Rethinking Fashion: Strategies for Mitigating Overproduction and Reducing Environmental Harm

One of the biggest issues that are faced in the fashion industry today is relating to the increased production of clothes and declining use. The waste has increased leading to more greenhouse gas emission affecting the environment. The problem is about the mounting deadstock along with unsold clothes. The landfills are packed in the UK thus requires proper investigation on the matter to save time and efforts. This area is gathering attention because fashion is increasing and there are enough clothes. However, with the rampant overproduction fabrics are being wasted in landfill (Huffpost, 2018).

It is difficult to find a store across the globe which is not filled and chockablock with clothes which are stylish and super cheap. The fast fashion is gaining importance with the increase in the online shopping that is lifting the clothing in the UK market. With the change in the fashion industry the brands along with the online retailers are taking advantage of the garment manufacturing. It is analysed from the study and market analysis that production of clothes have increased and doubled globally as per the supply chain. Overproduction of clothes is increasing which is affecting the fashion industry in the UK. The demand of clothes is decreasing and the supply is increasing considerably which is leading to the clothing left over (UK Parliament, 2019). Fashion is ever changing and overproduction is leading to wastage of the fabric. It is thus one of the serious problems that are being faced in the fashion industry in UK. The rationale for the selection of topic is to determine the factors that are caused due to overproduction of clothing. It is stated that even if the production of clothes are stopped globally still there will be enough clothes for everybody. The rationale behind the study is to identify the fact that about 85% of clothing along with textile ends up in landfill regardless of the fact whether it is donated or never worn. Thus the main intention is to design and produce clothes which are long lasting and are made of materials that can be biodegrade, reused and recycled.

Research Question

For the effectiveness of the study it is vital to answer the question which is

“What is the reason for overproduction and what happens with those overproduce clothes?”

What is the impact of overproduction of clothes upon customer decision making in the UK fashion industry?

Aims and Objectives

The main objective of the study is to determine the changing aspects of fast fashion in UK and the impact of overproduction.

For the effectiveness the aims of the study is to

Analyse the importance of fast fashion

Impact of overproduction of clothes upon customer decision making in UK

Fashion industry is taking measures to determine the effectiveness of consumer behaviour upon the industry. The state of fashion is changing in the year 2019 because of the changing paradigm. The impact of overproduction of clothes is witnessed upon the environment and cost of the products. It is ascertained by Huffpost, (2018) that clothes are unsustainable because of the aspects which is about using and throwing away of clothes. The overproduction of clothes impacts the economy as well because textile production also contributes to the aspect of climate change. It is about international aviation along with shipping. It is noted that the fashion industry is facing several factors one of which is the use of synthetic fibres that is impacting the environment and leading to pollution. According to the words of Guardian News & Media Limited (2019) the main aspect is to fix fashion by keeping in view the social costs of the clothes. It is important to reduce the waste of fabrics across the globe by making effective decisions. From the report gathered it is noted that the clothes per person in UK is more than in other nations. The reason for such a glut is the use of hand clothing swamping which is impacting the market with regard to depressing prices for the use of textiles. The fashion consumption is actually causing waste problem in the UK. The affect of the overproduction is huge upon the resource management and decision making process (Huffpost, 2018). From the facts and information gathered it is worthy to note that citizen of UK discards more than million tonnes of textile per year impacting the fashion industry. However, owing to the overproduction the charity shops donation is at high rates but still tonnes of clothing are gone in the landfills. The recycling value of the clothes decreases which enters the municipal waste stream.

As per the record of 2016 the purchased clothes in UK is about 1,130,000 tonnes which is way more since the year 2012. The reason for it is the changing lifestyle and need for new design and innovation. The fact that is also determined by Kaufmann (2019) is that the fashion industry is enormous and the issue is related to the increasing number of unsold clothes. The apparel overproduction is well determined with the fact that too much of garments are present in the fashion industry and 30% are never sold. Moreover, if the fashion volume is stated as $1.7 trillion the inventory distortion included is about 12%. It is also analysed from the gathered data that over 50% of the fashionable clothes are being disposed every year. The waste is increasing due to overproduction thus 12.8 million tons are being sent to landfills. From the information the behaviour of consumer is changing as the focus is now upon reusing the fabrics without much waste. The wastes are being created by the fashion industry not only in terms of value creation but also waste of the valued resources. It is ascertained by ShareCloth (2018) that production of one t-shirts requires about 2700 litres of water. These impacts the purchasing decision because this quantity of water is usually drank by people in about 2.5 years. Hence the effect of overproduction is upon consumer decision making and the industry as the impact is globally. The resources are reducing with the increasing over production therefore the intention is to make proper decisions.

