Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply the standard learning hierarchy to the study of organic foods. More specifically, this research is intended to examine if cognition in the form of beliefs and utilitarian attitudes, affect in the form of hedonic attitudes, and behavior in the form of attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty occur successively. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 725 consumer panel data were obtained through a web-based survey. A two-stage structural equation modeling with AMOS graphics version 18.0 was used to validate the measurement models and test the proposed hypotheses. Findings – While health benefits positively influenced utilitarian attitudes, no significant effect of ecological welfare benefits was detected. The results also indicate that utilitarian attitudes had a significant and positive relationship with hedonic attitudes, which in turn led to attitudinal loyalty. Lastly, the relation between attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty was significant and positive. Research limitations/implications – Global attitudes and loyalty toward organic foods were examined in this research. Thus, future research could investigate more domain-specific attitudes and loyalty to various organic food items. Practical implications – The development of positive attitudes toward organic foods among consumers is important for the long-term success of organic food products or brands. Originality/value – There is a little research that adopts an established theory or theoretical approach to explain a purchase behavior of organic foods. For this reason, the standard learning hierarchy was incorporated in order to study how cognition, affect, and behavior are formed when a purchase decision involving organic foods.

To obtain a comprehensive view of the apparel disposal behaviors of young U.S. consumers, this study evaluated antecedents of apparel disposal behaviors using a framework based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA), categorization theory, and prior literature. Data were obtained from a convenience sample of undergraduate students at a large U.S. Midwestern university through a self-administered online survey. A final sample of 358 usable surveys was analyzed through the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) with Amos. The results supported the proposed relationships between environmental apparel knowledge and attitude toward sustainable methods of apparel disposal. In addition, the proposed relationships between attitude and apparel disposal intention (intention to discard, donate, reuse, or resell) were all supported except for intention to resell. While the results showed a significant and positive relationship between subjective norms and intention to resell or donate apparel, no significant relationship was shown between subjective norms and intention to reuse or discard apparel. In addition, subjective norms were a positive and significant antecedent of attitude. Lastly, respondents’ intention to engage in a particular apparel disposal behavior corresponded with the actual apparel disposal behavior.

"Nearly 100% of all household textiles and apparel can be recycled" was the thesis for a recycling education program for Extension professionals attending a state meeting. Positive encouragement resulted in six additional presentations and pre-test/post-tests. One group received a follow-up survey after 3 1/2 months. After the educational sessions, awareness and perceived importance increased, and donating unwanted clothing to churches or charities became the preferred option, while discarding in the trash became the least desirable option. Extension professionals can engage consumers in a unique area of waste management. The resulting Extension fact sheet lends curriculum support.