Product Range Distribution: Sustainable fashion - Primary research

In order to gain some primary research I sent out a survey to my peers. The questions were centred mainly around second hand clothing, and from the responses I wanted to gauge whether people my age are already buying second hand, and their reasons for this.

Overall responses on the survey were as expected, with many of the respondents owning second hand clothes. Reasons for this ranged from the clothes being cheap, to brands being available as well as the second hand look and vibe being in style at the moment. One answer was more focused on the ethical/environmental side of the movement "because fast fashion is ridiculous, we don't need all these clothes, child labour, the environment etc etc". Having only one respondent giving these reasons for buying second hand could show a lack of awareness around the subject, or a wider more likely reason of lack of social awareness. Most of the respondents giving their reasons for buying second hand as cost and style is understandable, as they are students and funds are low. While this is bad and shows lack of wider awareness, this could be aspects used to promote the lifestyle of buying second hand.

Another issue raised arises from question 6: 

Would you yourself reconsider your buying habits if you were told that the fashion industry is responsible for 92 million tons of solid waste per year globally, representing 4% of the 2.12 billion tons of waste we dump globally each year?

While 7 people answered yes, 5 people still answered no, and one person chose other with their own custom response: "if everyone did yes, but no because i'm only one person and why should I start when other people aren't". 

This is worrying considering that the fashion industry is one of the largest contributors of waste in the world, again showing that the respondents may not be as socially aware as they should be, and are unwilling to change their own personal habits. This does not reflect previous research into millennials being the most ethical and ecologically aware generation.