Consumers' Attitudes toward the General and Fashion-Specific Climate Environments: Focusing on the Relations with Values, Knowledge, and Climate Cognition

Abstract

This study investigated female consumers’ attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments and analyzed the relations between the attitudes and the variables such as values, knowledge, and climate cognition. The data was collected from a sample of 450 women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s via quota sampling from a self-reported online survey in 2023. The measurement comprised the attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments, Rokeach’s 18 terminal values, Holbrook's 8 consumer values regarding fashion products, climate environmental knowledge related to fashion, the cognition concerning the climate crisis, and several demographic variables. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and correlations were applied to the data using SPSS. As a result, two factors were determined for the attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments, respectively: social and personal. Family security, happiness, and self-respect were identified as important terminal values. Quality, efficiency, aesthetics, and ethics were considered important when the current sample group purchased fashion products. The mean score of climate environmental knowledge related to fashion was lower than neutral; however the cognition of the climate crisis was considerably high. Attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments showed positive relations with values, knowledge, and climate cognition. The results were discussed to provide some insight and suggestions to carbon neutrality and the related studies.