Environmental concern has escalated as the climate crisis is an increasingly prevalent issue for the global society. Further catalysed by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer behaviours are shifting, materialising in greener purchasing behaviour and heightened expectations of environmental brand practices. This phenomenon is affecting consumer attitudes and behaviour towards fashion brands. As such, credible environmental marketing strategies are increasingly central to brand success, influencing brand credibility perception.
Fashion companies and brands’ marketing activities focus on resolving environmental problems; however, these companies’ efforts, there are some examples of so-called “greenwashing”. This paper aims to analyze different perceptions of brand authenticity, green marketing, and purchase intention toward the brand before and after exposure to case information about greenwashing. A total of 211 data were gathered and analyzed using SPSS 25.0. Respondents were asked to respond to same questionnaires related to green marketing and the brand authenticity before and after their exposure to greenwashing information. The study participants’ perceptions of green marketing from the brand were statistically significantly negatively changed after exposure compared to before exposure. Similar patterns in results were found in the context of consumers’ perception of brand authenticity (genuineness, originality, and consistency), and purchase intention. The originality of this study is in evaluating consumers’ perception of greenwashing focused on brand authenticity. The findings of the study suggest that if a fashion brand’s green marketing activity is perceived as greenwashing by consumers, the perceptions of green marketing, brand authenticity, and purchase intention can all decline. It is suggested that fashion brands need to develop a sincere and truthful green marketing campaigns to keep and enhance their brand authenticity.
Consumer interest in eco-friendly fashion products has been consistent. While most relevant research emphasizes individual morals and environmental concern as the most crucial determinants to eco-friendly consumption behavior, more recent studies point out that in so doing there has been somewhat a neglectance on the importance of fundamental marketing strategies. More specifically, the crucial role of interior colors in fashion retail stores has been managerially considered something certain yet no empirical results have been found to support such a strong managerial assumption. For instance, colors such as green, blue, and brown are believed to represent natural images and are more appropriate to the eco-friendly marketing and the relevant research has been lacking. Therefore, this study attempts to explore the effect of in-store interior design colors (green versus non-green) on consumer perception of green store images. A total of 382 respondents were gathered for an online survey using differing store images as the stimulus and used for testing hypotheses. In the results, respondents exposed to store images using green interior colors reported a higher evaluation of green store image of the store. The effect is found to be significantly moderated by respondent’s environmental concern: to explain, respondents of high environmental concern are less influenced by green color interiors when they evaluate the brand’s eco-friendly image. In sum, the positive influence of green interior colors on green store image is found statistically significant, with its stronger effect for consumers of low concern. Managerial and academic discussions are provided.
In recent years, companies, consumers, and society have increasingly committed to actions aimed at protecting the environment. Thus, environmental activity has become central to companies’ strategies. Apparel is becoming a disposable product, resulting in a sharp consumption increase (Hwang et al., 2016). The fast growing rates of apparel products consumption and waste lead to an environmental crisis. Smaller brands as well as many multinational companies, including large chains started selling clothes made of ecological fiber. According to the Ethical Fashion Forum, green fashion refers “represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of apparel which maximizes benefits to people and communities while minimizing impact on the environment.” (Cervellon & Wernerfelt, 2012). The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between perceived effectiveness of green products, attitude toward advertising, brand attitude, purchase intention and green behavior intention and to identify how claim specificity types, cognitive style and sustainable involvement influence on the relationship between variables.
In consideration of the existing eco-friendly marketing research, it is only focusing on the type and characteristics of eco- friendly consumers. Therefore, in order to carry out more systematic and comprehensive eco-friendly marketing research, it is necessary to complement the comprehensive model that examines the mechanism by which the leading variables of the enterprises factors affecting consumer’s eco-friendly consumption behaviors. In this research, based on previous studies and literature considerations, it tries to present a research model that the core benefits and relational benefits of the retail store which is the advantage of VMD affect eco-friendly consumption behavior through consumer's implicit and explicit motivation. And, considering the environment, this study assumes the regulatory role of the perceived risk on the environmental problems under the relationship between green consumption motive and consumption behavior. The purpose of this research is as follows. First, it clarifies the influence of the benefits of eco-friendly VMD in fashion retail stores on the eco-friendly consumption motive, which is a psychological factor of consumers, as a leading variable of corporate factors affecting consumers’ green consumption behavior. The core benefits and relational benefits provided by eco-friendly VMD will identify differentiated impacts on consumer motivation, which is a psychological factor that drives green consumption behavior. Second, the types of motivations that cause eco-friendly behavior are classified into explicit motivation and implicit motivation, and this study tries to find out which type of motivation better predicts eco-friendly consumption behavior. Third, it tries to verify the moderating role of environmental perceived risk in the relationship between explicit motivation, implicit motivation and green consumption behavior. By further organizing the theme of eco-friendly marketing research, this study has its academic significance in that it derives a comprehensive model, moderating consumers’ green consumption behavior regarding eco-friendly marketing stimulates. It reveals the mechanisms that affect green consumption behavior backed by fashion retail stores where consumer buying behavior actually takes place. Based on this research, it is expected that subsequent studies of a more fragmented viewpoint for fashion retail stores’ eco-friendly marketing will be developed that will give consideration to consumers' green consumption behavior. Practically, the results of this research can be utilized very conveniently. In a practical dimension, if it becomes possible to thoroughly understand the mechanism by which eco-friendly VMD stimulation leads to green consumption behavior, retailers are possible to formulate an environmental marketing strategy peculiar to the target market segment. From a socio-policy perspective, retailers can encourage consumers' eco-friendly consumption by giving a stimulus of VMD to them. Moreover this study will promote companies to develop and manage healthier and more sustainable products.
