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Marketing Tactics for Sustainable Fashion and the Circular Economy: The Impact of Ethical Labels on Fast Fashion Choice

Author

Listed:
  • Robert P. Hamlin

    (Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand)

  • Lisa S. McNeill

    (Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand)

Abstract

This study aimed to contribute to the empirical literature on ethical fashion labelling. It investigates if complex, ethical, point-of-sale labels that ‘rate’ products’ ethical status on an ordinal scale influence consumer evaluations of fast-fashion garments (a) in any significant way at all and (b) in a way that is consistent with their reported ethical scores. In an experiment, 400 consumers evaluated a set of four fast-fashion garments with two levels of the Tearfund ordinal ethical label, a generic binary ethical label and garments with no label. Purchase intention was the dependent variable. The presence of a Tearfund label promoted significantly higher fast-fashion garment purchase intention, whatever ethical status the label was indicating. Thus, the rating label did significantly influence fast-fashion garment purchase intention, but not in any useful way. This is a novel and significant finding that indicates that fashion ethical labels are evaluated by using similar subconscious heuristic decision processes to those found in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets. Ethical labels that rely on cognitive processing by the consumer may therefore be ineffective, and simpler iconic brand-like label systems that can support subconscious processing may be more useful in a fast-fashion setting.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert P. Hamlin & Lisa S. McNeill, 2023. "Marketing Tactics for Sustainable Fashion and the Circular Economy: The Impact of Ethical Labels on Fast Fashion Choice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10331-:d:1183312
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hannah L. Neumann & Luisa M. Martinez & Luis F. Martinez, 2020. "Sustainability efforts in the fast fashion industry: consumer perception, trust and purchase intention," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(3), pages 571-590, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Piergiuseppe Morone & Stella Santos, 2025. "Exploring the Social Dimension of Circular and Sustainable Fashion: Global North–South Perspectives and Emerging Themes," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 5(8), pages 7147-7176, December.

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