Consumer perception of green marketing in fast fashion

With the current state of the environment and with more younger consumers choosing to transition to the use of more sustainable and ‘green’ products, companies are seeing a change in the demands of their consumer base. In order for companies to be able to keep their customers, and keep gaining new ones, they have to adapt to these changes in consumer demands. One way to attract consumers is to use a successful marketing campaign, and in the case of green products demand, utilise green marketing. A sector of the retail industry that has in the recent past began to utilise green marketing, is the fashion industry, with fast fashion brands also partaking in this. Although, it is important to note that with the use of different messages and methods, the success of a marketing campaign could differ significantly. The purpose of this thesis was to find whether generation z and millennial consumers find the use of green marketing by fast fashion brands credible, what type of claim they find the most credible and what are the factors that affect their opinion. The research was based on a mixed method approach, of survey responses and individual interviews. The analysis was done through Spearman’s correlation analysis and hypothesis testing, with the additional use of interview responses to further explain the empirical findings. Overall it was found that generation z and millennial consumers do not find the use of green marketing by fast fashion brands as credible. Although the use of certain green marketing claims, such as the use or recycled materials, was considered credible.