Psychological foundations of fast fashion: managing tensions and paradoxes, and navigating ethical dualities

Shalini Talwar, Ebtesam Abdullah Alzeiby, Bhumika Gupta () and Vikram Kumar Sharma
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Shalini Talwar: SPJIMR - S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research
Ebtesam Abdullah Alzeiby: Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University
Bhumika Gupta: LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], IMT-BS - MMS - Département Management, Marketing et Stratégie - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], ETHOS - Ethique, Technologies, Humains, Organisations, Société - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]
Vikram Kumar Sharma: IMT - Institute of Management Technology [Ghaziabad]

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Abstract: The fashion industry has come under intense scrutiny for its environmental and ethical challenges. While some argue that fast fashion democratizes style by making it accessible to a broader set of consumers, others question its legitimacy. This study adopts a centrist perspective, acknowledging both the difficulty and the necessity of balancing business imperatives with ethical exigencies. Drawing on the dual organizational ontologies lens, the study positions fast fashion businesses as both internal markets and communities, identifying the resultant tensions, paradoxes, and ethical dualities. To examine these dynamics, the study applied Media Discourse Analysis (MDA) in combination with Gioia's approach to analyse popular media articles, online videos, and company annual reports/webpages of fast fashion businesses. The analysis delineated four ethical dualities: financial sustainability and environmental sustainability, internal and external stakeholder well-being, business priorities and corporate responsibilities, and feel good and greater good. These dualities are underpinned by five underlying tensions and paradoxes: business viability versus environmental degradation, customer value versus business model, industry dynamics versus working conditions, business practices versus legal and ethical responsibilities, and sustainability mandates versus ground realities. Building on these findings, the study proposes twelve strategic pathways for managing the tensions and paradoxes and navigating the dualities. In sum, the study findings advance theoretical understanding of the ethical dualities and contribute practical insights for reconciling the ethical contradictions inherent in the market-based and the community-based views of fast fashion businesses.

Keywords: Media discourse analysis; Triple bottom line; Fast fashion; Ethical dualities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11
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Published in Acta Psychologica, 2025, 261, pp.105837. ⟨10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105837⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05398982

DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105837

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