En undersøgelse af forbrugernes opfattelse af bæredygtighedsinitiativer i fast fashion: Et casestudie om HM

Abstract

The discussion about sustainability in the fast fashion industry has never ceased. The fast fashion industry has to maintain its profitability by providing low-cost, mass-produced and speed-to-market products which has brought itself into the eye of the storm due to its enormous effect on the environment. To get out of the predicament, the fast fashion industry urgently requires an inclusion of sustainability in their strategies; meanwhile motivating their consumers to change their perceptions and behaviors towards these sustainability initiatives in fast fashion. As for changing and improving consumers’ perception, customer engagement can be adopted as an effective strategy which can increase the intensity of consumers’ participation, both mental and physical, in companies’ sustainability initiatives and activities over time. The aim of the thesis is to investigate and understand the drives behind consumers’ perceptions of fast fashion companies’ sustainability initiatives. Based on the reference framework built on theories such as customer experience, customer behaviors and customer journey, the thesis attempts to employ both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to identify which factors affect consumers’ perceptions. The result of the thesis indicates that consumers’ perceptions of fast fashion companies’ sustainability initiatives are directly affected by customer engagement, together with consumers’ attitudes towards sustainability as a whole and fashion companies. The thesis chooses H&M as a case study where H&M’s sustainability initiatives are presented to test their customers’ perception of these initiatives. Based on the result that consumers’ perception of H&M’s sustainability initiatives can be positively affected by customer engagement, specific strategic solutions are provided for the improvement of customers’ perception through engagement. Besides this thesis also provides a strategic guide for fast-fashion companies generally related to their sustainability initiatives. Fast fashion companies should translate their sustainability initiatives into their customer engagement which should involve effective, transparent, and honest communications. This thesis implicates that there is a gap between fast fashion company’s sustainability efforts and consumer's perception of these efforts, where customer engagement can be a possible tool to fill this gap and improve the relationship between customer and fast fashion companies when it comes to sustainability.