The sustainability awareness of Brazilian consumers of cotton clothing

Abstract

Abstract. Clothing production is part of a large chain of businesses, ranging from agribusiness (production of various fibers and cotton) to textiles (spinning, dying), garment making and distribution. Manufacturing of apparel is an essential commercial chain for the developing countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Since the clothing industry presents several segments with potential pollution, the consumer vision of sustainability is necessary to promote an essential environmental balance. The present study aimed to evaluate the Brazilian consumer awareness about the impact of clothing production in the environment. An online questionnaire was distributed to an available sample that resulted in 503 responses. Questions were related to the consumers' lifestyle and consumption. Data were organized in a spreadsheet, and the Ecological Footprint (EF) was estimated. Data mining was applied to model the attributes that influence the EF of consumers, and to classify the consumer Ecological Footprint (Bad, Moderate or Good). After estimating the EF of all responses, we applied the cluster analysis to understand how the consumer's group. The results indicated that women spent more on cotton clothes than men. Most of the respondents (62%) are not aware of the clothing production chain and its potential for pollution. Although the consumers are generally concerned with sustainability (66%), most interviewees are not aware of the manufacturing processes of the worn garments neither the impact the cotton manufacturing might cause to the environment. The studied Brazilian consumers show that, although they wear clothes made of cotton, they are not aware of how the production is. Men do not know and do not care about this fact, as can be observed by the decision tree. Another point was that consumers (65%) seek to buy generic products from sustainable companies, but they do not know if the clothing manufacturer is sustainable. It is also observed that the values spent on clothes do not seem to be related to the Ecological Footprint. For the key questions of the questionnaire, the answers by income bracket were checked to verify the relationship with the lifestyle. We concluded that the Ecological Footprint of the consumers increase as their expenditure are greater also in the lifestyle requirements.