The fashion industry has increasingly come into the focus of both the scientific community and the wider public in recent years due to its significant impact on the environment and society. A lecture by Dr Tamara Rajić, Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Research of the Institute of Social Sciences, addressed precisely these challenges, as well as the factors shaping sustainable consumer behaviour in the field of clothing.
The lecture focused on contemporary challenges in the fashion industry, with particular emphasis on the impact of the fast fashion phenomenon on the environment and society. It was pointed out that over the past decade the fashion industry has attracted growing attention from the public, public policy makers and researchers, primarily due to the negative environmental consequences resulting from the mass and accelerated production of clothing.
The phenomenon of fast fashion implies the release of a large number of collections throughout the year, with vast quantities of clothing produced from cheaper and lower-quality materials being placed on the market. As a result, clothing items go out of use relatively quickly, which further encourages excessive consumption and the generation of textile waste.
A particularly serious issue is the fact that a significant share of discarded clothing, often made from artificial and synthetic materials, ends up in landfills or incinerators, where it may have long-term negative consequences for the environment.
During the lecture, data from the European Commission were also presented, according to which consumers in the European Union discard on average around 12 kilograms of clothing per year. It was also emphasised that the European Commission recognises the seriousness of this problem and, within its efforts to achieve the goals of the circular economy by 2050, is intensively working on regulating this area and promoting the concept of sustainable clothing.
It was further highlighted that the scientific community is showing growing interest in researching the determinants and barriers of sustainable consumer behaviour in the field of clothing. Contemporary literature is dominated by quantitative research based on extended models of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which seek to explain the factors influencing consumers’ decisions regarding sustainable choices when purchasing and using clothing.
The lecture by Dr Tamara Rajić entitled “Sustainable Consumer Behaviour in the Domain of Clothing: Determinants, Barriers and Modalities” was organised as part of the series presenting the research of newly joined colleagues at the Institute of Social Sciences.