The newly developed green fashion product, Eco-friendly Faux Leather Apparel (E-FLA) helps minimize harmful environmental impact with a low carbon footprint utilizing the progression of Bio-based Polyurethane and Nanocellulose technique. This study investigates green product purchase intentions along with the best available socio-psychological determinants and product criteria of the consumer green product adoption that can assist to launch E-FLA products in both western (England and the US) and eastern (China and South Korea) marketplaces. A total of 1,202 female respondents between the ages of 20 and 50 from England (N=297), the US (N=305), China (N=300), and Korea (N=300) completed the online survey. ANOVA indicated significant difference in consumers’ socio-psychological characteristics (consumption values, ethical consumption beliefs, self-satisfaction of ethical consumption, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental knowledge) and product criteria (product attributes of E-FLA) across four countries. Purchase intention and willingness to pay a premium for E-FLA products were shown differently across four countries. Multiple regression analysis results demonstrated differences in consumers’ socio-psychological and product criteria determinants for the purchase intention of E-FLA products across countries. Evidence suggests that differentiated marketing strategies for E-FLA products are required when targeting global consumers. Practical implications and theoretical suggestions to understand consumer sustainable consumption attitudes are proposed.
This study set out to investigate consumers' attitudes toward pro-environment, and their actual purchasing behavior. It aimed to empirically examine the effects of the consumers' attitudes toward pro-environmental products, the importance of the product attributes and the perceived value of the companies' environmental activities, on their purchasing behavior of eco-friendly fashion products, including their satisfaction, trust, and repurchase intention. The questionnaires were administered on 304 married women with previous experience of buying eco-friendly fashion products. The results were as follows. First, the consumers' behavioral patterns in terms of environmental concerns and the purchasing of eco-friendly household items were significantly positive in relation to the purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion products. Second, the importance of eco-friendly attributes was significantly positive in relation to the purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion products. Third, the perceived value of corporate environmental activity was not related to the purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion products. Finally, the purchasing behavior of eco-friendly fashion products was significantly positive in relation to the satisfaction with eco-friendly fashion products as well as the trust and repurchase intention, and satisfaction and trust positively affected the repurchase intention. The implication of the research and direction for future study were discussed.
The importance of sustainability is dramatically devoted in fashion industry because the fashion cycle period has been accelerated by fast trend changes. In the past 10 years, fashion companies were trying to meet consumer demands by mass production and quick response. However, due to the low price, consumers are taking low value to products which lead to tremendous amount of clothing waste. This fashion market movement caused social, environmental and economic issues. Therefore, we need to seek for apposite solutions by researchers and practitioners. The traditional educational efforts and approach did not apply to transformative action (Frisk, Larson, 2011). In order to diffuse sustainable knowledge and promote the sustainable behavior, a proper education system has to be developed. According to our pilot study, it shows that the respondents do not have basic knowledge of sustainability or they know the sustainability but it does neither directly nor indirectly impacts to consumer purchase intention and action. A method of this study is focusing on age group 20’s to 30’s because these age groups are the main consumers for the mass production fashion goods and received sustainable education in traditional academic institutions. This study tested a method that can fill the gap between attitude and action by classifying various types of knowledge and find out which knowledge type is the most applicable for fashion industry. The purpose of this study is to provide efficient ways and types to deliver sustainable knowledge which academic institutions and companies can apply. This study presents the results of the role of knowledge in attitude and purchase decision-making in sustainable fashion. Sustainability knowledge captures a broad scope that covers environmental, social and economic perspectives, but with regards to the fashion industry, environmental concern is focused the most. The study results reflects that the proper way of educating potential and existing fashion consumer will help the academic institution and fashion companies to reallocate their sustainable strategy to all three scopes of sustainability (Miller et al., 2011). More of academic institutions and fashion companies are participating to sustainable issues; it will raise the sustainable awareness, which will leads to diffusion of sustainable knowledge and green fashion trends.
This study was an exploratory research to classify the types of green fashion marketing of the fashion companies in South Korea and analyse the present cases of each type. To analyse the current cases of green fashion marketing strategies, we researched all sorts of newspapers, magazines, publications of fashion companies, and web sites from 2008 to 2009. As a result, we categorized 5 types of green fashion marketing as follows ; eco-friendly fabrics (natural fabrics, recycled fabrics, biodegradable fabrics), re-use or re-form(reuse after cleaning and/or repairing and reformation through transformation and combination of raw materials), green certifications(ISO 14001, GOTS, OES, etc.), eco-friendly management and operation, and green marketing promotions. Based on the results, we proposed the green marketing strategies for fashion companies to progress toward the proper direction of green marketing. First of all, companies should escape from the narrow view point limited to the product itself. Then they have to focus on developing and execution of sustainable merchandising, manufacturing, logistics, and waste strategies.