Consumer’s perception towards sustainability of fast fashion products in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur

Fast fashion is known to be unsustainable due to its mass production, which contributes to environmental pollution. The global fashion industry is generating a lot of greenhouse gases due to the energy used during its production, manufacturing, and transportation of the clothes. Aside from air pollution, the fashion industry also contributes to water pollution through the waste of textile dye. Therefore, the fashion industry has recently heeded the call for sustainability and ethically sound production. Considering the high demand for fast fashion and the environmental impact of fast fashion, understanding the attitudes of younger generation (Generation Y and Z) consumers toward the sustainability of fast fashion products is critical to producing sustainable clothing in accordance with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A semi-structured interview was the primary method of data collection for this study. This research was done in a two-step approach in where initially, a short survey was undertaken to determine whether or not participants are familiar with the term "sustainable fashion". Only those respondents who are willing to participate in the second stage of the study were interviewed. The finding of nine interviewees shows that the younger generation is concerned about environmental and ethical issues in fast fashion, which leads to their preference for sustainable fashion. From the interviewees' perspective, sustainable fashion includes the second-hand or thrift-store market, as well as recycling old clothes into new ones by the fashion industry. The findings shows that participants highly support the idea of sustainable fashion; however, the economic aspect of sustainable fashion and hygiene issues cause hesitation in fully implementing sustainable fashion. Therefore, this study can be used to develop strategies to address the issues.