Fashionable yet responsible? Attitudes and consumption patterns of female independent fashion consumers

Despite the growing interest in independent fashion, significantly more studies focus on its producers than on consumers. Our paper aims to address this research gap by examining female independent fashion consumers who participate in an independent and slow fashion fair and compare their buying and post-purchase preferences and behaviours with those of the general population of Polish female fashion consumers. To this end, we conducted two parallel surveys: one during an independent fashion fair held in Krakow, and another on a representative sample of Polish fashion consumers. The primary focus of our analysis is to test the hypothesis about more sustainable and responsible consumption behaviours of independent fashion consumers, as derived from previous studies of this fashion segment. Our findings reveal that while independent fashion consumers do not significantly differ from other consumers in terms of general fashion behaviours (shopping frequency, second-hand purchases or clothing repairs), they more frequently engage in other fashion-related activities (such as sharing used clothing). They exhibit greater sustainability-related motivations during fashion consumption and generally demonstrate stronger awareness of environmental and ethical issues linked with the fashion industry.

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