ASSIGNMENT QUESTION Mini Case Study Fast fashion and the new global consumer waste, want and survival A recent BBC article Fast fashion: Should we change how we think about clothes?, drew attention to the damage to the environment by consumers desire to buy large quantities of clothing for personal use only for most of those clothes, after a single use in some cases, to end up in landfills. The result is a considerable contribution to greenhouse gases, air and water pollution. The problem is getting worse as the worlds population grows and competition between retailers intensifies. The drive for manufacturers to reduce costs to enable them charge low prices for everyday fashion is also in some cases leading to unethical practices and the use of cheap labour. The Environmental Audit Committee of the British Parliament, in a recent report wrote: In the UK we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe. Fast fashion means we overconsume and under use clothes. As a result, we get rid of over a million tonnes of clothes, with 140m worth going to landfill, every year. The Committee made a number of recommendations to government including: ? Mandatory environmental targets for fashion retailers with a turnover above 36 million ? Lessons on designing, creating, mending and repairing clothes should be in the school curriculum ? The Government should publish a publicly accessible list of retailers required to release a modern slavery statement. This should be supported by an appropriate penalty for those companies who fail to report and comply with the Modern Slavery Act ? The fashion industry must come together to set out their blueprint for a net zero emissions world, reducing their carbon consumption back to 1990 levels From the recommendations made by the Audit Committee, the focus appears to be on forcing, or at least encouraging organisations to change their manufacturing and marketing practices. Only one of the recommendations (education of children) was designed to attempt to change consumer behaviour, which arguably is where the effort to reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion ought to be. Unfortunately for the Committee, the government rejected almost all of their recommendations. In its frustration with the governments response, the Committee has now turned its attention to tackling the problem from the consumers perspective instead of the fashion producers perspective. ASSESSMENT INSTRUCTIONS You have been appointed as a Consumer Behaviour Adviser to the Committee to help it come up with a strategy to help tackle the problem of fast fashion and its detrimental impact on the environment. Your first task is to write a 3000-word (+/-10%) report that addresses the following: Task 1: An analysis and evaluation of the nature and scale of the challenge facing the Committee, from a consumer behaviour standpoint (60 marks) Task 2: Recommendations on the specific approaches that should be used to help change consumer attitudes to fast fashion in the effort to tackle the environmental damage arising from the throwaway culture in the clothing industry (40 marks) Points to consider 1. Candidates should draw from a wide range of sources to reflect the different perspectives of different commentators (for and against). Reference any research conducted amongst consumers. 2. Include both sources and perspectives. 3. Use existing consumer behaviour analytical models: a. Input-Process-Output models e.g. black-box-based models b. Motivation models: needs, wants c. Individual DMP models: simple and comprehensive e.g. Howard-Sheth, Nicosia d. Organisational behaviour and DMP models to reflect organisational take on these issues, cost, inventory, revenue and profits e. A critique of the models as well as a discussion of their limitations should be rewarded f. Address the issues from a consumer behaviour perspective therefore, the use of models and frameworks of consumer behaviour are essential. g. Analyse the nature and scale of the issues from these angles: i. Product design ii. The nature of the supply chain iii. Consumer engagement and the current levels of awareness iv. The nature of consumption: needs vs wants v. The level of motivation on the part of consumers to change their behaviour in the light of environmental issues vi. The conflict between the consumers need to look good and the responsibility to live life from a sustainability perspective h. Demonstrate original thinking and critical analysis rather than just copying and pasting research material i. Make use of examples from real life as well as from published sources 4. Recommendations should be supported by tried and tested models of consumer behaviour as well as success stories from other industries or case studies a. Candidates need to tackle the implications of their recommendations: i. Government policy ii. Organisational behaviour change iii. Production costs and company profits iv. Financial and other costs to the consumer Comment on future perspectives: consumer and industry Ensure you use the correct report format: ? Cover page with Index; ? Executive summary (please note a summary of the key recommendations for the MD); ? Introduction; ? Tasks – main body of analysis and evaluation; ? Conclusion; ? Recommendations; ? Bibliography; ? Appendices. Please note: ? The word count should be 3000 words (+/- 10%) ? You may include appropriate graphics to support your points if you consider they will add value to your answer ? This is not to be written as an essay ? Cover page, Exec Summary, Bibliography and Appendices are NOT included in the word count) ? You must use academic theory and other robust sources to support your text, and any theory used should be applied to the context of the scenario ? You must use in-text citations to evidence your work, in addition to producing a full list of references in the bibliography. All of these should conform to Harvard Referencing format. ? The bulk of this text should be your own original work, and should not be excessively paraphrased.
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