How Sustainable Fashion Builds an Effective Relationship between

Brands and Consumers?

Presenter

Sec. E 407221348 Jolin Liu

Introduction

01

Outline

02

03

Methodology

04

Results

&

Discussion

Conclusion

• General background
• Motivation
• Definition
• Literature review
• Purpose
• Research questions

& hypothesis

• Questionnaire data Analysis

• Response to hypothesis
• Key points summary
• Limitations

2

• Objective
• Discussion of Levi’s & AG Jeans AD
• Research type & method
• Survey design

Introduction

01

5 academic sources

General background information

• Green revolution ➪ numerous brands across a range of pricing promote sustainable fashion through diverse approaches

Fig. 1. UNIQLO is devoted to the mission of transforming discarded garments into reusable items.

Source: index.html

Fig. 2. Cos’s denim collection is features 100% organic or recycled cotton.

Source: sustainability.html

Fig. 3. Gucci launched sustainable denim collection with innovative technique.

Source: sustainable-fashion-materials

mid-range and affordable

mid-high range

luxury brand

Motivation

1. Widespread lack of awareness of sustainable fashion among customers
2. For brands:

➪ Advantages: innovation & future potentials

➪ Disadvantages: increase cost & contradict to the original system

1. Sustainable fashion: controversial but significant

Definition of sustainable fashion

Materials

• Biodegradable
• Recyclable
• Organic

01

Product Design

• Fair trade
• Labor right

02

CSR

• Longer product life cycle (PLC)
• Reusable

03

Greenwashing

Companies and brands pretend their products are made by eco-materials

or ethical production

Definition

Advertisement

• Vagueness
• Incomplete

Eco-label

• Self-made
• Dubious certification

Consumer awareness & media

Media

Fashion Magazines

Social Media

Fast fashion

Sustainable fashion

Sustainable fashion

Purpose

• Examine whether brands have offered comprehensive sustainable information to customers in order to facilitate consumer education
• Identify customers' attitudes toward sustainable fashion that whether they exhibit apathy or a lack of awareness regarding the significance of this issue
• Assess consumers' comprehension of sustainable fashion

Whether brands have released ample and explicit sustainable information to customers?

Q1:

Q2:

Hypothesis:

Brands lack clarity in providing sustainable information to customers

Hypothesis:

Consumers are still questioned about the practicability of sustainable fashion and cannot comprehend the meaning due to the lack of consumer education

Whether consumers accept and can distinguish effectively of the sustainable apparel claimed by the brand ?

Research questions

Methodology

02

• The dual relationship between brand and consumers
• Focus on two sustainable fashion promotion campaigns from

- Levi’s: a noted denim global brand

➪ Wellthread®” 2022 Spring and Summer collection

• AG Jeans: a niche sustainable premiere denim brand

➪ “The Jean of Tomorrow”

Objective

Environment killer

13

Jeans

Levi’s “Wellthread®”

14

most eco-friendly and sustainable collection

Levi’s “Wellthread®”

• Nature-inspired theme featuring plants and cotton
• Ethical cotton sourcing

15

Fig. 4 & 5. Images from Levi’s advertisement

Source: 2022_SS_Wellthread

AG Jeans “The Jean of Tomorrow”

16

100% biodegradable

AG Jeans “The Jean of Tomorrow”

17

Fig. 6 & 7. Film and Image from AG Jeans advertisement

Source: the-jean-of-tomorrow.html

Comparison

18

Research type & method

19

Quantitative

Sample

google survey

• Swing generation: focus on quality
• Media is influential to young generation
• United Nations: 15-24

Survey Design

Cover page

20

Survey Design

21

Results & Discussion

03

102 responses

23

More than 62.7% of participants reported purchasing clothing once every few months or more

The majority of participants (76.5%) reported buying one to three pieces of clothing each time they shop

24

No observation of excessive purchasing phenomenon

Motivations for buying clothing

25

• Majority: for practical needs
• Approximately 71.6% of participants tend to make purchases based on their preference for the style or type of clothes, which may result in unnecessary purchases.

