A Human-Centered Approach to Green Apparel Advertising: Decision Tree Predictive Modeling of Consumer Choice

Abstract

This study uses a human-centered approach to environmental ethics to examine which perceived factors in advertising predict consumers' intention to purchase "green", or sustainably and ethically produced, apparel. We use eight different types of green apparel advertisements to build a decision tree model to determine the most influential factors that lead to future purchases of green apparel. We classify consumers' perceptions of green advertising as either humanistic, environmental, or product-related responses and propose a conceptual framework to outline the essential elements of an effective green advertising strategy. We use a sample of 829 US consumers from the period January 2015 to December 2017 in our empirical research. Our results show that four factors, namely, perception of the apparel's quality, its uniqueness, caring, and nature connectedness, predict consumers' intention to purchase green apparel. Notably, the largest segment of consumers (36%), those who perceive high levels of apparel quality and caring in the advertising, are identified as the high-purchase group. Our findings could improve strategies in green apparel advertising by providing a new analytical approach to model consumers' behavioral intention to purchase green apparel.

Doing Good Better: Impure Altruism in Green Apparel Advertising

“…The sentiments such as "we can help others" and "we can prevent abuse to others" would be examples of ad messages. Generally, altercentric appeals are effective at promoting honorable or benevolent behavior among individuals with altruistic motives [9,13,14]. In comparison, egocentric appeals focus on how the behavior benefits individuals propelled by receiving recognition or feeling good about themselves, for example, "our product will make you feel good about yourself."…”

“…Research in altruism shows that the norm of reciprocity in which an individual can expect to receive reciprocal benefits from his or her altruistic act can motivate prosocial behavior [3]. Literature in sustainable behavior further suggests that consumers perceive a greater benefit from acts that help people compared to acts that help the environment [9,15]. This difference can be interpreted as in-group favoritism toward humans [15].…”

“…Most green advertisements have been directed to emphasizing societal or environmental attributes of green products to shape consumers' sustainable behavior [12]. However, such sustainability marketing has paid little attention to enhancing consumers' personal benefits, such as product functionality, quality, design, and style in its advertising strategy [9,14]. Such individual benefits help conscientious consumers make sustainable decisions to switch to green apparel from nongreen products [19,24].…”

“…In this case, embedding personal benefits such as originality of style in green advertising can be an effective strategy for promoting green apparel. Even in the secondhand clothing market, the uniqueness of clothing is one of the most influential factors that determine consumers' future purchasing intentions [9,26]. Clearly, uniqueness in green apparel can intrinsically motivate consumers by anticipating results that will personally benefit them and satisfy their desire for individuality.…”

“…Increasing consumers' awareness about environmental and ethical issues has been a key goal of "green apparel" and social marketing aimed at sustainability [8][9][10]. In this study, green apparel reflects this key concept of sustainability and refers to apparel that is (1) manufactured with ecofriendly materials and processed with minimal environmental impact and (2) ethically sourced to improve poverty and working conditions for laborers.…”