CIRCULAR FASHION AWARENESS AMONG FASHION DESIGN STUDENTS IN RESPONSE TO FASHION WASTE

Abstract

Fashion waste poses a major challenge to building a more sustainable fashion industry, making it important to understand fashion students' awareness of circular fashion during their education. This study aims to describe students' knowledge, attitudes, practices, behavioral intentions, and barriers in applying circular fashion principles in response to fashion waste. A descriptive quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 86 Fashion Design Education students in their fifth semester or above. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, and mean scores. The results showed an overall knowledge score of 74.34%, while attitudes, pre-consumer practices, post-consumer practices, and behavioral intentions were categorized as high. However, several aspects remained limited, particularly knowledge of blended-fiber recycling, textile waste sorting, the use of fabric scraps for sampling, and changes in clothing consumption habits. Barriers were also high, mainly the requirement to use new fabrics in practicum courses, time constraints, costs, limited waste-management facilities, and inadequate storage space. The study concludes that students have developed relatively good awareness of circular fashion, but its implementation requires stronger technical competencies and greater institutional support.