Abstract
Despite increased knowledge of the impact of clothing production on the environment, the general public still has a low intention to purchase sustainable clothing. The present study analyzed the psychosocial predictors of Italian women’s intention to purchase sustainable clothing, proposing an integration of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) approaches. Participants (N = 286) filled in a self-report online questionnaire, measuring Italian women’s intention to purchase sustainable clothing, as well as TPB variables, such as subjective norm, attitude, and perceived behavioral control, and VBN variables, such as egoistic and biospheric values, awareness of consequences, and personal norm. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the TPB + VBN integrated model predicted women’s intention to purchase sustainable clothing. Personal norm and attitude were the strongest predictors of intention. Mediation analyses showed the indirect impact of the VBN chain (from values to moral norm) on intention. Discussion focusses on the psychosocial dimensions that public policy, non-governmental organizations, and clothing companies should consider when promoting the purchase of sustainable clothing.
Highlights
Human activity is crossing critical planetary boundaries, which can cause devastating consequences for all species on the planet
Results revealed that Model 1 and Model 2 did not fit the data satisfactorily [Model 1: χ2 (576) = 1657.43, p < 0.001; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.08, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.79, Tucker level index (TLI) = 0.77, SRMR = 0.21; Model 2: χ2 (574) = 1169.96, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.88, TLI = 0.87, SRMR = 0.15]
[∆χ2 (2) = 474.47, p = 0.001], indicating that the VBN Model was significantly better than the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) Model
Summary
Human activity is crossing critical planetary boundaries, which can cause devastating consequences for all species on the planet. Through reduced consumption and a switch to goods with less carbon emission during production and use, the European Union could reduce its carbon footprint by about 25% [3] To reach this goal, most of the social science literature has focused on sustainable behaviors related to transport, building, and food [4], such as reduced energy consumption and sustainable food choices [5,6,7,8]. Most of the social science literature has focused on sustainable behaviors related to transport, building, and food [4], such as reduced energy consumption and sustainable food choices [5,6,7,8] In this field of study, sustainable clothing purchase has been less investigated [9], even if fashion supply chains are responsible for a negative environmental impact—due to significant carbon footprints through toxic dyes, excessive waste, chemical usage, and water contamination [9,10].
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