2022: MSc Textile Sustainability and Innovation
Showcase
Statement
The purpose of this study is to promote the sustainable fashion movement in South Korea.
Abstract
Society is a social organism interconnected with one another. A variety of industry stakeholders are involved in the implementation of sustainable fashion.
In this study, sustainable fashion is considered a social organism influenced by industry stakeholders that collapse if any organ malfunctions.
This study aims to obtain experts’ opinions on political, academic, industrial, and social factors promoting and impeding the sustainable fashion
movement in South Korea and discuss improvement and future directions.
This paper draws on the opinions of ten key stakeholders using semistructured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis (RTA). The results show three motivators and four barriers in South Korea sustainable fashion. Three motivators are; the emergence of a new consumer class, customer awareness over the past few years, and an increased number of sustainable fashion brands. On the other hand, four barriers impede sustainable fashion; the lack of government support, the small business scale of sustainable fashion brands, the attitude-behaviour gap between customer’s perception and buying behaviour, and the generation gap between producer and consumer. This paper contributes to academic research on sustainable fashion and raises government stakeholder awareness of South Korea. Moreover, fashion industry workers can gain insight into how to start a sustainable fashion brand and motivate fashion customers to purchase consciously.
