Fast Fashion Consumption and Textile Waste Prevention: The Attitude–Behaviour Gap Among Croatian Students

Textile waste has become a major environmental challenge associated with increasing levels of production and consumption in the fashion industry. The fast fashion business model, characterised by rapid production cycles, low prices, and frequent replacement of clothing items, contributes significantly to growing volumes of textile waste and the depletion of natural resources. This study examines students’ perceptions of the environmental impacts of textile waste and fast fashion, with particular emphasis on sustainable consumption practices and textile waste management in Croatia. The study combines a review of the scientific literature with an online questionnaire survey conducted among a non-probability convenience sample of 79 students enrolled in different study programmes in Croatia. The results indicate a high level of environmental awareness and familiarity with textile waste issues among respondents. However, despite generally positive attitudes towards sustainability, willingness to modify purchasing behaviour or pay higher prices for sustainable clothing remained limited, indicating a clear attitude–behaviour gap. Price emerged as a particularly important factor influencing purchasing decisions, while limited access to textile collection facilities was identified as an important barrier to proper textile waste management. Chi-square tests of independence did not identify statistically significant associations between environmental concern and support for sustainable fashion or between level of education and the examined sustainability-related consumption responses. The findings suggest that environmental awareness alone may not be sufficient to encourage sustainable consumption and highlight the importance of combining environmental education with economically accessible sustainable alternatives and adequate textile collection infrastructure. The study provides exploratory insight into the relationship between environmental awareness, consumer behaviour, and self-reported textile management practices among the surveyed students and contributes to the discussion on promoting more sustainable textile consumption within a circular economy.