The Research Journal of the Costume Culture (복식문화연구)

The Costume Culture Association (복식문화학회)
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Research on features of eco-friendly fashion products for the development of typology of eco-friendly fashion products

친환경 패션제품 유형분류체계 개발을 위한 친환경 패션제품 특성 연구

  • Eunah Yoh (Dept. of Fashion Marketing, Keimyung University)
  • 여은아 (계명대학교 패션마케팅학과)
  • Received : 2023.05.26
  • Accepted : 2024.02.21
  • Published : 2024.02.29
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Abstract

Although interest in eco-friendly fashion products is increasing among scholars and industry leaders, the concept of eco-friendly products remains unclear, preventing consistent assessment of which fashion products are eco-friendly. This study conducted a content analysis of eco-friendly product information from 87 domestic and 102 foreign brands to reveal key standards for categorizing eco-friendly fashion products. Product characteristic information was coded according to the four material-based standards (i.e., organic material, regenerative material, alternative material, and sustainably produced/upcycled material). Consistency between coders was confirmed by Cohen's kappa. In results, eco-friendly fashion products are categorized by four material-based standards and two certification standards (i.e., certified, not certified). Among the four material-based categories, the greatest number of domestic and foreign companies produced eco-friendly products that were classified as the regenerative material group. In addition, companies acquired eco-friendly certifications related to the use of organic, regenerative, and alternative materials. The greatest number of eco-friendly material brands used for eco-friendly fashion products belonged to the regenerative material group. Based on the study results, a typology of eco-friendly products was suggested. This typology can benefit practitioners and academics by highlighting a need for classification system for the eco-friendly fashion products, as well as by providing insight into the categorization of eco-friendly fashion products.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Bisa Research Grant of Keimyung University in 2022.

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