Values Versus Constraints: Unpacking the Sustainable Consumption Paradox in Modest Fashion Among Gen Z in Bangladesh
Keywords:
Modest fashion, Sustainability, Generation Z, Awareness and Practice
Abstract
Background: With the increasing environmental and ethical challenges that the fashion industry faces, sustainable consumption has become a defining point of concern. This paper is a research into the mismatch between the increased awareness and real-world sustainable buying activities among Generation Z and how modest fashion, sustainability, and consumer attitudes of young customers are influenced.
Methods: Mixed-method research was conducted on modest fashion among Generation Z students in Bangladesh. The researchers used a combination of quantitative surveys and qualitative open-ended responses, using a framework on which awareness, attitudes, and practices were measured at a single time point. Convenience Sampling was used to select the participants as university students of Bangladesh, where Gen Z, aged 18 -29, who purchase or even consider modest apparel, so as to include a wide range of gender, socioeconomic, and academic backgrounds, 48 students answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained Likert questions about demographics, purchasing frequency, knowledge, motivations, barriers, and social -media influence, as well as open-ended questions on the expectations of the brand and sustainability incentives. Descriptive statistics and correlation were created by SPSS and thematic analysis was used to identify trends in values, constraints and aspirations in the background of consumption behaviour.
Results: Results indicate that 77.1% of the participants were familiar with the concept of sustainable fashion, but there was a strong attitudinal-behaviour gap. In particular, 64.6% of the participants mentioned personal style as the main motivation of modest fashion, with only a small proportion of those who always performed sustainable purchases. The correlation analysis demonstrates that there is a moderate positive correlation between the awareness of sustainable fashion and the actual sustainable behaviour among the Gen Z modest fashion consumers (r = 0.384, p = 0.007). It implies that sustainability-aware individuals will more likely make sustainable decisions, including making purchases of environmentally friendly products, purchasing second-hand, or mending clothes. The information thus highlights a serious gap between knowledge and action that must be closed through concerted action among the stakeholders, increased consumer education, facilitation, and innovation of the industry to close the gap.
Conclusion: The study provides practical information and can be used to promote a change towards ethical behavior in the modest fashion industry and the wider market by explaining the major drivers, obstacles, and anticipations of Gen Z buyers in their purchasing patterns. These findings imply the incorporation of digital platforms, open supply stores, and peer-driven campaigns to enhance the influence of Gen Z on sustainable consumption in all world markets.
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References
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9. Branca, G., D’Arco, M., Marino, V., & Resciniti, R. (2025). Beyond Sustainability Narratives: Exploring Generation Z’s Shopping Motivations in Vintage Fashion. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.70050
10. Cardoso, P. R., Costa, H. S., & Novais, L. A. (2010). Fashion consumer profiles in the Portuguese market: Involvement, innovativeness, self‐expression and impulsiveness as segmentation criteria. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 34(6), 638–647. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00891.x
11. César, J., & Ødegård, M. (2025). Branded Clothing and the Identification Process: Ambivalence Between What I Want and What Society Wants from Me. Trends in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-025-00484-6
12. Djafarova, E., & Bowes, T. (2021). “Instagram Made Me Buy it”: Generation Z Impulse Purchases in Fashion Industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 59(102345). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102345
13. Domínguez, I. P., Zambrano, R. E., & Rodríguez, V. Á. (2023). Gen z’s motivations towards sustainable fashion and eco-friendly brand attributes: The case of vinted. Sustainability, 15(11), 8753. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118753
14. Elgammal, I., Ghanem, M., & Al-Modaf, O. (2024). Sustainable Purchasing Behaviors in Generation Z: The Role of Social Identity and Behavioral Intentions in the Saudi Context. Sustainability, 16(11), 4478. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114478
15. Escourido-Calvo, M., Prado-Dominguez, A. J., & Martin-Palmero, F. (2025a). Generation Z, Circular Fashion, and Sustainable Marketing: International Journal of Digital Marketing, Management, and Innovation, 1(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJDMMI.367035
16. Evaluating Fashion E-Commerce Website Effectiveness for Relationship Marketing: A Factorial Analysis and SEM Study among Millennial and Gen Z Muslims in Indonesia. (2024). Journal of System and Management Sciences. https://doi.org/10.33168/JSMS.2024.0906
17. Fabiana, S., Valerio, M., Anna, P., & Mario, T. (2024). Fashion and sustainability: Evidence from the consumption of second‐hand clothes. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2973
18. Gálvez-Sánchez, F. J., Molina-Prados, A., Molina-Moreno, V., & Moral-Cuadra, S. (2024). Exploring the three-dimensional effect of corporate social responsibility on brand equity, corporate reputation, and willingness to pay. A study of the fashion industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 79, 103836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103836
19. Gauthier, F., & Martikainen, T. (Eds.). (2020). The Marketization of Religion (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003035596
20. Hanzaee, K. H., & Chitsaz, S. (2011). A review of influencing factors and constructs on the Iranian women’s Islamic fashion market. 1(4), 94–100.
