The practice of sustainable fashion of luxury boutique fashion brands in Vietnam: What go right, and what go wrong

Abstract

This study investigated the current practices and challenges for the sustainable fashion of luxury boutique fashion brands (LBFBs) in Vietnam. A series of in-depth interviews with 20 founders and managers of LBFBs in Vietnam was conducted. Findings show that sustainable practices improve ethnic cultures, strengthen the usage of local resources, promote sustainable lifestyle, and thereby contributing to sustainable development of the boutique fashion brands. However, the brands face some challenges while dealing with their stakeholders such as shortage of available internal resources, bias in consumer perception and purchase behaviors, and legal barriers to achieve accredited environment certification that, in turn, weaken the sustainable practices in the local context. Results also provide some insightful information for small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to adjust their sustainability practices in order to improve their competitive advantages in the marketplace.