Exploring the Influence of Environmental Values on Green Consumption Behavior of Apparel: A Chain Multiple Mediation Model among Chinese Generation Z

Abstract

There is a problem among Generation Z regarding the insufficient perception of green apparel consumption and the “perception–action paradox”, which presents a great challenge to China’s future sustainable development. To address this problem, we constructed a chain multiple mediation research framework that explored the transmission paths between the environmental value and green consumption behavior of apparel, as well as the associated influence mechanisms; this was performed by integrating environmental responsibility and green consumption intention. Data for this study were collected through a multistage sampling survey of 657 Chinese Gen Z members born between 1995 and 2002. Our results reveal that all three types (egoism, altruism, and biospheric values) of environmental values had different direct and indirect effects on the green apparel consumption behavior for Gen Z members, but the indirect effects of each aspect significantly outweighed their direct effects. In terms of the direct effects, egoistic values had no significant direct negative effect on green apparelconsumption behavior, whereas the significant positive direct effect of the biospheric values was greater than that of altruistic values. The greatest mediating effect between the environmental values and green apparelconsumption behaviorwas green consumption intention, followed by environmental responsibility, and ending with the chain mediation effect of environmental responsibilityand green consumption intention. These findings suggest that it is imperative to stress the cultivation of green consumption intentions, environmental responsibility, and environmental values and bridge the seamless link among these variables for the promotion of green apparel consumption practices in Generation Z. This is the first study that explicitly identifies the significant chain mediating effect of environmental responsibility and green consumption intention between the environmental values and green apparel consumption behavior. Our findings broaden the theoretical research perspective of green apparel consumption behavior and provide a reference for the guiding of green consumption practices and policy formulation for the global population of Generation Z.

Determinants of Young Adult Consumers’ Environmentally and Socially Responsible Apparel Consumption

“…Indirect contribution of green consumption values to customer purchase intentions in a context of a developing economy was also supported by an earlier study [95]. Another recent study has also provided evidence in support of direct and indirect contribution of environmental values-altruistic and biospheric-to green apparel consumption [30]. The most influential contribution of green consumption values on responsible apparel consumption implies that instilling green consumption values into young adult customers should be prioritized, to motivate them to favor sustainable garments over conventional garments in making purchase decisions.…”

“…Similarly, consumers' environmental values were found to have a strong influence on their attitudes, which further positively impacted consumers' green purchasing behavior [29]. The environmental values (egoism, altruism, and biospheric values) of Gen Z consumers was found to directly and indirectly influence their green apparel consumption behavior [30]. In some research, altruistic and biospheric values-among other environmental values-more strongly predicted intentions of consumers to behave in a pro-environmental way [31], which was also confirmed in the context of sustainable clothing purchases [32].…”

“…There are also empirical results that apparel sustainability knowledge and personal values of young Millennials had significant and positive effects on their attitude towards sustainable clothing, which, in turn, strongly and positively influenced purchase intention [16]. In the study of Liang et al [30] focused on Gen Z members, it was found that environmental values (egoism, altruism, and biospheric) had different direct and indirect impacts on green apparel consumption behavior. Environmental apparel knowledge was found to positively influence environmentalism, which consequently positively influenced environmentally responsible apparel consumption behavior [75].…”

Determining factors in shaping the sustainable behavior of the generation Z consumer

“…In this sense, studies show us that any purchase behavior of an ecological product will be modified for the benefit of society (Gierszewska and Seretny, 2019), and the ecological purchase behavior of Generation Z representatives regarding the purchase of ecological products will be more frequent (Jaciow and Wolny, 2021). People who are typologically included in Generation Z cohorts manifest and materialize intentions to purchase ecological products, more pronounced than other generations and also in relation to the area of origin (Dąbrowski et al, 2022;Liang et al, 2022). Through the means that countries, organizations, promoters of sustainable consumption will have at their disposal and will use, they will be able to guide Generation Z towards the consumption of ecological products, responsibly and sustainably.…”

Factors Influencing University Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use Electric Car-Sharing Services in Guangzhou, China

“…Li & Wen, 2019;. The theory has been extensively applied in research studies related to sustainable consumption (Bhattacharyya et al, 2023;Hwang & Yeo, 2022), low-carbon consumption (Jiang et al, 2019), green consumption (Liang et al, 2022;Tan et al, 2022), shared consumption (Roos & Hahn, 2017), and other forms of consumption (Tandon et al, 2021).…”