Why Do We Buy Fast Fashion? The Key to Changing Purchasing Behaviors

A recent Spanish study analyzes how education and social norms influence fast fashion purchasing choices. Discover what could be the key to changing consumer behavior.

Fast fashion consumption thrives largely as a function of our purchasing behavior, driven by the desire to own more and more clothes and supported by the continuous decrease in prices.

Through what we buy, we express ourselves and strengthen our identity towards ourselves and towards others. In cultures where our purchases convey self-realization and identity expression, clothes represent a visual language that communicates our belonging to certain social groups, cultures or communities. We are driven to change our identity through new clothes and we are fascinated by being fashionable, leaving in the shadows concerns for the environment, working conditions, ethical supply chains.

With this premise, a research conducted in Spain used agent-based modeling (ABM* ) to analyze consumer decisions regarding fast fashion. Because social and environmental progress requires that the public has the will to take part and support initiatives that address fast fashion and other issues.

How much do environmental concerns and awareness of the (un)sustainability of fast fashion affect our purchasing choices?

The study by Soboleva & Sánchez (2024) investigates how individuals choose to purchase fast fashion and how awareness of the effects of fashion, particularly fast fashion, affects this process, examining the influence of factors such as government intervention, social media and peer pressure.

Government intervention:

The analysis finds that government interventions are critical, with state’s campaigns setting the overall tone of progress, but up to a point beyond which they produce diminishing returns. One of the key findings is therefore that the state does not need to be extremely proactive or continue campaigns indefinitely to achieve optimal results. The state’s influence on public opinion reaches a point where further interventions produce insignificant results.

Environmental Concern, Awareness, and Sustainability Education:

Investigating the impact of awareness and sustainability education on individuals’ decision-making processes regarding fast fashion purchases indicates that environmental concerns do not significantly influence purchasing habits, nor do normative expectations (beliefs about what others think we should or should not do).

Social pressure:

Positive social pressure can stimulate collective change. If knowledge is not enough, feeling that one’s sustainable behavior is shared and appreciated by others can influence choices.

The study highlights that there are no explicit or implicit social expectations that push people to choose sustainably. In other words, in the society analyzed, there is no cultural climate or relational context in which sustainable choices are encouraged, rewarded or considered the norm.

The absence of social pressure is worrying, because without it it is not possible to address issues such as fast fashion and shape collective behavior: even those who are educated on the topic may choose to remain silent. Those who know the negative impact of fast fashion may not act, nor speak out, if they feel alone or lack social support.

Bandwagon effect or bandwagon effect: When there is no social pressure to make sustainable choices, the bandwagon effect is activated in the opposite direction: people unconsciously follow the crowd that continues to buy fast fashion. The bandwagon effect is part of a larger group of cognitive distortions that influence people’s judgments and decisions. Cognitive distortions can help people think and reason faster, but they often introduce errors of calculation and evaluation. Among these, the bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people adopt behaviors or attitudes simply because others do so. It describes the tendency of people to follow the crowd, to desire what others have, to act as others act, deciding based on what the larger group is doing.

The term bandwagon originates from the traveling circuses of the nineteenth century, whose musical bands paraded on wagons to attract the public. Clown and entertainer Dan Rice used this float to support Zachary Taylor’s 1848 presidential campaign, inviting people to “jump on the bandwagon” to support him. After Taylor’s success, other politicians imitated the strategy, giving rise to the phrase “bandwagon effect”, which refers to the tendency for people to join a cause simply because it is popular, and some began to use the idea of ”jumping on the bandwagon” as a negative action.

Food trends and the popularity of certain foods can be influenced by the bandwagon effect. Even the acquisition of generational slang terms can be an example of “getting on the bandwagon.” On social media, trends can involve the recreation of specific types of posts or the sharing of certain types of content. A recent example? The AI-generated Barbie dolls kit that have filled our Instagram feeds. The very use of specific social media platforms and the popularity of certain TV shows and movies can also be attributed to the bandwagon effect. Additionally, research has shown that the effect can also influence decisions made by doctors, therapists, and other healthcare professionals.

In fashion, trends appear to be particularly vulnerable to the bandwagon effect and also tend to be fleeting, making certain items quickly obsolete and forgotten in our closets. We buy clothes, shoes, and accessories because so many do, following the popularity of brands, stores, and products.

Why exactly does the bandwagon effect occur? Individuals are strongly influenced by peer pressure and norms. When it seems like most of the group is doing something, it becomes increasingly difficult not to do it. If our peer group, the people in our social circle, buy fast fashion, it is difficult to do otherwise.

Why is it so difficult?

