Analysis of Motivational Conditions Behind Sustainable Consumption in China’s Uniform Market

Abstract

A uniform is distinctive clothing worn by members of the same firm or organisation. In China, the market for professional garments is extremely large. However, as mandatory professional clothing, uniforms are frequently used, torn, and replaced, leading to textile waste. Further, the use of non-recyclable or non-biodegradable fabrics is bound to create greater environmental pressure. This study focuses on the textile material in the uniform market to analyse the motivational conditions behind sustainable fabric consumption. A total of 294 usable online surveys were obtained in 2019. Multi-item scales were adopted to measure five variables: corporate public image, corporate ethics, employee social status, environment awareness, and sustainable premium. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the hypothesises. Results reveal that the improvement of an employee’s social status can effectively facilitate the probability of utilising eco-friendly fabrics. This study can thus help increase the usage of eco-friendly fabric in China’s uniform market.

Environmental knowledge level and consumer behavior regarding green fashion: a moderated mediation model

“…China has a large population and one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Research on the sustainable consumption of Chinese citizens can provide valuable insights into the potential impacts and challenges of promoting sustainable consumption in a populous and rapidly developing country (Zhang et al, 2021a). In general, to achieve the good reliability and validity of a scale, the number of measurement copies of the scale should be more than 5-10 times the total number of entries (Maurer and Pierce, 1998).…”

“…China has a large population and one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Research on the sustainable consumption of Chinese citizens can provide valuable insights into the potential impacts and challenges of promoting sustainable consumption in a populous and rapidly developing country (Zhang et al. , 2021a).…”

Green Fashion Consumption – a Review of the Literature

“…These elements influence on the social status and this social status can significantly increase the likelihood of using environmentally friendly textiles. One's social status influences the possibility of using ecofriendly materials was found in a study (Zhang et al, 2021), opportunities for individual identity expression (McNeill and Venter, 2019), perceived customer value; has a favourable impact on the buying intention and readiness to pay greater prices (Şener et al, 2019), perceived behavioural control is major and others significant are attitude and subjective norms (Iran et al, 2019; Vilkaite-Vaitone and Jeseviciute-Ufartiene, 2021), face-saving which is a significant motivator for Chinese consumers to buy sustainable fashion items. Face-saving also reduced the impact of overall product value while increasing the effect of green value in anticipating purchasing trends.…”

“…Their research revealed that green clothes buying behaviour is positively connected with green trust, environmental attitude, and labelling satisfaction. Zhang et al (2021) used the motivationopportunity-abilities (MOA) theory. According to their findings, individual service providers' willingness to share depends on their tailored service capabilities, economic motivation, and perceived ease of use.…”