In today’s world, many companies are involved in activities aimed at addressing relevant environmental issues as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives. However, some ventures conduct their businesses while using solely green marketing as a mechanism to operate by reducing numerous negative impacts on the environment.
One of the factors affecting the sustainability of fashion brands negatively is competition. Some businesses in this sector use radically distinctive development models, which allows them to keep the intermittent interest of the target market. However, without having a reputable history, this is difficult for companies to overcome the competitive barrier. As a result, high competition in such an environment affects the sustainability of brands and can often be an obstacle. The inability to withstand pressure from rivals, in turn, is directly associated with falling profits and, consequently, financial challenges.
One of the trends in the fashion industry is the focus on environmental sustainability. Nonetheless, a number of constraints can negatively affect the success of such a development model, for instance, the lack of opportunities for innovation or optimization of supply chain structures. Moreover, environmental sustainability is directly related to the public interest, and in the case of weak support, success is hardly guaranteed. Therefore, appropriate barriers should be taken into account when aiming for this form of sustainability for the fashion sector.
Fashion businesses may face sustainability challenges if they follow environmental courses. Ignoring official regulations in this field is fraught with real sanctions because the implementation of such sustainability programs is always a collaborative practice, and different stakeholders are involved. In addition, declining demand is another potential barrier since if a company fails to stay on track with ecosystems, this may cause significant dissatisfaction among target buyers. Allocating funds for environmental projects can also be problematic for new businesses that need the constant accumulation of capital but not costs.
Another area of the fashion industry that businesses are often associated with is social sustainability. Customers tend to perceive companies’ attempts to address the needs of various vulnerable communities as a significant factor that increases brand trust. The lack of work in this direction, in turn, is fraught with a loss of interest in the target market. While fashion businesses may not have extra funds to commit to corporate social responsibility, customers may complain about the lack of initiative from business owners. In addition, ignoring such in-demand activities entails strict tax regulations. Finally, businesses need to forge extensive communication networks to combine efforts to strengthen social responsibility, and this can also be problematic.
Maintaining social sustainability can be fraught with difficulties related to the distinctive views of clients on the aspects of development. In other words, for someone, one line of work may seem more significant than another, and these contradictions can affect demand. Fashion businesses need to contribute to the development of national economies to justify social responsibility objectives. From a brand value perspective, sustainability is directly correlated with the transparency of efforts, and this is crucial for companies to ensure open work in this direction. Otherwise, the risks of client distrust and even boycotts arise.