The Transition Towards Slow Fashion: A Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainable Consumer Behavior and Future Research Opportunities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/dijefa.v6i5.5395Keywords:
Bibliometric, circular economy, consumer behavior, fashion industry, slow fashionAbstract
The growing global concern for sustainability in the fashion industry underscores the need for a comprehensive scientific mapping of trends in slow fashion and sustainable consumer behavior. This study employs a quantitative-descriptive bibliometric approach, analyzing 137 scholarly documents published between 2014 and the first quarter of 2025. The analysis utilizes Biblioshiny to generate descriptive statistics and thematic maps, while VOSviewer is used to visualize keyword co-occurrence networks and author collaborations. The results reveal a significant annual growth in publications, dominated by themes such as sustainability, consumer behavior, and the fashion industry. The United States emerges as the most prolific contributor, with the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management being the primary source of publications. Keyword mapping highlights major thematic clusters related to ethical consumption, circular economy, and purchase intention. The thematic map positions slow fashion as an emerging yet underdeveloped theme with considerable academic potential. This study emphasizes the importance of adopting a more holistic perspective by integrating qualitative methods, expanding geographic contexts to include the Global South, and exploring the role of digital technologies and social dynamics in driving more equitable and sustainable fashion consumption behavior.
References
Aggarwal, D., Rabby, F., Fahlevi, M., Muttaqin, A., & Bansal, R. (2024). Mapping the history, trajectory, and anatomy of slow and sustainable fashion: a bibliometric analysis. Cogent Business and Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2423058
Aria, M., & Cuccurollo, C. (2017). Bibliometrix: An R-tool for Comprehensive Science Mapping Analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975.
Castro-López, A., Iglesias, V., & Puente, J. (2021). Slow Fashion Trends: Are Consumers Willing to Change Their Shopping Behavior to Become More Sustainable? Sustainability MDPI, 13(24).
Centobelli, P., Abbate, S., Nadeem, S. P., & Garza-Reyes, J. A. (2022). Slowing the fast fashion industry: An all-round perspective. In Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry (Vol. 38). Elsevier B.V. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2022.100684
Clark, H. (2008). SLOW + FASHION – and Oxymoron – or a Promise for the Future…? The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, 12(4), 427–446. http://www.sustainable.ie/convergence/6/slow.htm
Domingos, M., Vale, V. T., & Faria, S. (2022). Slow Fashion Consumer Behavior: A Literature Review. Sustainability MDPI, 14(5).
Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to Conduct a Bibliometric Analysis: An Overview and Guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070
Fletcher, K. (2010). Slow Fashion: An Invitation for Systems Change. Fashion Practice, 2(2), 259–265. https://doi.org/10.2752/175693810x12774625387594
Haddaway, N. R., Page, M. J., Pritchard, C. C., & McGuinness, L. A. (2022). PRISMA2020: An R package and Shiny app for producing PRISMA 2020-Compliant Flow Diagrams, with Interactivity for Optimised Digital Transparency and Open Synthesis Campbell Systematic Reviews. Https://Doi.Org/10.1002/Cl2.1230 Download Citation (.Ris).
Henninger, C. E., Ryding, D., Alevizou, P. J., & Goworek, H. (2017). Sustainability in Fashion. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51253-2
Hovarth, K., & Meiffren-Swango, C. (2024, September 24). We Have Enough Clothing on the Planet Right Now for the Next Six Generations. CALPIRG.
Monoarfa, T. A., Sumarwan, U., Suroso, A. I., & Wulandari, R. (2024). Uncover The Trends, Gaps, and Main Topics on Online Grocery Shopping: Bibliometric Analysis. In Heliyon (Vol. 10, Issue 4). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25857
Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T., & Gwilt, A. (2020). The Environmental Price of Fast Fashion. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 1(4), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews. Systematic Reviews, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4
Reimers, V., Magnuson, B., & Chao, F. (2016). The Academic Conceptualisation of Ethical Clothing: Could it Account for the Attitude Behaviour Gap? Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 20(4), 383–399.
Sarker, M. S. I., & Bartok, I. (2024). Global Trends of Green Manufacturing Research in The Textile Industry Using Bibliometric Analysis. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2023.100578
Sudirjo, F. (2021). Social Media, Consumer Motivation, And Consumer Purchase Decision For Fashion Consumers In Semarang District. Jurnal Manajemen (Edisi Elektronik), 12(1), 78–92.
Suxia, Y., Tajuddin, R. binti M., Shariff, S. binti M., & Yingyi, C. (2025). Comparative Analysis of Fast Fashion and Slow Fashion on Consumer Purchase Behavior. The International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science.
Tamilarasan, B. S., & Ramasamy, K. (2025). Benchmarking consumer behavior in sustainable fashion: a decade-long analysis and future research directions. In Benchmarking. Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-12-2024-1150
Upadhyay, K. M., Sharma, D., & Mahajan, S. (2025). Sustainable Fashion Consumer Behaviour – A Comprehensive Literature Review and Future Research Agenda. Zenodo.
van Eck, N., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software Survey: VOSviewer, A Computer Program for Bibliometric Mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538.
Voigt, L., & von der Oelsnitz, D. (2024). A Framework of HRM in Cooperatives: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda . Journal of Co-Operative Organization and Management, 12.
Zhao, Q., Zhu, X., Wan, X., Wu, J., Shen, F., Bian, F., Yang, F., & Cao, X. (2024). Mapping Research on Cognitive Impairment in Heart Failure Patients: A Bibliometric Analysis From 2013 to 2022. Heliyon, 10(19). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38955
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muthia Naila, Lissa Rosdiana Noer
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish their manuscripts in this journal agree to the following conditions:
- The copyright on each article belongs to the author(s).
- The author acknowledges that the Dinasti International Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting (DIJEFA) has the right to be the first to publish with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors can submit articles separately, arrange for the non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal into other versions (e.g., sent to the author's institutional repository, publication into books, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time in the Dinasti International Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting (DIJEFA).
