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The Effect of Information and Social Influence on Consumption of Sustainable Fashion Apparel

Student: Sadykov Yernur

Supervisor: Alexis V. Belianin

Faculty: International College of Economics and Finance

Educational Programme: Double degree programme in Economics of the NRU HSE and the University of London (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2020

Today, fast fashion is a steadily growing business system with severe environmental side-effects: besides emitting substantial amounts of CO2-equivalent, apparel production requires using billions of tonnes of water and chemicals, which inevitably depletes scarce resources of our planet and pollutes our rivers. On the other hand, human rights abuses frequently take place — garment workers are being underpaid and forced to work in unsafe and even deadly conditions. By increasing the number of fashion seasons and promoting cheap quality, the system only aggravates our shopping addiction. As a result, we produce, consume, wear and dispose clothes too fast, unsustainably — adding to the environmentally and socially hazardous impacts of fast fashion. Industry professionals are convinced that increasing consumer awareness is the most effective tool to make a considerable behavioural shift towards sustainable development. This research experimentally tests whether providing consumers with information on the negative consequences of fast fashion and justification of sustainability can increase the probability of buying a sustainable garment. In addition, an attempt was made to measure the peer effect on one’s preferences towards sustainable apparel. Outcomes of the experiment show a significant evidence regarding the positive effect of information and social influence on consumption of sustainable fashion apparel.

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