Abstract
This research contributes a theorisation of the practice transformation processes that sustainably-oriented fashion consumers enact when attempting to shop sustainably online. Qualitative data analysis demonstrates that sustainably-oriented practitioners accrue critical awareness of the poor sustainability practices of the fashion industry, which habituates as ‘reflexive commitment to sustainability’. This reflexivity destabilises routinised shopping practices, as core fashion meanings (i.e., pleasure, excitement and newness) become contested. These meanings are locked into shopping practice configurations through interconnecting material (e.g., digital retail devices) and competence (e.g., scrolling skills) practice elements. When core meanings become contested, practitioners pursue transformation processes, including a shift from scrolling to searching and a severe constriction of acceptable brand constellations, driven by strict rules. However, adapted ‘sustainable’ online shopping fails to satisfactorily stabilise, leading the most reflexively committed to sustainability towards practice abandonment. We identify interventions needed to disrupt and shape online fashion shopping practice so sustainability is built in.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Unpublished - 7 Dec 2023 |
Research Groups and Themes
- Bristol Interaction Group