Sociology

Business

Neuroscience

Qualitative research

Perception

Purchasing

Social science

Knowledge management

Biology

Operating system

Sustainable design

Marketing

Political science

Psychology

Economics

Microeconomics

Ecology

Process management

Incentive

Computer science

Sustainability

Fashion design

Process (computing)

Clothing

International Journal of Fashion Design Technology and Education

The purpose of this research was to identify perceptions and attitudes toward sustainable fashion from personnel involved in fashion design and to uncover the challenges in implementing sustainable design practices. Data were gathered through qualitative open-ended questions in five interviews, and 50 fashion designers were selected as research subjects for a survey. The major findings of the research show that there are internal (personal and organisational) and external challenges to incorporating sustainability into the fashion design process. Internal challenges consist of the lack of consensus and knowledge regarding sustainable design, lack of design-led approaches implementing sustainability in fashion and perceived trade-offs with other design criteria, such as aesthetic styles, costs, and fashion trends. External challenges include the complexity of sustainability issues, perceived insufficient consumer demand, attitudes and behaviour gaps in consumer purchasing decisions on sustainable collection ranges and insufficient incentives or values for businesses to implement sustainable design strategies.

Perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable fashion design: challenges and opportunities for implementing sustainability in fashion