ISBN online: 978-80-7701-088-7 | DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-088-7

Environmental, Economic and Social Challenges Associated with Fast Fashion

SCIENTIFIC MONOGRAPH

Dominika Čeryová, Jana Ladvenicová, Ondrej Hanušovský, Matej Čereš

The study addresses consumer behaviour in relation to the phenomenon of fast fashion, which currently represents a significant economic, social, and environmental issue. The main aim of the study was to analyse consumer behaviour in relation to fast fashion, identify the factors influencing consumer decision-making when purchasing clothing, and assess the extent to which the social, economic, and environmental impacts of fast fashion are perceived. At the same time, the research sought to verify whether respondents’ attitudes and purchasing behaviour differ statistically significantly according to selected socio-demographic and economic characteristics. To achieve the stated aim, a quantitative research method was employed, specifically a questionnaire survey conducted through an online questionnaire created in Microsoft Forms. The research sample consisted of 577 respondents. The collected data were pre-processed in Microsoft Excel and subsequently analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics. The analysis included descriptive statistical indicators and one-way analysis of variance (One-Way ANO-VA), complemented by Tukey’s post hoc tests. The results showed that respondents attach the greatest importance to quality, price, and design/style when purchasing clothing, whereas less importance is assigned to brand, country of origin, and fashion trends. At the same time, the findings confirmed that respondents perceive mainly the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion relatively intensively, particularly textile waste, low wages, exploitation of employees, water pollution, and human rights violations. The research also pointed to a certain dicrepancy between awareness and purchasing behaviour, as respondents who had heard of fast fashion perceived its negative consequences more intensively, while respondents who purchase it held a less negative attitude towards it. Statistical testing of the hypotheses confirmed significant differences according to gender, awareness of fast fashion, declared fast fashion purchasing, personal income, household income, generational affiliation, and education. The findings indicate that fast fashion cannot be understood as a uniform consumer phenomenon, but rather as a complex issue intertwined with consumers’ values, awareness, economic situation, and lifestyle.

Keywords: fast fashion, consumer behaviour, sustainability, purchasing decision-making, social impacts, environmental impacts, one-way ANOVA

1. edition, online: 2026, publisher: Mendel University in Brno