Factors considered before purchasing

26

• Factors related to sustainability: quality/laundry/practical needs/made with ethical & eco-measures/origin/can be returned or not
• About 95.1% participants pay attention to price ➪ price sensitive
• Young adults show limited interest in issues pertaining to fabric care, labor right, and environmental pollution

27

Participants assessed their understanding of sustainable fashion

28

For self-evaluation ➪ College students expressed a greater level of awareness of sustainability

In contrast, senior high generally exhibit a lower level of understanding of sustainable fashion

Majority of people do not pay attention to sustainable garments

Whether they care about sustainable garments in their daily life

Which channels did you learn about sustainable fashion?

29

• The majority of participants gained insight from general media and news (54.9%), followed by school lectures or speeches (31.4%), physical store product advertisements (29.4%)
• Only about 6.9% ➪ promotions from clerks in physical stores

30

Greenwashing

31

Do you agree that garments made from natural resources can be called sustainable fashion?

When I see sustainable products, I will care about whether there is a "reliable" environmental protection certification on them

If I see clothing brands "marked" their items as sustainable, I would like to learn more about their fabrication process

Greenwashing

32

Attitude

33

4.5 billion pairs of jeans are sold worldwide each year, and each pair uses approximately 7,000 liters of water in the manufacturing process. The denim industry uses more than 45,000 tons of insoluble synthetic indigo a year, along with over 84,000 tons of toxic sodium hydrosulfite as a reducing agent and 53,000 tons of lye.

• People are not indifferent to sustainability issues but are uninformed or lack understanding
• over 76.5% of respondents showed their willingness to learn more about sustainable fashion issues after viewing the provided statistics on the sale and heavy chemical usage of denim

Brand awareness - Levi’s

34

• It is evident that Levi's lacks sufficient advertising in physical stores

➪ billboard

➪ promotion and demonstration from sales clerks

Levi’s “Required Courses” - Official website

35

Levi’s “Required Courses” - Official website/social media

36

37

Brand awareness - AG Jeans

38

few participants have heard of this brand (6.9%) but around 56.9% of people are willing to receive more information after learning it is a sustainable denim garment brand.

Have you ever heard of the brand AG Jeans?

AG Jeans is a sustainable denim clothing brand. Would you like to learn more about it?

Pricing

39

Communication between Levi’s & customers

40

Communication between AG Jeans & customers

41

Comparison

42

• Levi’s
• AG Jeans

• Levi’s: 58.8% of participants improved their understanding of sustainable fashion
• AG Jeans: about 47.1% and 38.2% of participants advanced their knowledge of sustainable fashion and developed basic concepts

Comparison

43

• There is a significant improvement in participants' awareness of sustainable fashion

Levi’s

AG Jeans

Before

After

44

Comparison

45

Which brand provides more complete information on sustainable fashion?

Which brand do you think is more "sustainable" after viewing the advertisements?

• 71.6% of the respondents assumed Levi’s provides more complete information on sustainable fashion
• 65.7% of them believe Levi’s “sustainable degree” is higher (The data for AG has increased)

Contradictory results: previous discussion v.s. Data

46

Time

• Levi’s: one page
• AG Jeans: several pages combined

Information-processing model

47

• About 88.2% of participants have heard of Levi’s
• More familiar to Levi’s brand image
• Higher brand reputation

Attitude after viewing both ADs

48

Before

After

• ​​​​After observing the advertisements from both brands, more participants started questioning the authenticity of the brands' sustainable actions

49

Attitude after viewing the ADs

50

​​​​Would you like to learn more about "sustainable fashion" after viewing the advertisements?

Would you like to purchase sustainable clothing after viewing the advertisements?

• Nearly 55.9% of them are willing to purchase sustainable clothing after finishing reading these advertisements

Conclusion

04

Response to hypothesis

Q1:

Whether these two brands have released ample and explicit sustainable information to customers?

