The Road Toward Sustainability in the Romanian Fast Fashion Organisations

Abstract The continuous level of consumption in the fast fashion industry has a concerning effect and needs to be addressed through a strategic approach, as it has a considerable environmental, social, and economic impact. The study contributes to a better understanding of the barriers hindering the transition toward a more sustainable future in the fast fashion industry through qualitative research. We conducted the qualitative research using the Grounded Theory, which allows an evaluation from different and multiple perspectives, resulting in a more exhaustive and justified result. Our approach was exploratory, and the results will be tested in future studies. The purpose of the paper was to map the road to sustainable fashion by understanding the obstacles/barriers, and solutions/drivers for sustainable development. The sustainability fast fashion organizational barriers were identified in the international literature through a structured literature review and further tested for the Romanian market through interviews. After the NVivo Analysis, the identified barriers referenced the most to least, from a Romanian organisational dimensions perspective were financial barriers, insufficient management engagement, lack of Romanian governmental support and infrastructure, eco-friendly packaging, and stakeholder and supplier barriers. The most mentioned driver dimension from an organisational point of view was the existence of a financial reward system for stakeholders, funding programs from the Government and EU, the implementation of mandatory regulations, and the possibility of creating an infrastructure.