Abstract
This study investigated the causal–effect relationships among moral philosophy, moral intensity, and purchase behavior toward environmentally sustainable textile and apparel products. A research model incorporating two dimensions of moral philosophy (i.e., idealism and relativism), five dimensions of moral intensity (i.e., magnitude, probability, temporal immediacy, proximity, and social consensus), and purchase behavior toward sustainable textile and apparel products was tested using consumer data collected from a wide age range of Korean females through online surveys. Organic and naturally dyed textile and apparel products were selected as focal interests of this study due to the significance of the two product markets in Korea. The results revealed that, of the two dimensions of moral philosophy, only idealism had a significant impact on overall moral intensity and moral intensity had a significant impact on consumer purchase behavior toward sustainable textile and apparel products, which confirmed the sequential relationship among the variables. As the first attempt, to our knowledge, to apply an ethical view to environmentally sustainable textile and apparel product consumption, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the determinants of sustainable textile and apparel consumption among Korean consumers and the development of effective marketing communication strategies targeting Korean consumers.
Highlights
Sustainable development is defined by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987, p. 43)
The skewness ranging between − 1.211 and .683, and kurtosis ranging between − 1.239 and 1.935 for all measurement items demonstrated a normal distribution of the data (Kline 2005), which confirmed that the data were applicable for analysis of structural equation modeling
A measurement model for each organic and naturally dyed product was tested separately because moral intensity is a situation-specific concept, and questions for moral intensity were asked about each specific product
Summary
Sustainable development is defined by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987, p. 43). The global organic cotton market has emerged as the most representative and the fastest-growing market, with a growth rate of 39.5% from 2013 to 2014, reaching US$15.7 billion in 2014 (Lee 2016) Within this global trend, the Korean environmentally sustainable textile and apparel market has been expected to grow rapidly since the 2000s (Cho 2008; Jun 2014; 2018 fashion industry hot issue 2018); for example, the Korean natural dye market was projected to expand at a CAGR of 10% after 2010, when the market was worth approximately US$30 million (Gyeongbuk Natural Color Industry Institute 2011). This expectation exceeds the projected growth of the global natural dye market that was a CAGR of almost 9% from 2015 to 2019 (Technavio 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
