Sustainable Apparel Consumption: Personal Norms, CSR Expectations, and Hedonic vs. Utilitarian Shopping Value

Abstract

The sustainable consumption trend is gaining popularity among Gen Z. Guided by the environmental awareness construct, Norm Activation Model, corporate social responsibility paradigm, and shopping value perspective, this study aims to assess how environmental awareness is connected to consumer evaluations of their personal consumption behavior and corporate social responsibility to help explain their sustainable apparel purchase intention, in conjunction with consumer shopping motivation. An online survey was conducted with a group of Gen Z consumers (N = 192). The results from testing the conceptual model indicated that environmental awareness was positively linked to personal norms and CSR expectations, both of which were similarly related to green purchase intentions. While hedonic and utilitarian shopping value was positively associated with CSR expectations, they were both negative predictors of green purchase intentions. This study is the first to integrate environmental ethics, personal ethics, expectations of corporate ethics, and hedonic vs. utilitarian consumption value to better understand the attitude–behavior gap in sustainable apparel purchase decision-making.