Sustainability and Social Responsibility

A Comparison between Consumer and Industry Perspectives on Sustainable Practices throughout the Apparel Product Lifecycle

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Abstract

The apparel and textile industry creates significant environmental impacts in product lifecycle. Companies use tools such as Higg Index to measure sustainable performance in different stages of product lifecycle. The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer preference of apparel industry's sustainable practices throughout product lifecycle and whether consumers were willing to pay a premium for these practices. The Brand Environmental Module of Higg Index was used as the benchmark of industry's perspective and an online survey was used to collect consumers' purchase preferences. It was found that apparel industry and consumers have different perspectives on the importance of sustainable practices in different stages of product lifecycle. Furthermore, consumers' willingness to pay a premium on industry's sustainable practices did not match with the industry's perspectives. The findings indicated that Higg Index's overall weight distribution may be reconsidered, and companies should reallocate their resources across different stages in product lifecycle.

How to Cite:

Lou, X. & Cao, H., (2017) “A Comparison between Consumer and Industry Perspectives on Sustainable Practices throughout the Apparel Product Lifecycle”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 74(1).