It’s a natural tendency for people to follow the rest of the group. because we feel pressured. In other cases, we compare ourselves to others and then try to change to be more like the group. Following trends can even help build bonds with others.

When it seems like everyone is doing something, there’s a huge pressure to conform, which is perhaps why “bandwagon” behaviors tend to form so easily. People want to be right. They want to be on the winning side. One reason people conform is because they seek information from other members of their social group about what is right or acceptable. If it seems like everyone else is doing something, people feel like it’s the right thing to do.

Fear of exclusion also plays a role in the bandwagon effect. People generally don’t want to be on the excluded side, so conforming to what the rest of the group is doing is a way of ensuring social inclusion and acceptance. The need to belong drives people to adopt the norms and attitudes of the majority in order to gain acceptance and approval from the group.

Although the bandwagon effect can have potentially dangerous consequences in some cases, it can also lead to the adoption of healthy behaviors. If it appears that most people reject unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking) and adopt healthy choices (such as physical activity and exercise), people may then be more likely to avoid risky choices and adopt healthy behaviors.

Bandwagon effect, peer pressure and sustainable fashion:

Popular pressure creates the context.
The bandwagon effect spreads behavior that appears successful or approved in that context.

If peer pressure is absent, the bandwagon reinforces the unsustainable status quo. If it is present and positive, it can accelerate collective change. If a cultural inversion is triggered – for example, by showing that more and more people are choosing sustainable fashion – the bandwagon effect can become a powerful ally: sustainability can be perceived not only as right, but also as popular.

In this way, positive peer pressure can exploit the bandwagon effect to make more ethical behavior desirable and “fashionable”. The bandwagon effect can lead consumers to follow sustainable trends if they are perceived as popular.

Social media:

According to the Spanish study, social media profoundly influences concerns and opinions, playing an important role in shaping our behavior. They can both promote progress and hinder the adaptation of new purchasing habits. Furthermore, the general bias of social media has a significant impact on efforts to change current purchasing habits in the fashion industry.

A study published in Frontiers in Communication analyzed how key opinion leaders (KOLs), including influencers and celebrities, influence consumers’ purchase intentions regarding sustainable fashion products. The findings highlight that:

KOLs can significantly influence purchasing decisions, brand perception, and marketing strategies.
Their presence on social media and their credibility can motivate consumers to adopt more sustainable purchasing behaviors.

Generational influences:

A master’s thesis from the Portuguese Catholic University examined how peer pressure influences sustainable fashion purchasing decisions among Generations Y and Z. The results indicate that:

Generation Y is more susceptible to peer pressure in purchasing eco-fashion products
Generation Z is more influenced when eco-fashion is promoted on social media platforms such as Instagram.
The study suggests that peer pressure acts as a mediator between generation and purchase intention, with social media amplifying this effect.

Social norms are not enough to influence the choice of what we buy:

A study published byMDPI investigated the role of social norms in sustainable clothing purchasing behavior. The results indicate that:

Social norms influence the perception of the social acceptability of sustainable clothing.
However, no significant moderating effect of social norms was found between purchase intention and actual purchasing behavior.

This suggests that, although social norms may influence intentions, other factors such as personal values and financial availability may play a more determining role in actual purchasing behavior.

Conclusions:

Education on sustainability and government interventions are not enough to slow down the purchase of fast fashion. Social media and social pressure are crucial to guide more responsible and ethical purchasing behaviors. Added to this are other elements such as personal values and financial availability.

Defined personal values and identities can overcome the bandwagon effect. Evaluating yourself based on what is considered popular at a given moment can also damage self-esteem and prevent you from reaching your full potential. Just because you like something that is not popular or has an interest that many others do not seem to share, does not mean that those activities, that style, those ideas are not worth pursuing.

To avoid the bandwagon effect, do not listen to just one source when evaluating information. Look for a variety of data and opinions, including alternative or contrary points of view, legitimate and evidence-based information that can support or refute those claims.

The point remains of the financial availability and accessibility of alternatives to fast fashion. But that’s another story, which you’ll hear about soon.

*An agent-based model can simulate how consumers decide whether to buy fast fashion or ethical fashion. Each consumer is represented by a virtual actor with their own behaviors, to observe how sustainable choices spread.

Study mentioned in this article: Soboleva & Sánchez, 2024, Agent-Based Insight into Eco-Choices: Simulating the Fast Fashion Shift, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2407.18814

Other sources: Ebsco; Frontiers; MDPI; UCB Repository; Very Well Mind.com

Photos: Julia Андрэй (cover),Markus Spiske, Kate Trysh, Toa Heftiba on Unsplash