The Degrowth Economy. Strategic Path for Clothing Brands´ Future and Empowerment Model for Fashion Consumers?

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• ABSTRACT
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• TABLE OF CONTENT
• LIST OF ACRONYMS
• INTRODUCTION
• STATE OF THE ART
• PART 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
• Introduction to the degrowth and circular economy and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
• The circular economy
• Circular economy concepts and governance complexity
• The contribution of the circular economy and corporate’ ESG to the SDGs
• The relevance of growing investments in CE
• Degrowth economy and building blocks
• Definition
• History of degrowth
• Fundamental critics
• Problems generated by growth
• The transition to degrowth
• Degrowth economy and building blocks
• Economy
• Society
• Environnent
• Transition to degrowth and its potential contribution to SDGs
• A changing fashion industry facing growing challenges and the rise of consumers awareness and empowerment
• Reducing clothing production, pain points of the mass produced fashion system
• Planned obsolescence and fashion trends
• The growing complexity of the demand forecast and accelerating speed of the fashion system
• Increasing return rate of fashion products
• Globalization and supply chain complexity
• COVID-19: an opportunity for degrowth in the fashion industry?
• Consequences of the pandemic on the fashion industry
• COVID-19 and its relationship to degrowth
• The need for a new fashion industry prepared for future social and environmental crisis
• Reducing clothing consumption, the nature of happiness and destructive lifestyles
• Fashion items under-utilization and over consumption
• The issue of the Self: the fashion Ego
• Does consumption really lead to happiness?
• Shifts in consumers purchasing behaviors
• Sustainable fashion consumption patterns
• The need for individualized fashion
• The empowerment of prosumers
• STEEPV analysis of the fashion industry in a degrowth context
• PART 2: DEVELOPPEMENT OF A DEGROWTH ECONOMY BUSINESS MODEL
• A new fashion degrowth economy business model for collaborative value creation and environmental and social democratic governance
• Rethinking our conventional business models
• The rise of Smart and Collaborative Networked Organizations
• Empowered consumers at the center of value creation
• Restructuration of business model in the degrowth context
• New concepts and design elements of the degrowth business model
• Collaborative value creation
• Crowdsourcing
• Common-based peer production
• Mass customization and innovation toolkits
• Minimize the risk of product obsolescence and reduce footprint
• Timeless designs
• Commons-oriented design communities
• Recover wastes and materials durability
• Repairability, modularity and recyclability
• Local and resilient economies
• Micro-factoring, on-demand production and makerspaces
• Industry networks and industrial symbiosis
• Intra-industry and inter-industries co-branding
• Drop shipping and optimized logistics
• Participative logistics and crowd-logistics
• Local communities collaboration and distribution
• Interactive and responsible communities
• Interactive and experiential marketing
• Experiential branding and community branding
• Responsible consumption marketing
• Collaborative governance
• Crowdfunding
• Pre-ordering and drop sales
• Profit redistribution and internalization of environmental externalities
• Steady state economy
• Corporate Citizenship
• Reorganization of work and management of the commons
• PART 3: EMPIRICAL TESTING OF THE MODEL
• Data collection
• Methodology
• Case studies presentation
• Data analysis
• Business models analysis
• 7 Rs analysis
• PART 4: MODEL VALIDATION AND DISCUSSIONS
• Testing conclusions and lessons learned
• Generalization of business model archetypes
• The need for a more inclusive and holistic approach of degrowth economy business models
• Discussions around the integrative degrowth-oriented business model
• Social and cultural issues
• Structural and technological limits
• Economic considerations
• An issue of higher scale

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis seeks to develop degrowth-oriented business models for fashion brands that could not only bring competitive advantage to these organizations, but also drive the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations in 2015. The outcome of this thesis provides a range of design options and strategies that can be implemented by fashion brands in the degrowth framework, combined within a custom-buildable business model matrix.

• The degrowth economy as an alternative to green growth
• The degrowth economy and its potential contribution to the SDGs
• The fashion industry and its role in environmental degradation
• The potential of degrowth-oriented business models for fashion brands
• Collaborative value creation as a key element of degrowth business models

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The first chapter of this thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the degrowth economy and the circular economy, exploring their respective strengths and weaknesses in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. It also examines the challenges facing the fashion industry, highlighting the need for a new approach to production and consumption.

The second chapter focuses on developing a degrowth-oriented business model for fashion brands. It introduces the concept of Smart and Collaborative Networked Organizations and explores the role of empowered consumers in value creation. The chapter then outlines a range of design elements for the degrowth business model, covering areas such as collaborative value creation, reducing product obsolescence, local and resilient economies, interactive and responsible communities, and collaborative governance.

The third chapter presents an empirical testing of the degrowth business model based on nine case studies of fashion organizations. The chapter analyzes the business models of these organizations and highlights their degrowth-related design elements, drawing patterns that could be followed by other fashion brands.

The fourth chapter concludes the thesis by discussing the implications of the empirical research and proposing further avenues for research. It highlights the need for a more inclusive and holistic approach to degrowth business models and explores potential barriers to implementation, such as social and cultural issues, structural and technological limits, and economic considerations. The chapter also emphasizes the importance of systemic change and calls for a broader shift in our economic imaginary to ensure the success of the degrowth transition.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This thesis focuses on degrowth, a concept promoting downscaling of production and consumption to enhance well-being and ecological conditions. It explores the potential of degrowth-oriented business models for the fashion industry, emphasizing collaborative value creation, responsible consumption, local economies, and democratic governance. The thesis also highlights the role of technology in supporting the degrowth transition, particularly blockchain, automated production, and virtual prototyping. Finally, the study examines the potential of alternative legal forms, such as cooperatives and mutual enterprises, for promoting degrowth business models and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.