Abstract
Fast fashion’s global expansion has fundamentally altered consumption rhythms across both developed and developing economies. This paper critically analyzes how the development context shapes the dominant pathways of consumer frugality in fast fashion consumption. We argue that in developing countries, frugality is primarily an enforced constraint driven by scarcity, and it leads to a focus on short-term affordability that often overlooks long-term durability and environmental externalities. In contrast, in developed economies, frugality is increasingly a lifestyle choice enabled by robust circular infrastructure and regulatory buffers. This divergence creates a global asymmetry where textile waste and pollution migrate toward nations with the least capacity to manage them. By highlighting the roles of consumers' cognitive bandwidth, price salience, and countries' institutional capacity, we aim to bring the systemic injustices of the current fashion ecosystem to the attention of researchers and call for a more nuanced understanding of frugal consumer behavior.
Date Received
March 13, 2026
Date Revised
June 2, 2026
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bayer, Rabia Demre; Kubat Dokumaci, Umut; and Bakış, Selen (2026) "Frugal Consumers of the Globalized Wardrobe," Markets, Globalization & Development Review: Vol. 11: No. 1, Article 2. Available at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr/vol11/iss1/2
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Author Bio
Rabia Demre Bayer, Ph.D., Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey: Her research focuses on consumer psychology and sustainable consumption. Her work has been published in journals including Marketing, Globalization & Development Review, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and Tourism Review.
Umut KUBAT Dokumaci, Ph.D., Akdeniz University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration, Antalya, Türkiye. Her research focuses on consumer behavior in digital environments and sustainability in marketing. Her work has been published in international journals, including the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
Selen Bakış, Ph.D., Gebze Technical University, Faculty of Business Administration,Turkey. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, green/sustainable consumption, and symbolic consumption. Her work has been published in journals including the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management and presented at several international conferences.