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Innovations in fashion retailing and distribution
Edited by Stephen M. Wigley and Pammi Sinha
Introduction
Sustainability has become recognised as an important issue for UK clothing retailers during the last decade, with increasing demand from consumers for products which are environmentally and socially sustainable ([92] Wrigley, 2008; [46] Joergens, 2006; [3] ASBCI, 2007; [11] Carrigan and Atalla, 2001). Interest in sustainable clothing production and consumption is growing, as evidenced by sales of such clothing in the UK, which have demonstrated an upward trend in recent years, increasing by 93 per cent between 2007 and 2008, to achieve a market valued at £172 million per annum ([15] Co-operative Bank, 2009). However, major fashion brands and retailers have garnered negative publicity and accusations that some of their products are manufactured in conditions which compromise social sustainability ([47] Jones et al. , 2009; [4] BBC, 2008; [75] Park and Lennon, 2006; [81] Shaw et al. , 2006; [57] Klein, 2000). The clothing sector has responded to this type of publicity and to consumer demand, with the introduction of small-scale ethical clothing retailers and the launch of sustainable ranges by larger retailers, mainly based on organic cotton products or Fair Trade production.
The rapid increase in the size of the sustainable clothing market implies that consumers are concerned about sustainability, yet their actions can suggest otherwise ([81] Shaw et al. , 2006), thus creating an interesting tension. These issues indicate a requirement for research in this field, though only a limited number of studies have addressed this topic directly (for example, [40] Hiller Connell, 2010; [1] Allwood et al. , 2006; [79] Rudell, 2006; [44] Iwanow et al. , 2005; [11] Carrigan and Atalla, 2001; [56] Kim et al. , 1999). The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers' perspectives on the sustainability impacts of clothing and to examine ways in which this information could influence retailers' policies. The paper addresses the following research objectives:
- to identify current strategies towards sustainable clothing used by retailers;
- to establish consumers' views on potential measures to reduce the sustainability impacts of clothing manufacture, use and disposal; and
- to consider how these consumers' views could shape retail policy and practice.
Despite a growing awareness of sustainability and ethical...