Survey Response

Sustainable Fashion 

Survey Results

I have decided to stop collating responses from this survey as it seems to be hard to get people to fill     out a few more. I have now had 48 responses which I am happy with. I am using this information to      help me with my Eco section of my magazine to get what people really think and understand about       Ethical fashion (asking a variety of people including fashion students as well as people who don't care  at all about fashion!). Below I will add the results and questions asked.  (Click on images to enlarge).

As shown in the answers above, the majority of people I questioned have heard of both Ethical and Fair Trade Fashion, followed by 12 people knowing only about Fair Trade Fashion and close by 11 people not knowing about either! This shows that most people have heard of Fair Trade and Ethical fashion, but it does not state whether they really know what it is? Or what it’s about…

For the question above only 3 people have responded saying that being Eco-friendly is not important to them, and I’m glad they have been honest when they reply, the majority of answers have been saying that being Eco-friendly is partially important to them, this shows that people do care, but not enough to change the way they buy and spend. I’m not sure if people have answered this to what they really believe or to what they feel is acceptable and the way it should be, I could be wrong, but that is how I feel.

This question helps to back up my previous thoughts, 9 people have answered that when they are shopping for clothing they prefer to buy items for what they look like and for what is on trend rather than considering environmental issues when purchasing, I think this is true for a lot of people, especially teens. I do not think they realise or are really bothered about the environment or the third world workers at a young age, as they are not taught about it in a fun way, or in a way that relates to them. The most common answer was ‘No- Not that I’m aware of’, which also shows that people are not thinking before they buy, which is unfortunately true in most cases despite age.

 As before the most common answer to this Fair Trade purchasing question is ‘No- not that I’m aware of’’ followed by people saying they have some items of Fair Trade clothing. I think that a lot more people know about Fair Trade the brand then they do about other ethical issues, or much about what Fair Trade actually is. So I will use these pointers when writing information in my magazine spread, people need to know the differences between ethics and what Fair Trade actually is, if they understand the concerns to the environment and people, then they may realise it’s a bigger problem then once thought, and may want to act upon their fast fashion ways!

I think that a lot more people are aware of Ethical and Fair Trade goods such as domestic products such as cleaning products, food and drink rather than fashion, and this is why for this answer there are 20 responses to people stating that they buy ‘some’ Fair Trade goods. No one has answered that they buy all Fair Trade products and this may be due to expense or being hard to find. I find people try and make more of a conscious effort when it comes to these products rather than fashion products as it is more common and heard of, as well as being cheaper to buy as one off pieces rather than as a constant purchase.

In response to this question, a lot of people have not heard of any eco-friendly fashion brands, and by only getting 22 responses in total, I am guessing people missed this question out as they did not know any either. The most popular response is ‘People Tree’ and this is probably due to their growing popularity with a range of age generations as well as male/female clothing and kids-wear, so they cover a huge market. They are also very good at getting their brand out there with their marketing strategies such as using Emma Watson to support a younger eco-range. Other stores mentioned are mainly popular high street stores, these stores already have established and loyal customers, so when they see a new range they are immediately interested. These stores may have a few organic pieces, or are sometimes collaborated with certain ethical brands and labels, which helps to enhance knowledge.

There are a variety of opinions to this open question, where I have asked if anyone has any other helpful comments or suggestions about Fashion with a conscience. I agree with answer 2, and I think a lot of people will agree too, Ethical clothing can be extremely expensive, and for certain people these options can not be considered as it is just not feasible. But, it makes things a lot more difficult by cutting prices as it means somewhere down the line someone will not be getting as much profit, or being paid for their hard work fairly. It’s a tricky one, but I’m guessing those people who claim to be an ‘Ethical’ company will be conscious about price, and being fair, so maybe these prices are the best they can do?

Sometimes you can find cheaper brands of Ethical clothing, but these pieces are usually slightly boring, and the more common pieces of clothing such as plain tees and strappy tops. The more detail and work that has gone into a garment, is more expensive, which makes sense but to those who cannot afford such high prices will stick to their fast and cheap fashion ways. Another good comment was number 8, a lot of people are aware of the ethical issues that are facing some of the leading brands and high street stores, but this unfortunately will not prevent them from buying their products. People are too clued up on getting the best deals for the cheapest prices without caring about the other issues around making garments,. Of course there are some people who do not know anything or much about these issues, and in contrast there are some who do know lots about these issues, and do act upon them buy shopping this way when and as they can!

In conclusion to this survey, I feel that people need to be made more aware of the issues that are coming from the everyday items they use and buy. Especially from what we wear as this is obviously something that is not as big and well known as it should be! The companies need to try harder to promote their work, but if they are not getting that many customers than they may not be able to afford this method of promotion. They need to push to make this issue real, and to make people realise. Maybe some more shock tactics are in need? 

Overall this research has been very helpful, I would have preferred a little more feedback but this has been more helpful then I first thought.
When using this information for my magazine section on Ethical clothing, I am going to make sure to make it fun and interesting for the reader, not too heavy but detailed enough for my readers to understand the real meaning behind these issues! I want to make ethical fashion cool, and for people to want to shop in this way. I will also be exploring ‘Make do and Mend’ styles, where you can alter the clothes you already have (recycling) and to charity shop buy as this is also a method of recycling, and by doing this it reduces the amount of fast fashion waste we buy! I want to also find some cheaper brands of ethical clothing that is affordable to a younger generation such as ‘Tweens’ 15-20 year olds (which I am aiming my magazine for).