Chapter 9: Sharing Economy and Its Potential to Achieve SDG 12: The Fashion Sharing Platform Case

The fast fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries. For this reason, the industry should look into new circular business models in order to reduce its material footprint as well as the amount of waste produced. This article focuses on the question of how the sharing economy, as one possible circular business model, can contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) “Ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production.” After a brief introduction to SDG 12, a short outline of the current development of the sharing economy in the fast fashion sector is given. To develop consumer buying behavior toward environmental sustainability, it is important to understand their motives. Utilitarian and hedonic motives are examined in order to determine to what extent they can positively influence buying intention and thus the acceptance of fashion sharing platforms. The database gathered through a master thesis is used to investigate the specific influence these motives have on buying intention. To increase the acceptance and thus the use of fashion sharing platforms, recommendations for action are developed in the final step of this chapter throughout the five steps of the buying cycle model. Circular business models will play a key role in the context of sustainable transformation in the future. Therefore, it is particularly important to derive concrete recommendations for action based on research in order to get the ecological footprint of environmentally harmful industries – such as the fast fashion industry – under control.