The sustainability concept according to Macnaghten et al. (1995) the sustainability implies move from a current unsatisfactory state, in which economic needs are pursued without taking into account absolutely nothing of the environment or the social needs, to a satisfactory state, that is, one in which social needs are amortized in a way that does not exceed the limits of the environment and taking care of resources. Being so, one of the main topics to which most of the thought is granted within the realm of macromarketing (Mittelstaedt et. al., 2014).
Sustainability as a megatrend takes on more importance because consumers are more aware each year with the environment, since the negative changes of pollution and climate change have already begun to wreak their havoc on the planet. Specifically on the fashion industry, as the fashion industry is responsible for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and behind the oil industry is the most polluting in the world, it is quite a worrying figure, as a result of this consumers are really aware of the environment, and companies, either for marketing or awareness, too (Paton, 2019; Gaba, 2020).
A new report from the Capgemini Research Institute (2020) ensures that 79% of consumers are changing their shopping preferences following criteria of social responsibility, inclusiveness or environmental impact. In addition to indicating advantages for consumers, companies also have a series of advantages such as greater customer loyalty and an increase in brand revenue. A main factor for these figures to be so high is the COVID-19 pandemic that has raised the level of consumer awareness (Capgemini, 2020). Consequently, the fashion business throughout the supply chain are becoming more environmentally, culturally, economically and socially sustainable every day, which in turn helps drive social change (Burns, 2019).
Of contrast, environmental consumption has not yet impacted on fashion purchasing decisions (Kim & Damhorst, 1998), since sustainable fashion products are more expensive, there is less variety of products, there are disadvantages in relation to aesthetic and functional aspects and relevant information is scarce. In addition, there are statistics showing that only 7 percent of consumers have sustainability as their main purchase criterion (Global Fashion Agenda, n.d.). Most organizations are left only on the surface of sustainability since there are many companies that consider that the impact it produces in cost overruns is a problem when implementing sustainability initiatives, and also companies feel that other issues are more relevant (Capgemini, 2020).
Thus, although sustainable development can help end poverty in the world and adjust social inequalities, serving human needs in a fairer way and reorienting technology to respect the planet and guarantee its viability, there are also negative consequences.
