills, which he considered as terrible acts. He hoped that they were passed on to the needy people, and some of them discarded or recycled. He concluded that he had fewer thoughts after disposing of his clothes. Immediately after they left his hand, he had adopted the behaviour of forgetting about them and moving on with life.

Likewise, Maryann responded that he does not think about the clothes, as he believes that it is the responsibility of the charity shop to deal with the discarded clothes. I observed that Maryann stated her concern about greenwashing. She commented that she suspected that most of the recycling shops threw away those clothing into recycling bins without considering the consequences. Milton responded that he hoped that people wore those clothes and ensured that they are in good condition. Correspondingly, Patel mentioned that he was no bothered by what happens after he discards clothes. He hoped that H&M did something and recycled the clothes.

Finally, Linet specified that she knew that the parts of some synthetic fabrics are not degradable when disposed of in the environment. She used this idea to support the act of recycling old clothes. Both Linet and Mark had a sense that the government should plan on enhancing the clothes recycling. Linet stated that she would be encouraged by such plans to adjust her cloth recycling habits. She mentioned that she was less conscious, but if there were standards set on the mode of disposing of clothes, she would adhere to them.

Findings – Business Operators

4.1.7 Motivation to start a sustainable fashion business

A participant expressed how a particular company fonder in a place he used to work for established business from his hobby in mountain climbing. The founder created a product that was in line with his hobby. The founder had great concern about outdoor. He had much cared about the effects of the product on the environment. Therefore, he decided to design his company in such a manner that the products will not negatively harm the environment, and the raw materials will be acquired from sustainable sources.

4.1.8 Year of establishment

The participant indicated that the business was established two decades ago, but it was later rebranded in the year 2007. It was his responsibility to ensure that the goods produced by the company were ethical. After the establishment of the company in the late 1950s, it went through a series of events before it became a successful company, as it appears as a sustainable company up to date.

4.1.9 Knowledge of the impact of fast fashion have on the environment     

The participants revealed that many companies are making some changes. These changes aimed at mitigating the effects of their products on the environment. A participant by the name Jude suggested that companies should adopt the ancient behaviours where people could only have a small capsule wardrobe. The suggestion by Jude was made to ensure that every individual contributed to the mitigation of the harm that fast fashion can cause to the environment. Hassan stated that he was a blind optimistic when it comes to matters concerning the impacts of fast fashion on the environment. He mentioned that the figures n fast fashion were worrying and that the universe was on the verge of facing global warming in the future. Hassan had in mind that people can change their way of life and make some adjustments, which can change things shortly.

4.1.10 Response from consumers towards business

Jude mentioned that people had a habit of inquiring whether the products are ethically made before they could purchase them. Hassan elaborated on how the established company had a good customer base. He also mentions that the company worked in harmony with NGOs in community events and campaigns to ensure accountability. Hassan quoted that the company mode of advertising is through word of mouth and that many customers have returned to their shops to buy products confirming that the goods are of good quality.

4.1.12 Future of the business

Jude answered that they had a plan to reorganize their business practices. She stated that they had an idea to treat their workers accurately and fairly. Hassan mentioned that they had a goal to ensure that they get their material from sustainable sources. Jude mentioned their new method of printing, which she termed as rotary. Rotary ensured that there were fewer plastics that were left as waste. Similarly, Hassan talked of the business incorporating B corporation concepts in the promotion of business campaigns. The corporation was included in the law, and it focused mainly on stimulating environmental awareness and sustainability.

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION

The research found many participants had much knowledge of clothing recycling, but they did not recycle. Many of the participants applied ethical consumption behaviour. They are found it hard to inhabit moral spaces entirely. For instance, Gabriel and Linet talked about their concern in identifying the materials that made clothes before they can purchase them. According to Martino (2017), consumers had developed a habit of inspecting the material content of clothes before they buy. Some customers are very keen such that they investigate the material sources and suppliers where they expect the fashion supply chain to enhance transparency and ethical.

Researchers have found that there exist different ways of disposing of old or less used garments. They identified that individuals resell unwanted clothes for financial gains, they also make donated to charities, or they discard them due to lack of information on ways of recycling their clothes. There was a group of the participant who stated they disposed of their clothes by reselling them.

The level of sustainability among participants was mainly determined by the general concern on social wellbeing and for the environment. Also, the behaviour is determined by the sustainable fashion preconception and the ethical consumption actions held by different individuals. Different studies reveal that the perception of fashion by different individuals was based on peer influence and the information that consumers had on fashion products. Many participants had started developing a promising attitude towards the environment, such that they adopted sustainable fashion products. There was an increase in the level of awareness among participants on the topic of fast fashions. They understood the advantage of reutilizing clothes.

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND LIMITATIONS

6.1. Conclusions

The findings showed that individuals had developed a positive attitude towards consumption that is environmentally friendly and business practices that are less harmful to the environment. It was noted that the consumers had a positive attitude, but they did not take any action on the same. Fast fashions have vast implications for the clothing sector. Fast fashion products should be of high quality and long-lasting and ensure that they are of the latest styles.

Additionally, fast fashion suppliers should concentrate on improving their education-based marketing communications. They should ensure that they encourage the establishment of sustainable consumption culture. Consumers can ensure that they reduce solid waste by embracing the culture of recycling clothes (Niinimäki, 2015). Consumer education activities also helped the consumers as they preferred donating their clothes rather than discarding them. Therefore, Medias that engages in marketing should advertise different ways through which the consumers can recycle their clothes. Also, they should create awareness about the benefits of recycling clothes. The benefits should appear in fast fashion selling points to the customers.

6.2. Recommendations

6.2.1. Retailers in the fashion sector

Retailers in the fashion sector should educate themselves on the current trends in environmental awareness and the possible ways that they incorporate to mitigate the harm that their products cause to the environment. Also, retailers should search for sustainable sources and adopt favourable business practices. Retailers can also engage themselves in creating awareness to their customers on measures to ensure environmental conservation.

 6.2.2. Consumers

Consumers have to conserve the environment by adopting better consumption and post-consumption choices. Customers are advised to always consume products from sustainable sources and that are made by companies that save the environment. Consumers should also consider how they dispose of their textiles when they no longer require them. Studies suggest that consumers should create awareness among themselves of favourable measures they can use to mitigate environmental pollution. Consumers should also raise demands on the implementation of environmentally friendly business practices by produces and the government.

6.3. Research Limitations

Several limitations were faced when conducting the research. Fast fashion is an upcoming concept; hence there exists little scientific literature to support this topic. An extensive search was conducted to identify peer-reviewed research papers. The time factor was the major limitation as to the research as the research was allocated less time. Also, there was a loss of important data as the research only captured a particular moment, leaving out many reports that were available on the changes and development of consumer behavioural patterns.

Moreover, the research was conducted on a small scale nature due to resource and time constraints. The problem led to the generalization of the acquired findings. Researchers can be undertaken in the future with a more extensive scope to capture diverse information on specific geographical regions and populations.

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