Spirituality bestowing self-transcendence amid COVID-19 through slow fashion

We proposed and tested a conceptual model exploring how (i) COVID-stress evokes spirituality;(ii) COVID-stress and spirituality engender positive attitude toward the different dimensions of slow fashion (i.e. equity, authenticity, functionality, localism, and exclusivity) as a symbol of self-transcendence and (iii) spirituality mediates the relationships between COVID-stress and the different dimensions of slow fashion. We conducted an online survey in Amazon Mechanical Turk (n = 317) and analyzed the data through structural equation modeling. (i) COVID-stress positively influences spirituality;(ii) both COVID-stress and spirituality positively influence attitude toward slow fashion in terms of equity, authenticity, localism, and exclusivity;(iii) spirituality mediates the relationships between COVID-stress and all the dimensions of slow fashion except for functionality. Due to the fast-changing situations amid the pandemic and the uneven severity of the pandemic globally, a cross-sectional study may have limited the scope for capturing nuances of retail consumer behavior. In summary, we suggest that the consumption of slow fashion apparel as a symbol of self-transcendence may help consumers cope with COVID-stress in the hope of building spiritual ties with a higher power through the process of ethical consumption amid the pandemic. © 2023 Korean Scholars of Marketing Science.

Slow Fashion Trends: Are Consumers Willing to Change Their Shopping Behavior to Become More Sustainable?

The fashion industry, despite generating great benefits in terms of trade, employment and income worldwide, is considered one of the most polluting industries due to the linearity of its production process with a high consumption of energy and raw materials as well as of waste generation. Furthermore, the short life cycles of its products, where the consumer seeks more to be fashionable than the products’ durability, contribute to this. However, this paradigm is changing due to society’s increased concern for the environment and a healthier way of life, promoting the emergence of a new concept called slow fashion, which seeks to improve the sustainability of fashion items from an environmental and ethical point of view. In this way, many companies are implementing circular economy measures in their production processes and innovating more circular products. The purpose of this work was to determine the consumer orientation toward slow fashion consumption, their perceived value and if they are willing to accept changes in their own behavior. The results confirm this new consumer orientation toward slow fashion consumption, which entails an important business transformation, fostering the innovation of new products and manufacturing systems characterized by a circular approach.