Selling Sustainable Fashion: How Small Apparel Companies Communicate Social and Environmental Responsibility

Abstract

The apparel industry is responsible for much of today’s global pollution and human rights violations, but quite a few small apparel companies are refashioning the industry’s dirty façade and becoming successfully sustainable by focusing on quality and consumer awareness. This research compiles the opinions of small apparel companies and consumers in order to recommend viable solutions for creating a more sustainable fashion industry. Interviews were conducted with sustainability managers at two small apparel companies chosen based on each company’s efforts in sustainability, commitment to luxury style, and willingness to participate. Both managers agreed that their customers feel well informed about their products and will actively communicate with them if they want more sustainable options. In contrast, I conducted a consumer survey in which the participants called for an increase in knowledge about and accessibility to sustainable fashion. Thus I discovered a major disconnect between company and consumer perspectives about information exchange. I then make recommendations about how companies can adjust their organizational structure and marketing techniques to communicate their social and environment responsibility.