Development and Validation of ESG Reputation Scale for Fashion Companies

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an ESG reputation scale for fashion companies. Factors and items were derived through a literature review and a Delphi survey with 35 experts, and a preliminary survey of 386 consumers was conducted to verify the construct validity of the scale. To validate the final version of the scale, a main survey was conducted with 340 consumers, and confirmatory factor analysis, validity verification, and reliability testing were conducted using the collected data. The finalized ESG reputation scale for fashion companies is a five-point Likert scale comprising three factors (social management, environmental management, and compliance management) and 21 items. This study is significant in that it developed a scale allowing consumers to measure the ESG reputation of fashion companies, thereby extending the ESG evaluation system, which has traditionally focused on investor and corporate perspectives, to incorporate the consumer perspective. It is hoped that this scale will be used as a reference by fashion companies to consider the perspectives of consumers as key stakeholders in the future.