Hypothesis:

Brands lack clarity in providing sustainable information to customers

• Both brands endeavor to offer ample information regarding sustainable fashion in their advertising materials
• AG Jeans stands out as it provides more detailed descriptions of its products than those of Levi's

52

Response to hypothesis

Q2:

• Young adults can be motivated to learn sustainable fashion if they are exposed to the negative impacts garments make on the environment. However, pricing determines whether they can embrace these eco-friendly garments
• As expected, customers find it challenging to differentiate between authentic and greenwashing information due to a lack of education

Hypothesis:

Consumers are still questioned about the practicability of sustainable fashion and cannot comprehend the meaning due to the lack of consumer education

Whether consumers accept and can distinguish effectively of the sustainable apparel claimed by the brand ?

53

• Since clothing prices are lower, many people tend to bulk purchases. A considerable portion of participants make purchases based on personal preferences, which may lead to unnecessary buying issues
• The findings indicate that college students perceive themselves to have some level of understanding of sustainability. However, their responses revealed insufficient knowledge of sustainable concepts

➪ there is no significant variation in the understanding of sustainability concepts based on

age, or social status (for the participants)

Key points summary

​

• Participants primarily gained insight from general media and news (54.9%), school lectures or speeches (31.4%), and physical store product advertisements (29.4%). Only 6.9% of respondents learned about sustainability from sales clerks.

➪ Brands should improve their promotion & employee training

• Price sensitive & positive attitude toward sustainable fashion
• People often overlook the indirect environmental damage caused by clothing
• Greenwashing: due to their limited knowledge of sustainability, the majority of participants are easily deceived by brands

Key points summary

Limitations

1. Time limit - completed collected data and analysis within one semester
1. Might miss some details & without enough rigorous research
2. If possible ➪ focus on elders’ attitudes
1. Insufficient sample size
1. Unbalance data of male & female
2. If possible ➪ collect equal sample size from different colleges

​

Works Cited

Aakko, Maarit, and Ritva Koskennurmi-Sivonen. “Designing Sustainable Fashion:

Possibilities and Challenges.” Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, vol. 17, no. 1, 1 Feb. 2013, pp. 13-22. doi: 10.1108/RJTA-17-01 -2013-B002.

E. Henninger, Claudia, et al. “What is Sustainable Fashion?” Journal of Fashion Marketing

and Management: An International Journal, vol. 20, no. 4, 3 Oct. 2016, pp. 400-

416. doi: 10.1108/JFMM-07-2015-0052.

Lenne, Orpha, and Laura Vandenbosch. “Media and Sustainable Apparel Buying Intention.”

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 21, no. 4, 11 Sep. 2017, pp.

483-498. doi: 10.1108/JFMM-11-2016-0101.

“Levi’s® Wellthread®.” Levi’s Official Online Website, 2022, www.levis.com.tw/page

/2022_SS_Wellthread?lang=zh-TW. Accessed 28 Mar 2023.

Majláth, Melinda. “The Effect of Greenwashing Information on Ad Evaluation.” European

Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 6, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2017, pp. 92-104. doi:

10.14207/ejsd.2017.v6n3p92.

McGuire, William J. “Some Internal Psychological Factors Influencing Consumer Choice.” Journal of Consumer Research,

vol. 2, no. 4, March. 1976, pp. 302-319, www.jstor.org/stable/2488659. Accessed 10 May 2023.

Shen, Dong, et al. “Consumers’ Awareness of Sustainable Fashion.” MARKETING

MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, vol. 23, no. 2, Jan. 2013, pp. 134-147.

researchgate.net/publication/272481810_Shen_D_Richards_J_Liu_F_2013_Consumers%27_awareness_of_sustainable_fashion_Marketing_Management_Journal_232_134-147.

“The Jean of Tomorrow.” AG Jeans Official Online Website, www.agjeans.com/the-jean-of-

tomorrow.html. Accessed 28 Mar 2023.

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