Psychological Traits of Sustainable Fashion Consumers
In today’s culture, there are increasingly more people curious if the clothing they are buying meets social and environmental criteria. It is important to know what sustainable fashion consumers look like, what they want and what their values are. This is because consumers set higher standards for businesses to be ethical than they do for themselves. In addition, tapping into this growing awareness is critically important for brands and influencers that want to properly meet a growing demand.
Interconnection of Needs
A sustainable fashion consumer takes account of price, quality and style, in addition to social and environmental criteria. Although there are no significant differences in demographic characteristics of an ethical consumer, in regards to gender, age, education, race and material status, there are differences in the motive to consume sustainably. Consumers purchase goods based on a variety of reasons and concerns, as seen in the growing movement of organic food. Consumers have grown more concerned for their health because the food they consume directly affects their well being. But, on the other hand, consumers may buy organic foods based on environmental concerns or worker right concerns. These purchasing decisions are made in regard to deeply personal values, attitudes and desires.
By looking into the following psychological traits: idealism, relativism, openness to change, materialism and universalism, we can obtain a better scope of sustainable fashion consumerism.
Psychological Variables and Values
Idealism & relativism (ethical ideology)
Distinguishing what right and wrong is an essential part of consuming sustainability. It is a deeply personal process that connects with your moral philosophy. It is the overall guiding philosophy that can be broken down into relativism and idealism. Relativism is the measure that a person rejects universal moral rules that are dependent on the situation. In other words, they believe that morality depends on the situation, people and environment. These circumstances take precedence over the violated ethical principles. A typical relativistic perspective is that big brands are not considered unethical because they provide jobs and profits to developing countries. Even if the consumer understands that Gap hasn’t paid their workers during COVID-19, they will still buy from Gap.
On the other hand, idealism is the perspective that involves welfare concerns for others. They believe the right behavior creates the right outcome. Within their ethical decisions, there are only moral absolutes. This means that they believe here are alternatives that prevent humans, animals and the earth from being hurt. It is critical that harm be reduced at all costs. A typical idealistic person would be more likely to engage in Extinction Rebellion. According to them, it is worth getting arrested since it demonstrates how important they hold environmental stewardship. This is because they are striving to produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. They do this in spite of knowing it will be disadvantageous, the long term, for a certain group, which are the corporate elite benefiting from the exploitation of natural resources. In addition, idealists are more likely to engage in ethical behavior and purchasing decisions, including consuming fair trade products. They will most likely be found shopping for sustainable fashion or not shopping at all, hence XR Fashion Boycott.
Anti- Materialism
Materialism is the concept of how important possession of goods and money are to an individual. Debates can be found on whether this attachment is good and bad, based on the societal influences and quality of life. Three ideas of material value comes from:
Its measure of success and wealth
Its importance to one’s personal life
Its gateway to happiness and satisfaction in life
These value concepts impact the way humans live, what their goals will be and where they’ll find their purpose in life. Research has found there is a negative correlation between materialism and consumer ethics. This means that materialistic consumers will care more about obtaining things versus rather than making ethical choices. They find success in things, it will be the center of their universe and a critical aspect in living a good life. It is therefore highly unlikely for a materialistic person to consume sustainably. The need to have fashionable clothing will be more important than stopping the harmful damage caused by garment production. To engage deeply in sustainable fashion consumerism, material values need to be refocused and changed to prioritize the concerns and issues of the world with the help of love and selflessness.
Values (Self Transcendence, Openness to Change, Self- enhancement, Conservation)
Behavior can be understood from the values and attitudes of a person. It affects the ethical dimension of decision making, ecological behavior and shopping attitudes. Values can be seen as part of what makes up personality. It affects what consumers believe in, how they act, how they deal with situations, they evaluate events and behavior, and what they place importance on. It ultimately determines how they end up living their lives. Thus, one's personal value system correlates strongly with how ethically/sustainably they’ll shop.
The following are ten universal values types divided in four categories. Notice the distance of the wedges since they indicate the relationship between the values. The values on opposite ends clash while those next to each other compliment each other. People who value achievement and power will not value universalism. This is a great starting point in understanding a sustainable fashion consumer on a deeper level.
Anti- Resistance to Change
It is essential to know if a consumer is resistant to change. According to Feather (1995), if a consumer is more conservative they will want their life ruled by tradition. They will avoid novelty and change. Those that are more resistant will not care how their clothing was produced, whether it was made with child labor or its effects the earth. In contrast, those who are more open to change and new experiences, will have a less conservative point of view. To engage in sustainable fashion consumption, you will need to be open to change. This is because sustainability in the fashion industry is a recent trend that engages consumers to think in a “new way”. It is an alternative to the conventional trading system of fast fashion. The change required in consuming used or recycled clothing would entail developing new buying habits outside normal demands and desires.
Universalism
This is the understanding, tolerance, protection and appreciation of the welfare of people and nature. This encapsulates the need to be concerned with social justice, equality, world peace, becoming one with nature, protecting the earth and being wise. It allows a connection of elements that all relate back to nature as a priority for its preciousness and beauty.. An example of an universalistic individual is someone that understands that the destruction of the earth means the end of natural resources and ultimately all humankind. Universalistic consumers will more likely be sustainable fashion consumers since they will care how their clothing was made. This is because it concerns the environment and human rights.
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