Fashion has a huge waste problem

Overproduction is impacting the fashion industry and is leading to waste which is impacting the decision and the economic sustainability. It is stated by World Economic Forum (2019) that in the last 15 years the production has increased and thus the clothes buried in the landfills have also increased. This is affecting the environment and impacting the climate change. The trend of overproduction is not only damaging the environment but also is limiting the opportunities of the fashion industry. It is identified that the fashion industry is missing out in value which is about $580 billion for the clothes which are barely recycled and are being worn less (UK Parliament, 2019). It is noted that for the growth and development of the fashion industry in UK designing is required so that the impact is positive upon the economy as well. There are several secrets of the fashion industry which is because of the overproduction of due to unsold clothes. One of the dirty secrets which are being stated here is about the destroying of clothes. Big and valued brands tend to burn the unsold stocks so that the clothes are not passed into wrong hands (Wang, 2010). The big brands are trying to produce limited stocks and at the same time design waste outs so that the resources can be circulated. This impacts the decision making process. Disposing of the stocks is another aspect of the fashion industry and this impacts the customer decision making. Millions of clothes are being discarded thus impacting the fashion industry. The idea is to recycle the products so that the waste garments are used thus positively influencing customers buying decision in UK.

The broad aim of this research study is to evaluate the aspects of overproduction of clothes and the decision making behavior of consumer in the UK. The intention is to analyze the facts to the future of the clothes that are wasted and its impact upon the fashion industry. To attain the valued information research philosophy is determined upon. Research philosophy deals with the thoughts and beliefs of the researchers for proper investigation. The philosophy that is being considered is the interpretive research views where research problem can be solved in subjective manner. One of the important principles of this philosophy is that it is not easy to develop knowledge and understanding about the fashion industry demand and supply side. This philosophy states that researcher has to play specific observation role to develop rich knowledge. The philosophy is about identifying the issues by taking into view the changing aspects of business.

Research Methods

Two most commonly applied research methods are qualitative research method and quantitative research method which is identified for better outcome. The mixed research method is the combination of both qualitative and quantitative. The focus is upon qualitative method so that the data can be collected easily and effectively. This method helps to collect data which that facilitates researcher to use group interaction for generating rich insight. The focus group is being considered in this study to attain better view about the fashion industry and wastes in clothing due to overproduction. The group interaction with the participants in the focus group leads to the creation of multiple realities while focusing on the core themes of the research area for better analysis to meet the objectives. The aim of the focus group is to develop understanding about overproduction of clothes which is impacting the fashion industry. The qualitative research method is an interpretative method which is generally applied towards getting an in-depth purview regarding the phenomenon or a particular event. Qualitative research method has been taken into consideration because the nature of this study demands a theoretical perspective which can be managed using qualitative method for better outcome.

Research Design

Research design is about combining different elements within a research study to answer the research question. There are mainly three forms of research design which are exploratory, explanatory along with descriptive research designs. For the effectiveness of the research study explanatory research is used to determine case-effect relationship. In this case, the fashion industry and the over productiveness is being determined. This design enables collection of primary data through the help of questionnaire as a data collection tool.

Data Collection

Data collection involves accumulation of different kinds of information that suits the style and objectives. Primary data collection involves the collection of information in raw form through survey using questionnaire, interviews and observation among others. On the other hand, secondary sources such as journals, literatures and online sources along with industry reports to an extent is part of the secondary data collection. For the effectiveness of the research study interview is being considered upon. The interview will include open ended questions that are directly linked to each of the objectives. Each of the interviews might take about took 15—20 minutes to get completed. The interviewees are being selected from UK through purposive sampling for better analysis.

From the gathered information and literature it can be comprehended that fashion industry is facing issues because of the overproduction. Overproduction impact decision making process of customer and impacts the fashion industry growth. The waste caused can be minimized by taking proper measures and creating value. It is noted that the impact is strong upon the brand as they are burning the unsold stocks in order to sustain the brand value in UK. Fashion is about comfort and customers are focusing upon sustainability for better growth. Today fashion has huge problem regarding the wastes and the impact it has upon customer decision making.

Ethical Review Form

This form is designed to ensure that the Bloomsbury Institute London operates an ethical review process that falls within the University of Northampton Research Ethics Procedure and the Guidance on Ethics for Researchers.

The Ethical Review Form consists of 3 parts:

Part 1 is an initial assessment of your project. The question is asking you whether you will be conducting empirical research for your Business Research Project. Your methodology may involve the collection of primary data through questionnaires, interviews and observations etc. or you may be conducting ‘desk based research’ i.e. only using secondary research data.

If you are only using secondary research data, you will not need to complete Parts 2 or 3 of the form.

If your research involves human participants, i.e. you are collecting primary data, you have to complete Part 2 of the form.

If your answer is no to all the questions in Part 2, ethics approval is automatic and providing you receive a pass grade for your proposal you may continue with your study.

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Ethical Review Form: Part1

Part 1 needs to be completed by all Business Research Project students.

Please read the following two statements and place an X in the area indicated for the statement that most accurately represents your research intentions.

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