Journal Article

Bridging Consumer–Designer Gaps in Sustainable Fashion: A Framework for Eco-Friendly Product Design

Shin, Jaewook, Ge, Haifei

2025

Overview

The fashion industry is undergoing a profound transformation towards sustainability, with eco-friendly paper handbags exemplifying the balance between environmental responsibility and commercial viability. Despite the growing attention to sustainable design, a persistent cognitive gap remains between consumers and designers, particularly regarding aesthetic and functional preferences. To address this issue, this study develops an integrated analytical framework combining Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA), Conjoint Analysis (CA), and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE), using survey data from 444 consumers and 417 designers in China to systematically examine and quantify preference misalignment. The results reveal moderate yet structured divergences across key product attributes: consumers place greater emphasis on style and price positioning (with a preference for the high-end tier), whereas designers prioritise cost efficiency and functionality, while both groups show consistent recognition of environmental and practical value. These findings suggest that preference divergence in sustainable fashion arises not from conflicting values but from differentiated attribute priorities. The study advances theoretical understanding by elucidating the mechanisms of consumer–designer cognitive divergence in sustainable product design and offers a transferable IPA–CA–FCE framework that supports precision–oriented, market-responsive, and environmentally aligned design strategies. Plain Language Summary Bridging the Gap Between Designers and Consumers in Sustainable Fashion Sustainable fashion is growing fast, and paper handbags are one example that aims to be both eco-friendly and commercially viable. Yet consumers and designers do not always want the same things. In this study, we surveyed 444 consumers and 417 designers in China and used a combined toolkit (IPA, CA, and FCE) to see where their priorities match or differ. We found moderate but patterned differences. Consumers care most about style and prefer higher-end price positioning, while designers put more weight on cost efficiency and functionality. Importantly, both groups agree that environmental benefits and practical performance matter. In other words, the gap is not about clashing values—it comes from different priorities across product attributes. By showing exactly where priorities diverge and align, our framework helps teams make design decisions that are market-responsive, environmentally responsible and feasible to produce. The approach can be used beyond paper handbags to guide other sustainable fashion products. One-sentence takeaway: Aligning design choices with the style and price expectations of consumers (without losing sight of cost, function, and sustainability) can narrow the gap between consumers and designers in sustainable fashion.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC,SAGE Publishing
• Subject: Attributes / Clothing industry / Cognition / Conjoint analysis / Consumers / Cost analysis / Costs / Designers / Fashion / Frame analysis / Markets / Polls & surveys / Positioning / Preferences / Prices / Priorities / Product design / Sustainability / Textile industry / Transformation