Over the past decade, sustainability and ethical conduct have begun
to matter in fashion (Emberley 1998; Moisander and Personen 2002);
companies have realized that affordable and trend-sensitive fashion,
while typically highly profitable, also raises ethical issues (Aspers and
Skov 2006). How do today’s young consumers, so conscious of green
values, balance their continual need for ever-newer fashion with their
presumed commitment to environmental sustainability? In our research,
we ask how such consumers perceive fast fashion versus its luxury counterpart,
what sustainability actually means to them, and, based on our
findings, how the fashion industry can address sustainability