Garment label design and companion information to communicate fashion sustainability issues to young consumers

With the rise of fashion consumption and a clear lack of promotional input by retailers on the issues of sustainable fashion, this research shows that there is little awareness particularly among young adults on the issues of fashion sustainability. Therefore, a clear need to inform consumers on how to utilize, care for and dispose of fashion items is necessary to make the important changes to the planet’s fashion waste issues. To this end, this research explores ways of how fashion brands can communicate a more sustainable way of consuming fashion to young consumers in the UK. Focus groups were conducted with the objective of identifying the main issues relating to fashion consumption including the lack of awareness and disposal of garments. These were followed by a collaborative workshop involving young consumers, where a fashion brand was created to educate consumers through information and garment label design solutions using innovative communication strategies. To ascertain the validity of these design solutions, usability testing was then conducted, which identified further design improvements. Although conducted with a small set of participants this collaborative and user-centered research is well positioned to propose innovative solutions to communicate research-based design solutions on how to communicate, educate and change the perception of sustainable fashion among young consumers in the UK.