CAN ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION RESHAPE SOCIAL NORMS? AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Date

2026-7-31

Author

Aslan, Esmanur

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We explore whether providing information about the environmental footprint of clothing production can reshape social norms and individual perceptions towards the lifespans of garments. In our study, using an incentivized coordination game, we measure how socially and personally appropriate participants find six different usage durations, ranging from "3-6 months" to "more than 4 years," across a control and a treatment group. Our analysis ultimately reveals two key insights. First, the environmental information successfully changes both social and personal norms, but this effect is observed only for the shortest clothing lifetimes. Secondly, this normative shift is entirely driven by female participants, who demonstrate a sharp decline in appropriateness ratings for the initial 3-6 month duration, while male participants do not exhibit any difference. These findings indicate that while information interventions can discourage premature clothing disposal, sustainability policies and campaigns cannot rely on a one-size-fits-all strategy and must adopt gender-differentiated approaches.

Subject Keywords

social norms, fast fashion, sustainability, experimental economics, coordination game

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119990

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis