Is green the new black?

: the impact of sustainability on brand : Conscious fashion, a case study on H&M

Abstract

The fast-fashion industry has been criticized along the years for its lack of environmental and social ethics. In this frame we find H&M, the world’s second largest fashion retailer. The Swedish fast-fashion retailer has set its goal towards making fashion sustainable and has launched in 2011 its sustainable clothing line “Conscious”. The present dissertation aims to discover the potential of sustainable fashion in changing consumers’ attitude towards the brand. For this matter, literature concerning important theories about sustainability, consumer reaction towards sustainable products, sustainable marketing and brand attitude will be discussed. This literature review will be followed by a case study, focused on H&M’s sustainable goals and its “Conscious” line. Market research, composed by an online survey, will support the case study in order to, later, provide with recommendations and teaching notes. The results of this study supports that the “Conscious” line has the power to change consumer attitude towards H&M. It was confirmed that exposure to facts about the sustainable activities of a brand has a positive impact and triggers a spill over effect to unrelated areas. After displaying information about “Conscious”, significant improvement was observed in attitudes such as willingness to pay, evaluations of products and even general judgments about H&M.

Date of Award	22 Jul 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Celeste (Supervisor)