The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the population to change their consumption behavior and habits to a green living style to protect the environment. The aim of this study was to explore the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model to identify the effect of green practices on willingness to consume through customers’ emotional attachment, attitudes, and satisfaction towards eco-friendly restaurants. We used a quantitative method with a self-administrated questionnaire and convenience sampling at eco-friendly restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Using a partial least square (PLS) structural equation model (SEM), we analyzed 1095 samples. The results of this study reveal that green practices significantly and positively affect customers’ emotional attachment, satisfaction, and attitudes, but eco-friendliness did not have an effect on customers’ emotional attachment. Moreover, the customers’ satisfaction, attitudes, and emotional attachment were shown to significantly and positively affect their willingness to consume, as well as to pay 5 percent more for green products. Additionally, a mediating effect of emotional attachment, satisfaction, and attitudes was proven. The government needs to prioritize policies and programs to support these restaurants in order to apply sustainable business models and to build a green marketing strategy involving restaurants to protect environmental sustainability.

This research aims to identify how green practices affect customer intention to purchase green products via customers’ emotional attachment. Using the PLS- SEM to analyze 358 restaurant guests to find customer intention to purchase green products is a fundamental constituent of a restaurant’s success. The results reveal that the application of recycling and composting, energy and water management activities have a positive significant impact on customer intention to purchase green products and pro-environmental emotional attachment, and the application of organic food-green products and materials have a significant impact on emotional attachment, but not trigger on customer intention to purchase green products. Meanwhile, the application of eco-friendly supplies did not affect emotional attachment and customer intention to purchase. Pro-environmental emotional attachment is a key mediator of the customer intention model. The results provided both knowledge and theory of green practices by adding customers’ emotional attachment into the theory of planned behavior to understand customer behavior toward green restaurants. It proposes managerial recommendations and building strategies for the long term to increase customer intention to purchase green products in the restaurant industry.