The effects of young consumers’ perceptions of environment-friendly shopping bags and environmental consciousness on attitudes and purchase intentions

Abstract

As consumers’ interest in social responsibility (SR) has greatly increased in the last two decades, a growing body of academic research has examined the influence of consumers’ environmental consciousness on their attitudes and purchase intentions toward environment-friendly apparel products. Use of environment-friendly shopping bags (EFSB; recycled and reusable bags) is an example of how apparel retailers engage in SR. However, little research has examined consumers’ perceptions and their responses to the use of EFSB. To fill this research gap, this study examined the impact of young consumers’ perceptions of EFSB and environmental consciousness on their attitudes and purchase intentions toward apparel retailers using EFSB. An online survey was conducted for data collection. A convenience sample of 212 college students was obtained from a large mid-Southern university in the U.S. A simple linear regression analysis was conducted to test all hypotheses. Results showed that young consumers’ perceptions of EFSB positively influenced their environmental consciousness and their attitudes toward apparel retailers that use EFSB, which led to purchase intentions toward the retailers. Findings confirmed that young consumers placed a great degree of importance on EFSB and, therefore, would purchase apparel from retailers that use recycled or reusable shopping bags. These findings imply that providing EFSB is important in enhancing positive attitudes and purchase intentions toward apparel retailers.