Abstract
The fashion industry has long been criticized for its detrimental environmental impact. As awareness grows, consumers acknowledge that their demand for variety at low prices has fueled the industry’s unethical practices, making sustainability a key concern for them and for companies. Although fast-fashion brands introduce sustainable collections, they continue to face criticism for prevalent greenwashing practices. Our research explores how integrating such collections into fast-fashion assortments influences consumer perception and purchase intention, depending on their involvement in both fashion and sustainability. Through our quantitative study, we find that implementing strategic sustainability through green collections alone is insufficient to convince environmentally conscious consumers. Our results reveal a dual involvement-driven skepticism that helps explain reluctance to adopt sustainable fast-fashion collections. This study contributes to a better understanding of consumer responses to green claims in fast-fashion and offers several managerial recommendations to improve these sustainable collections credibility and consumers’ trust.
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DOI
10.20429/jamt.2026.130103
Publication Date
6-2026
First Page
18
Last Page
35
Recommended Citation
Le Bon, C. (2026). Strategic sustainability in fast-fashion: Consumer responses to green collections. Journal of Applied Marketing Theory,13(1), 18-35. https://doi.org/10.20429/jamt.2026.130103