Making it real: engaging the consumer in sustainable fashion consumption

With moves towards improving sustainability within the retail sector and a growing requirement to conform to existing and emerging legislation, retailers from ostensibly disparate sectors face the common challenge of encouraging the reduced consumption of saleable products, while simultaneously maintaining their prosperity. Project TRANSFER was initiated to investigate how efforts to promote sustainable consumption within retail is received and responded to by consumers. Consumers and partners in the retail sector were engaged with throughout the research which culminated in three consumer facing outputs; a workshop (Put a Better Foot Forward, The Moor retail destination, Sheffield, UK), installation (Making in Real, pop-up T-Shirt factory, Trinity Shopping Centre, Leeds, UK) and animated short film (Nothing to Wear? available via YouTube and launched at the Sheffield Shorts film screening, Sheffield, UK). Each of the outputs were designed to allow consumers to reflect on their shopping and consumption habits in an engaging, stimulating environment. The key aim was to promote mindfulness and engage consumers in discussion and debate. All the output events were free for the general public to attend / participate in. This paper will discuss the role of engaging the consumer in sustainable fashion research and the impact of consumer facing outputs in education and awareness of sustainable issues in shopping and consumption.