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The ongoing transformation of the fashion industry is driven by an increasing focus on sustainability, ethical practices, and responsible consumer behavior. Simultaneously, social media platforms have emerged as influential forces in this field, shaping fashion trends and consumer preferences. Despite a substantial body of literature investigating consumer preferences between fast and sustainable fashion, a gap in understanding the intricate relationship between fashion preferences, socio-economic profiling, and social media engagement is evident. Thus, this research was aimed at comparatively decoding EU consumers’ preferences for fast fashion against sustainable fashion by exploring the interplay of demographic factors ‒ age, gender, and geographical location ‒ on fashion preferences, as expressed through the digital engagement with fashion-related content on the Meta social platforms. The research methodology implied resorting to logistic regression analysis, aiming to uncover the underlying patterns that fundamentally characterize consumers’ preferences for fashion in the EU. The results provide novel insights into how digital engagement with fashion-related content can act as a barometer for regional fashion identities and preferences, useful for the identification of both convergence and inflection points. Moreover, findings offer a robust foundation for crafting strategies that promote sustainable fashion practices, tailored to specific EU age, gender, and location demographics, by leveraging the insights gained about EU consumer preferences.

The ongoing transformation of the fashion industry is driven by an increasing focus on sustainability, ethical practices, and responsible consumer behavior. Simultaneously, social media platforms have emerged as influential forces in this field, shaping fashion trends and consumer preferences. Despite a substantial body of literature investigating consumer preferences between fast and sustainable fashion, a gap in understanding the intricate relationship between fashion preferences, socio-economic profiling, and social media engagement is evident. Thus, this research was aimed at comparatively decoding EU consumers' preferences for fast fashion against sustainable fashion by exploring the interplay of demographic factors ‒ age, gender, and geographical location ‒ on fashion preferences, as expressed through the digital engagement with fashion-related content on the Meta social platforms. The research methodology implied resorting to logistic regression analysis, aiming to uncover the underlying patterns that fundamentally characterize consumers' preferences for fashion in the EU. The results provide novel insights into how digital engagement with fashion-related content can act as a barometer for regional fashion identities and preferences, useful for the identification of both convergence and inflection points. Moreover, findings offer a robust foundation for crafting strategies that promote sustainable fashion practices, tailored to specific EU age, gender, and location demographics, by leveraging the insights gained about EU consumer preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of digital technology in agriculture, such as sensors, satellites, and artificial intelligence, for developing sustainable agriculture and controlling the impacts of climate change, has been enhanced under the European Green Deal. Given the environmental exigencies, the agricultural sector must adapt to new technologies that ensure the sustainable development of the whole agri-food sector. This paper emphasizes the importance of measuring carbon footprints in agriculture as a tool for further improving the sustainability of the sector. Specifically, the research addresses the importance of sustainable technologies and practices, including agriculture, circular economy, and conservation agriculture, which play an important role in reducing carbon emissions from the agricultural sector. Thus, in the framework of the European Green Deal and digitalization, a bibliographic analysis was carried out using the Web of Science database to review the scientific interest on carbon footprint generated by farms. The aim of the paper is to tackle the significance given by the scientific community on the carbon footprint of farms in order to enhance the development of a comprehensive set of measures that can incorporate the sector's social and environmental responsibility, and ensure further the right path towards a sustainable future without affecting the profitability of the small farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the links between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the transformative aspects of establishing an encompassing agri-food trade policy in the European Union (EU). Starting with a review of the Sustainable Development Goals, this article focuses on the goal of sustainable agriculture and food security. The paper then investigates the transformative aspects of building a fair agri-food trade policy, including the significance of international trade agreements and the need for effective monitoring and enforcement. Research also includes a quantitative analysis of the scientific community's interest in the EU's effectiveness in implementing its agri-food trade policy, with a focus on the policy's impact on global food security. The findings indicate that the EU is making progress toward achieving its objective of boosting global food security, but significant impediments remain to be surmounted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although agriculture has significantly evolved over the last decades, it is still adapting to the circular, innovative and digital economy; to the upsurge of modern agricultural technologies and to the imminence of environmental greening, especially in the European Union. The links involved in global agri-food value chain are transitioning from being economically competitive to being economically competitive and sustainable. The importance of greening the global agri-food chains along all of its links is instiled in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the European Green Deal, the 2030 Climate Target Plan. In this context, the objective of this research was to design a circular agricultural system in the urban environment, and, more specifically, a solution for managing multidimensional complex issues, right in the campus of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. A bibliometric analysis was elaborated with the purpose of identifying the favorable context and opportunity for implementing such a solution, grounded in the principles of urban agriculture. The result of this study consists of the authors' envisioned 'agro-urban' ecosystem; more specifically, an urban rooftop community garden that responds to challenges such as: limited resources (water, soil, labor force), unfavorable environmental conditions (specific to urbanization) and others. The proposed model is easily replicable and facilitates the transition to a cleaner, greener, circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the sanitary crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused socio-economic downturn globally. Among the affected economic sectors, the agriculture and food sectors were no exception. In the context of on-going market transformations in Romania, the national demand of agri-food products rushed the links involved in the agri-food value chains to adapt to sudden consumption behavioral changes. The objective of this research was to explore food consumption and expenditure changes in Romania in relation with the pandemic and tap into the economic implications. Data used in this research were taken over from the Romanian National Institute of Statistics and were processed in a manner that allowed the average dynamics index to be in the spotlight of this research. Results show market pressure, especially at the beginning of the second quarter of 2020 and a peak of the food expenditure increase in the first quarter of 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of agri-food marketing results primarily from the nature of the physiological needs of agri-food products, from the fact that the agricultural and food sectors provide a significant part of economic growth. Agriculture and the food industry are horizontally and vertically connected with all other branches of economy, being organically involved with the national, regional, international and global economic environme [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of animal husbandry reaches all aspects (social, economic and environmental) of sustainable development in rural areas. People produce for sale, but also for consumption. At the same time, considering the location of this economic activity and the practice of farm technology, it is necessary to observe certain norms in order to ensure good environmental conditions. Of course, the future points to the mistakes of the past. Today, modern animal technology is coordinated through IT programs, which anticipate not only the production but also the risks. Specialized literature indicates the environmental risks arising from cattle breeding at planetary level: accumulation of methane as a specificity of digestion, but also through accumulated manure. In this sense, however, the bibliographic studies and the statistical analyses are in favour of maintaining the herds of cattle, on condition there is genetic improvement in the nutritional aspect, as well as judicious waste management. These considerations are appreciated by Romanian farmers in the economic activity of cattle breeding, promoting measures to reduce greenhouse gases in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work analyzes the influence of the amounts granted as subsidy by National Apiculture Programme 2008- 2010 National Apiculture Programme 2011-2013 and National Apiculture Programme 2014-2015 on honey production obtained in this period.For this purpose, a study was conducted between 2002-2015 on the production of honey and disbursements under National Apiculture Programme. The data were collected from the NIS and the Ministry Agriculture and Rural Development official publications and then processed statistically. The study presents the evolution of the number of hives, the honey production and the price. The results evidenced the extent to which the honey production is influenced by the grants. The high potential for the beekeeping, the subsidies granted were ment to stimulate the beekeepers to have more than 100 bee families / apiary, improve the marketing and boost the farm exports on the international market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]