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Millennials, Gen Z unaware of price paid for cheap BԪַfast fashionBԪַ: B.C. prof

KPU Surrey researcher says education needed about the waste and pollution tied to industry practices
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Dr. Yunzhijun Yu is a psychology instructor at KPUBԪַs Surrey campus, in Newton. (Contributed photo)

A B.C. psychology instructor says younger consumers donBԪַt understand the negative effects of BԪַfast fashionBԪַ and need more education in order to better shape their shopping choices.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University SurreyBԪַs Dr. Yunzhijun Yu found that Millennial and Gen Z shoppers lack awareness of the environmental and social harm of BԪַreplicating recent catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail quickly while demand is at its highest.BԪַ

A published research article, co-authored by Yu and colleagues Claudia L. Gomez-Borquez and Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky, says the BԪַfast fashionBԪַ produces more than it can sell and emits as much greenhouse gases as France, Germany and the United Kingdom combined.

BԪַFast fashion is so cheap, sometimes a new T-shirt is cheaper than the price of a cup of coffee,BԪַ noted Yu, who holds a doctorate in marketing and studies consumer behaviour.

BԪַItBԪַs so easy to say IBԪַm going to buy it, without realizing the cumulative effect of buying all of these things.

BԪַThereBԪַs no simple solution,BԪַ Yu added, BԪַbut from the evidence we have collected we can see there is indeed a shift in intention, even though itBԪַs not enough to change their behaviour. We think that educating consumers about fast fashion is definitely on the right track.BԪַ

The research is published in the Journal of Sustainable Marketing, as found on luminousinsights.net.

Young adults are a magnet for fast-fashion retailers, given tight budgets and susceptibility to compulsive buying behaviour. But that comes at a cost, according to Yu, who says the textile-dyeing industry is the second largest polluter of the worldBԪַs clean water and creates millions of tons of waste each year.

Researchers asked 104 undergraduate students questions to assess attitude, behaviour and knowledge of fast fashion, and later repeated the study with a different set of students. Investigating if consumption habits might be changed through education, researchers also engaged with a class of 30 students enrolled in a consumer behaviour course.

They found Gen Z and Millennial students care about sustainability, but lack awareness of the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion. They also found some indication that education might shift young consumersBԪַ purchases from quantity to quality, but concluded that may be BԪַa slow, difficult task.BԪַ

The research evidence suggests there is a tendency for young consumers to put limited thought into what theyBԪַre buying when it comes to fast fashion. Lured not only by budget-friendly prices, young consumers are also drawn to fast fashionBԪַs ability to help establish their identity and sense of self, the researchers suggest.

For a third study, they collected data from the second-hand clothing market, finding little demand for reselling used fast fashion due to its initial low price. Thrift stores do offer consumers a chance to buy low-cost unique items and save them from the landfill, but some buyers simply use these outlets to find garments to resell at a higher price elsewhere.

BԪַDisappointingly we found that fast fashion is just so cheap, itBԪַs not even attractive for people to think about bringing fast fashion clothing to second-hand markets,BԪַ Yu said in a KPU news release. BԪַItBԪַs very concerning that the fast fashion industry is so different from traditional clothing.BԪַ

Instead of getting a new life in thrift stores, fast fashion often ends up in the garbage or sent to developing countries where they have a detrimental effect on local clothing industries.

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news for Surrey Now-Leader and Black Press Media
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