Consumer likelihood of purchasing organic cotton apparel

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the organic apparel consumer. Is the recent upsurge in organic cotton products another fashion trend or is there a segment of consumers genuinely interested in purchasing organic cotton apparel based on the benefits of organic agriculture to the environment? Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected with a mail survey of US health and natural foods consumers. Conjoint analysis revealed salient product attributes and cluster analysis identified segments of consumers with different attribute preferences. Factor analysis uncovered latent variables from among the large number of items and the clusters were examined for differences in their psychographic profiles. Findings -It was found that the 38 percent of consumers who found used organic cotton content salient had positive attitudes toward organic and sustainable agriculture, preferred to "buy locally" and had a strong self-identity as environmental, organic, and socially responsible consumers.Research limitations/implications -The sample of US health and natural foods consumers means that the results cannot be generalized too widely. Research is currently under way to relate the self-reported purchase behavior of organic apparel consumers discussed here to actual purchase behavior. Practical implications -Survey respondents interested in purchasing organic cotton apparel agreed that organic farming is good for the environment, suggesting that consumers would be receptive to marketing messages that place an emphasis on the environmental benefits of purchasing organic cotton apparel. Originality/value -The paper provides insight into the attitudes and motivations of environmentally concerned US consumers of organic apparel and provides information on focusing marketing to these consumers.

Sustainable Retailing in the Fashion Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Furthermore, in fashion research, a few studies indicate that customers' environmental attitudes have an impact on their intention to purchase green fashion products [28,75,76]. Hence, green fashion marketing efforts will foster a positive brand image and increase purchase intentions from existing or potential customers who care about environmental issues.…”

Exploring the role of values and norms towards consumers’ intentions to patronize retail apparel brands engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR)

“…Given increasing consumer concerns regarding retail apparel brands socially responsible practices, there has been added emphasis on research examining the consumption of (a) apparel manufactured by brands using sweatshop labor (Dickson 2001;Iwanow et al 2005;Rudell 2006;Shaw et al 2007); (b) apparel using of organic/recycled materials (Hiller Connell 2011;Hustvedt and Dickson 2009;Kang and Hustvedt 2014a, b); (c) apparel that have fair trade or socially responsible labelling (Hustvedt and Bernard 2010;Hustvedt et al 2008;Hyllegard et al 2012) and (d) second-hand/used clothing (Ha-Brookshire and Hodges 2009;Hawley 2006). However, relatively few studies have focused on all dimensions of CSR practices of retail apparel brands and consumers' purchase intentions.…”

“…Numerous studies have also lent empirical and conceptual support towards the influence of social referents in clothing consumption behavior (Summers et al 2006;Ma et al 2012). Subjective norms in the TRA are a form of social pressure and are known to exert pressure on individuals to act in an environmentally responsible way (Hustvedt and Dickson 2009). Moral norms are conceptually different from subjective norms as they reflect self-expectations and personal responsibility for performing a given behavior (Manstead 2000).…”

Festival attendees’ perceptions of green hotel practices

“…While much of the green purchasing literature focuses on firms within the private sector (Gračan et al, 2010;Min & Galle, 2001;Sampaio et al, 2012), there is a growing body of literature on individual purchasing behavior (e.g. Hustvedt & Dickson, 2009;Oliver & Lee, 2010;Oliver & Rosen, 2010;Barber, 2010;Ward et al, 2011;Akehurst et al, 2012), including consumer decision making about green travel products (e.g. Andereck, 2009;Kang et al, 2012;Park & Boo, 2010;Walker & Hanson, 1998) Past green consumer research has established a demand for sustainable tourism (Wehrli et al, 2011) and a distinct market for travelers who prefer sustainable practices (Weissenberg et al, 2008).…”