Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants

U.S. collegiate apparel is a $4 billion market in which cotton and polyester made by conventional production methods account for 85% of materials used. Sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel offers a new opportunity for cotton made by novel and sustainable production methods to enter and replace...

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Main Authors: Ting Chi, Jenisha Gerard, Alison Dephillips, Hang Liu, Jing Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3126
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spelling doaj-e44ad70952604bcbb888de07f96c3e8a2020-11-24T21:20:19ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502019-06-011111312610.3390/su11113126su11113126Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key DeterminantsTing Chi0Jenisha Gerard1Alison Dephillips2Hang Liu3Jing Sun4Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAU.S. collegiate apparel is a $4 billion market in which cotton and polyester made by conventional production methods account for 85% of materials used. Sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel offers a new opportunity for cotton made by novel and sustainable production methods to enter and replace conventional cotton and polyester for environmental protection and sustainable business development. This study aimed to provide insights on why U.S. consumers buy sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel and help understand the emerging trend of sustainable cotton apparel. Building on the Theory of Planned Behavior, an enhanced research model of consumer intent to purchase sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel (SCCA) is proposed. 225 eligible survey responses were gathered for data analysis and hypothesis testing. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental knowledge positively influences U.S. consumers’ purchase intentions toward SCCA while the effect of perceived behavioral control is insignificant. Furthermore, consumer environmental knowledge positively moderates the relationship between U.S. consumers’ attitude and their purchase intentions. There are no significant differences between age groups, genders, education levels, or income levels among U.S. consumers in regards to their purchase intentions. The proposed research model exhibits a good explanatory power, accounting for 47.3% of the variance in U.S. consumers’ purchase intentions toward SCCA.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3126sustainable cottoncollegiate apparelU.S. consumerspurchase intention
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Ting Chi
Jenisha Gerard
Alison Dephillips
Hang Liu
Jing Sun
spellingShingle Ting Chi
Jenisha Gerard
Alison Dephillips
Hang Liu
Jing Sun
Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants
Sustainability
sustainable cotton
collegiate apparel
U.S. consumers
purchase intention
author_facet Ting Chi
Jenisha Gerard
Alison Dephillips
Hang Liu
Jing Sun
author_sort Ting Chi
title Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants
title_short Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants
title_full Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants
title_fullStr Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants
title_full_unstemmed Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants
title_sort why u.s. consumers buy sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel? a study of the key determinants
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2019-06-01
description U.S. collegiate apparel is a $4 billion market in which cotton and polyester made by conventional production methods account for 85% of materials used. Sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel offers a new opportunity for cotton made by novel and sustainable production methods to enter and replace conventional cotton and polyester for environmental protection and sustainable business development. This study aimed to provide insights on why U.S. consumers buy sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel and help understand the emerging trend of sustainable cotton apparel. Building on the Theory of Planned Behavior, an enhanced research model of consumer intent to purchase sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel (SCCA) is proposed. 225 eligible survey responses were gathered for data analysis and hypothesis testing. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental knowledge positively influences U.S. consumers’ purchase intentions toward SCCA while the effect of perceived behavioral control is insignificant. Furthermore, consumer environmental knowledge positively moderates the relationship between U.S. consumers’ attitude and their purchase intentions. There are no significant differences between age groups, genders, education levels, or income levels among U.S. consumers in regards to their purchase intentions. The proposed research model exhibits a good explanatory power, accounting for 47.3% of the variance in U.S. consumers’ purchase intentions toward SCCA.
topic sustainable cotton
collegiate apparel
U.S. consumers
purchase intention
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3126
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