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The purpose of this research is to examine how consumers interpret and understand sustainable fashion production and how this informs their fashion consumption practice.

The research adopts an interpretivist approach with in-depth interviews with 28 participants. Sampling criterion sought consumers already engaged with sustainable production – professionally working mothers – to explore how their sustainability knowledge was evaluated for sustainable fashion claims. Garment labels that descripted facets of sustainable production were introduced to encourage discourse of sustainable fashion knowledge.

The findings illustrate that sustainable fashion production is not understood and efforts to apply sustainability concepts were often misunderstood which led to scepticism for higher pricing and marketing claims. Despite this, there was concern for the wider implications of sustainability.

Limitations include the small sample from one geographical area (Edinburgh), despite the richness of the data collected.

The research offers practical advice for fashion marketers to educate consumers through effective communication strategies how sustainable fashion concepts improve consumer concerns surrounding fashion production.

The research indicates increased concern for fashion sustainability, something that fashion retailers should be mindful of.

There has been little research examining consumer interpretation of sustainable fashion terminology, and this research adds to understanding how sustainability is evaluated within fashion production.

The purpose of this study is to explore consumers perceptions of sustainability, including how information is accessed, evaluated and practiced and how sustainability concepts transfer to fashion consumption.

The research adopts a phenomenological approach of unstructured interviews with 28 professionally working mothers. Garment labels indicating concepts of sustainability from UK fashion-retailers were used as a vehicle for discussion. Data was analysed through the theoretical lens of Holbrook’s (1999) typology of consumer value.

The findings identity that the participants struggle with understanding how sustainability is compromised within fashion-production and how their sustainability practice fluctuates depending on information, guidance and practical support. The findings also identify preferences for sustainability, where sustainable concepts are perceived as adding value.

Limitations are assumed through the small focussed sample, however, the research does provide rich insight into micro-analytic idiographic lifeworlds to better understand how everyday deliberations of household management and sustainability concepts are practiced.

The findings illustrate pathways for retailers, producers and policymakers to guide sustainability and support sustainability through the use of labels and marketing which will enhance notions of value. Similarly, the findings can enable policymakers to position campaigns and practical solutions that advance the sustainability agenda.

The research indicates that sustainability is filtering through society and drawing the attention of a broader consumer market, including passive mainstream consumers who are developing expectations that mainstream fashion-retailers address sustainability.

The research is novel in adopting a phenomenological approach that provides a unique insight into how sustainability is experienced in everyday households, through the adaptation of related behaviours and evaluating sustainability concepts.

to examine consumers' perceptions of retail brand representations of gender-oriented and/or sexuality-oriented identities. The authors explore the value of developing more progressive, inclusive brand values to support more effective retail brand communications and imagery.

Photo elicitation, utilising LGBTQIA+/sexuo-gendered imagery from retail brand marketing communications, facilitated discussion within focus groups representing various genders, age generations and sexualities.

Younger generations indicate a preference for fluid gender and sexuality and endorse retail brands that represent this progressive understanding. Gender and age moderate preferences for representative imagery, with older males more resistant to sexuo-gendered messages and females of all ages more accepting.

The research is limited in generalisability, geography and demographics. The focussed approach did, however, enable collection of rich, insightful data to underpin evaluations of communicative brand values.

The inclusion of diverse and fluid sexuo-gendered identities within the brand values of retailers would enable effective targeting of consumers across a range of more traditional cohorts.

The evolving ideology towards inclusiveness, identified within the generational cohorts, demonstrates social change through progressive acceptance of more fluid gendered and sexual identities.

The research adopts a novel approach to examining diverse, sexuo-gendered imagery within gendered and generational cohorts, offering qualitative examples of a progressive social ideology.

The purpose of this paper is to explore social dynamics around food and clothing provisioning for young families and how involvement in environmental concerns shapes those dynamics and presents challenges and opportunities to in terms of evolving consumer tastes. Through collecting and analysing narratives of mothering, the authors explore the influence of children on decision making in household provisioning; in particular, how their education into sustainable concepts through the European initiative of eco-schools impacts provisioning.

The exploratory research design specifically sought the demographic profile identified in extant literature as engaging with sustainability issues to explore how they were interpreted into familial consumption. This resulted in 28 unstructured interviews exploring a range of related topics with a group of highly educated working mothers with a profession.

The study finds that family consumption behaviour is mediated by relations towards environmental concerns and taste positions taken by both parents and children. It illustrates how care for children’s safety, social resilience and health and well-being is habitus informed as well as being the subject of wider institutional logics including educational interventions such as school eco-status and participation in mother and child activity groups. However, tensions arose surrounding the children’s socialisation with peers and space was provided to help the children self-actualise.

The exploratory goal of the study limited the scope of its empirical work to a small group of participants sharing consumer characteristics and geographical location.

The research provides ideas for retailers, brands and marketers to better position their product offering as it relates to growing family concerns for ecological issues and sustainable consumption, as well as what motivates sustainable behaviours, from both the child and mothers perspective.

The research identifies the immersion of sustainability into family households when there are no financial implications, influenced through campaigns, schools and society. This provides examples of what motivates sustainable behaviours for retailers and marketers to develop strategies that can be capitalised on.

The originality of the research emerges through examining how children influence sustainability within households and decision making, moving beyond health implications to educate children to be responsible consumers through play and authentic experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer perceptions and understanding of sustainable concepts within the context of fashion consumption.

Phenomenological interviews provided a platform to explore fashion sustainability and garment labels from current UK high street fashion retailers were used to stimulate discussion.

The findings identify confusion of how sustainability applies to fashion, particularly for environmental issues and there was scepticism regarding higher pricing for organic cotton. However, motivation to avoid fashion produced under exploitation resulted in avoiding retailers alleged of such practice, paying more for garments and purchasing from established UK retailers.

The idiographic nature of a phenomenological approach may be considered as a limitation, yet this in-depth exploration of participants with similar socio-demographics enables a rich understanding of the discourse experienced within their lifeworlds.

The findings illustrate that consumers are transferring sustainable principles from one context to another, and that by addressing sustainability, fashion retailers could obtain a competitive advantage.

The findings demonstrate consumers’ increased involvement with sustainability and the role expected from fashion retailers.

The research uniquely positions consumers’ reliance on heuristics to guide sustainable preferences, due to the lack of information and this implies that sustainable concepts are increasingly incorporated into everyday behaviours.