21. Hassan, S. H., & Harun, H. (2016). Factors influencing fashion consciousness in hijab fashion consumption among hijabistas. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 7(4), 476–494. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-10-2014-0064
22. Hill, J., & Lee, H. (2012). Young Generation Y consumers’ perceptions of sustainability in the apparel industry. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 16(4), 477–491. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612021211265863
23. Indarti, & Peng, L.-H. (2017). Bridging local trend to global: Analysis of Indonesian contemporary modest fashion. 2017 International Conference on Applied System Innovation (ICASI), 1710–1713. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICASI.2017.7988267
24. Jeong, H. J., & Kim, M. (2024). Appealing to Gen Z with Mother Nature for sustainable consumption: With mediation of psychological closeness to nature and consequence of psychological well‐being. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 23(2), 530–539. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2222
25. Jia, F., Yin, S., Chen, L., & Chen, X. (2020). The circular economy in the textile and apparel industry: A systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 259, 120728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120728
26. Johnstone, M.-L., & Tan, L. P. (2015). An exploration of environmentally-conscious consumers and the reasons why they do not buy green products. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(5), 804–825. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-09-2013-0159
27. Joy, A., Sherry, J. F., Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., & Chan, R. (2012). Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands. Fashion Theory, 16(3), 273–295. https://doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13340749707123
28. Leung, A. C. Y., Yee, R. W. Y., & Lo, E. S. C. (2015). Psychological and Social Factors of Fashion Consciousness: An Empirical Study in the Luxury Fashion Market. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 19(3), 58–69. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-19-03-2015-B008
29. Liu, F. (2022). Driving Green Consumption: Exploring Generation Z Consumers’ Action Issues on Sustainable Fashion in China. Studies in Social Science & Humanities, 1(5), 25–49. https://doi.org/10.56397/SSSH.2022.12.03
30. Liu, C., Bernardoni, J. M., & Wang, Z. (2023). Examining Generation Z Consumer Online Fashion Resale Participation and Continuance Intention through the Lens of Consumer Perceived Value. Sustainability, 15(10), 8213. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108213
31. McNeill, L., & Moore, R. (2015). Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast fashion conundrum: Fashionable consumers and attitudes to sustainability in clothing choice. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(3), 212–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12169
32. Mullick, F., Field, V., Assistants, R., Ahsan, H., & Muhammad, M. (2025). Mapping the Sustainable Fashion Ecosystem in Pakistan. https://www.britishcouncil.pk/sites/default/files/textile_legacies_report.pdf
33. Naderi, I., & Van Steenburg, E. (2018). Me first, then the environment: Young Millennials as green consumers. Young Consumers, 19(3), 280–295. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-08-2017-00722
34. Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step Process of Thematic Analysis to Develop a Conceptual Model in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789
35. Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T., & Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(4), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9
36. Nurani, L., & Adinugraha, H. H. (2022). Consumer Preferences in the Selection of Muslim Fashion Products in Indonesia. Journal of Islamic Economic and Business Research, 2(2), 104–113. https://doi.org/10.18196/jiebr.v2i2.26
37. Nurhidayat, F., Rofiq, A., & Yuniarinto, A. (2022). Implementation of Islamic marketing strategy in property business development: A study on Cordova residence housing and Samawa Land in Probolinggo Regency. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478), 11(9), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i9.2221
38. Palomo-Domínguez, I., Elías-Zambrano, R., & Álvarez-Rodríguez, V. (2023). Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes: The Case of Vinted. Sustainability, 15(11), 8753. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118753
39. Park, H. J., & Lin, L. M. (2020). Exploring attitude–behavior gap in sustainable consumption: Comparison of recycled and upcycled fashion products. Journal of Business Research, 117, 623–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.08.025
40. Radwan, M., Kamal, M., Khavarinezhad, S., & Calandra, D. (2019). Influencing Factors on Modest Fashion Market: A Case Study. International Journal of Applied Research in Management and Economics, 2(1), 12–22. https://doi.org/10.33422/ijarme.v2i1.208
41. Razzaq, A., Ansari, N. Y., Razzaq, Z., & Awan, H. M. (2018). The Impact of Fashion Involvement and Pro-Environmental Attitude on Sustainable Clothing Consumption: The Moderating Role of Islamic Religiosity. SAGE Open, 8(2), 215824401877461. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018774611
42. Roberts, L. D., & Allen, P. J. (2015). Exploring Ethical Issues Associated with Using Online Surveys in Educational Research. Educational Research and Evaluation, 21(2), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2015.1024421
43. Ronda, L. (2024). Overcoming barriers for sustainable fashion: Bridging attitude-behaviour gap in retail. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 52(1), 44–61. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-02-2023-0056
44. Šimek, P., & Sadílek, T. (2024). Generation Z fashion shopping behaviour during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: the effect of sustainable consumption. Ekonomska Istraživanja/Ekonomska Istraživanja, 37(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2024.2341222
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Published
2026-01-31
How to Cite
Daizy, A. H. (2026). Values Versus Constraints: Unpacking the Sustainable Consumption Paradox in Modest Fashion Among Gen Z in Bangladesh. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 22(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2026.v22n1p31
Section
ESJ Social Sciences
Copyright (c) 2026 Afroza Haque Daizy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
