Sustainable fashion in Türkiye: perspectives and insights from consumers and marketers

In the last few decades, sustainability has emerged as an essential concern in addressing pollution and the continuous depletion of the earth's resources. Pressured by global and local governance to invest in sustainable and green procedures, businesses worldwide have placed sustainable goals in their agendas. Due to its significant contribution to pollution, which comes second after the oil industry, the fashion industry has been demanded to adhere to sustainable measures to lessen its negative footprint on the planet. All the stages of textile production are sources of environmental hazards, such as high levels of water consumption and harmful chemical disposal. On the other hand, research has called for attention to consumption, especially with the prevalence of fast fashion trends, which have increased the consumption and disposal of cheap clothes, resulting in environmental and social risks. Being a significant player in the fashion industry, Türkiye was chosen as the context of this research. This research investigates sustainable fashion in Türkiye by bringing insights from fashion brands and consumers. It draws on the literature on sustainable fashion and the theory of planned behavior. The study utilizes a mixed-method approach with an exploratory sequential design. A qualitative phase was used by interviews with experts in the country's fashion industry. The data was analyzed using a thematic analysis. A survey questionnaire followed a quantitative phase, and structural equation modeling was conducted for the study. Findings display that the factors of the theory of planned behavior have an essential impact on the intention to purchase sustainable fashion. By combining qualitative and quantitative data, the research provides significant insights into the sustainable fashion situation in the country. The study highlights misunderstandings and discrepancies in how brands and consumers understand sustainable fashion. It also identifies greenwashing as a common practice among brands. Some significant challenges that may discourage purchase intentions were also identified, such as lack of information, misinformation, high cost, and lack of trust.