Dressing for a Sustainable Identity Dilemmas of Fashion Consumers Navigating Identity and Sustainability
(2025) BUSN39 20251Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how consumers navigate and justify their consumption habits while striving for a more sustainable identity. The study examines the internal dilemmas that arise when sustainable values confront the realities of identity expression and social influence.
Methodology: A qualitative research approach was adopted, in the form of in-depth interviews, involving twelve semi-structured interviews with women aged 20–30 from Sweden and Germany. The data were thematically analysed, enabling the identification of patterns related to sustainability awareness, justification strategies, and identity construction.
Theoretical Perspective: The study builds on consumer culture theory (CCT) and the... (More) - Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how consumers navigate and justify their consumption habits while striving for a more sustainable identity. The study examines the internal dilemmas that arise when sustainable values confront the realities of identity expression and social influence.
Methodology: A qualitative research approach was adopted, in the form of in-depth interviews, involving twelve semi-structured interviews with women aged 20–30 from Sweden and Germany. The data were thematically analysed, enabling the identification of patterns related to sustainability awareness, justification strategies, and identity construction.
Theoretical Perspective: The study builds on consumer culture theory (CCT) and the concept of the extended self to examine how fashion consumption shapes identity. It also draws on cognitive dissonance theory to explain how consumers justify inconsistencies between their sustainable values and their actual behaviour, highlighting the tension created by the attitude-behavior gap.
Results and conclusions: Findings revealed that there is a tension between consumers' sustainability values and their actual behaviour. While participants demonstrated a high level of environmental awareness, they often justified behavioural inconsistencies through personal strategies such as investing in high-quality garments, shopping second-hand, or engaging in mindful laundering practices. Sustainability, rather than being a stable characteristic, emerges as a dynamic process of continuous negotiation. Social media, trends, and personal values were factors that influenced the construction of the self. The study contributes to understanding the symbolic and practical dimensions of sustainable consumption, highlighting justifications as a way to construct one's identity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9206480
- author
- Johansson, Hedda LU and Tappe, Lily LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Sustainable Fashion, Identity Creation, Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), Cognitive Dissonance, Attitude-Behaviour Gap, Justification Strategies, Green Consumption, Sweden, Germany
- language
- English
- id
- 9206480
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-30 12:11:56
- date last changed
- 2025-06-30 12:11:56
@misc{9206480,
abstract = {{Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how consumers navigate and justify their consumption habits while striving for a more sustainable identity. The study examines the internal dilemmas that arise when sustainable values confront the realities of identity expression and social influence.
Methodology: A qualitative research approach was adopted, in the form of in-depth interviews, involving twelve semi-structured interviews with women aged 20–30 from Sweden and Germany. The data were thematically analysed, enabling the identification of patterns related to sustainability awareness, justification strategies, and identity construction.
Theoretical Perspective: The study builds on consumer culture theory (CCT) and the concept of the extended self to examine how fashion consumption shapes identity. It also draws on cognitive dissonance theory to explain how consumers justify inconsistencies between their sustainable values and their actual behaviour, highlighting the tension created by the attitude-behavior gap.
Results and conclusions: Findings revealed that there is a tension between consumers' sustainability values and their actual behaviour. While participants demonstrated a high level of environmental awareness, they often justified behavioural inconsistencies through personal strategies such as investing in high-quality garments, shopping second-hand, or engaging in mindful laundering practices. Sustainability, rather than being a stable characteristic, emerges as a dynamic process of continuous negotiation. Social media, trends, and personal values were factors that influenced the construction of the self. The study contributes to understanding the symbolic and practical dimensions of sustainable consumption, highlighting justifications as a way to construct one's identity.}},
author = {{Johansson, Hedda and Tappe, Lily}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Dressing for a Sustainable Identity Dilemmas of Fashion Consumers Navigating Identity and Sustainability}},
year = {{2025}},
}