Purchasing sustainable clothing : The influence of Design and Sustainability factors on Purchase Intention of Sustainable clothing.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine factors that influence consumers' intentions to buy sustainable clothing. The fashion industry poses many sustainability challenges that are widely recognized by consumers, manufacturers and regulators. Production of more sustainable clothing can improve the impact of the industry on the environment (Gazzola et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the sustainable fashion remains a niche market, accounting for less than 0.1% of the global fashion market (The business research company, 2020). The key barriers that prevent sustainable clothing from becoming mainstream are often associated with its design. However, neither scientists nor manufacturers know exactly what consumers expect and want from sustainable apparel. This study aims to fill this gap by asking research question about the influence of design and sustainability factors on purchase intention of sustainable clothing. To answer the research questions, I used the model of Homburg et al. (2015) on the impact of the aesthetic, functional and symbolic aspects of product design on purchase intention and expanded it with the sustainability aspects of clothing. To structure the constructs, I used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, Ajzen and Fishbein 1980) and its extension the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985, 1988, 1991), which are often used to explain sustainable consumption. After theoretical research, six hypotheses were formulated about the influence of the aesthetic, functional and symbolic aspects of design, as well sustainability factors such as green aesthetics, green functionality and green symbolism, on the intention to purchase sustainable clothing. Hypotheses were validated using a quantitative survey among students in Norway, and 114 responses were analyzed in SPSS using factorial and regression analysis. The study found that green functionality, aesthetic design and functional design are factors that influence the intention to buy sustainable clothing. Both symbolic design and green symbolism were insignificant to the purchase intention in the context of sustainable clothing in Norway. Green aesthetics was removed from the model due to the data validity issues.