Abstract

Fashion is a global, multibillion dollar industry that is energy and water intensive, a significant contributor to GHG levels, and an outsized polluter. The choices of the professionals who create fashion products have an enormous impact, yet they often feel ill-equipped to design responsibly. The two most widely used fabrics are cotton and polyester, yet there is a great deal of concern and controversy as to which is a better choice for sustainable practice. In particular, the product category known as “athleisure” may be considered one of the fastest growing markets within the Western-focused fashion industry. The athleisure market is known for relaxed, casual, athletically inspired clothing that can be worn in a diverse set of circumstances and suggests both ease and comfort but also physical fitness and health. Within this expanding and important market segment, polyester dominates as a fabric of choice. Polyester, which is reliant on non-renewable fossil fuels, does not decompose for hundreds of years and is responsible for the proliferation of microplastics. These facts run directly counter to many brands which increasingly identify sustainable practice as central to their company ethos. This research paper seeks to understand what the decision-making process for designers, product developers, or sourcing specialists is when choosing fabric for athleisure fashion products. Interviews were conducted and analyzed to specifically examine the under-utilized perspectives of a group essential in the implementation of sustainable outcomes. The outcomes suggest that designers, much like consumers, are reliant on generalized types, or forms, of information. While designers may know specific and highly technical information relevant to their careers, they rarely have reliable pathways to science-based information and environmentally safe fabric practices. This study suggests much more should be done to provide objective, reliable, and easy to understand information to designers so that they can make educated decisions.