Sustainable fashion has gained global attention due to the environmental and social problems posed by the fashion industry. Yet, its conceptual boundaries remain broad and ambiguous. Drawing on cue utilization theory, this study aims to investigate how consumers’ consumption motivations shape their preferences for different types of sustainable cues (extrinsic versus intrinsic) and explores variations in their perceptions, attitudes and willingness to pay a premium.
Upon Institutional Review Board approval, an online experiment was conducted among 253 general consumers recruited by a nationwide survey firm in South Korea. K-means cluster analysis, chi-square analyses and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) were performed to test hypotheses.
The results revealed that hedonic consumers chose an extrinsic cue (sustainable brand) more, while utilitarian consumers chose an intrinsic cue (sustainable material) more. Perceived quality, emotional and social values, along with willingness to pay a premium, were higher for an extrinsic cue, while perceived stakeholder-driven and value-driven CSR motives were higher for an intrinsic cue. All three perceived values, formed by the different types of sustainable fashion cues, significantly affected attitude and attitude eventually led to higher willingness to pay a premium.
This study provides novel insights by showing how different types of sustainable fashion cues are interpreted and accepted by consumers based on their motivational segments, which is critical to understand consumer needs and develop targeting strategies to commercialize sustainable fashion in the market.
