Investigating Consumer Perceptions Towards Apparel Made of Recycled Polyester Fabric

Abstract

This study investigates consumer attitudes and purchase intentions toward apparel made from recycled polyester fabric, examining key moderating factors (i.e., need for uniqueness, fashion consciousness, environmental consciousness, and age) to understand the drivers behind sustainable fashion consumption. Grounded in Homer and Kahle's (1988) Value-Attitude-Behavior (VAB) model, the research analyzes how perceived values—functional, economic, emotional, and social—shape consumer attitudes, which in turn influence their purchase intentions. The primary objective was to explore how these perceived values interact with individual consumer traits to impact attitudes toward such apparel. Applying Constructive Controversy (2020), this study captures both favorable and opposing perspectives within sustainable fashion, offering insights into consumer conflicts when evaluating recycled polyester. Data were collected through an online survey with 285 participants across various age groups, utilizing quota sampling for representativeness. The results reveal that functional, economic, and emotional values significantly enhance consumer attitudes toward recycled polyester apparel, while social value does not. Furthermore, attitude influenced purchase intention toward apparel made from recycled polyester fabric. Additionally, the hypothesized moderating effects of need for uniqueness, fashion consciousness, environmental consciousness, and the research question exploring the moderating effect of age on the values-attitude relationship were not supported; however, an alternative model revealed that, aside from age, these traits significantly moderated the attitude-purchase intention relationship, providing insight into consumer characteristics unsustainable fashion choices. These findings enhance the VAB model by integrating consumer traits as moderators and suggest that marketers should highlight recycled polyester apparel's benefits while tailoring strategies to individual traits to boost adoption.