Did Anything Good Come Out of the Pandemic? COVID-19-Stress Induced Self-Regulatory Sustainable Apparel Consumption among the Millennials in the U.S.

Abstract

Based on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive dissonance theory, regulatory focus theory, and the compensatory consumer behavior model, we proposed and tested a conceptual model delineating the relationships between COVID-19-stress, commitment to the environment, and intentions for sustainable apparel consumption in terms of intentions for purchasing sustainable apparel and divesting apparel (e.g., handing down or donating apparel). Conducting an online survey (n = 312) with the national millennial population of the U.S., we found that COVID-19-stress positively influenced (i) commitment to the environment and (ii) purchase intentions for sustainable apparel; commitment to the environment positively influenced (iii) purchase intentions for sustainable apparel and (iv) intentions for divesting apparel. Although COVID-19-stress did not influence intentions for divesting apparel directly, commitment to the environment mediated the relationships between COVID-19-stress and both purchase intentions for sustainable apparel and intentions for divesting apparel. We suggest that COVID-19-stress triggered self-regulatory sustainable apparel consumption intentions due to a heightened commitment to the environment to protect the environment amid the pandemic. Based on the findings of our study, we recommend the sustainable apparel brands and marketers promote how sustainable apparel consumption can protect the environment to make the environment and human beings less susceptible to the future outbreaks of pandemics.