The Drivers of Sustainable Apparel and Sportswear Consumption: A Segmented Kano Perspective

Abstract

The steady increase of sustainable consumer behavior leads companies to strengthen their efforts to become socially and ecologically more sustainable. Particularly in the clothing and footwear industry, more and more companies are aware of their need to fundamentally adapt the way they create value. Sustainability offerings are developed, e.g., usage of upcycled materials (e.g., ocean plastic), circular business models (e.g., decomposition of returned products into components for new ones), as well as adapted product ranges (e.g., smaller or with fewer fashion cycles). However, it is frequently unclear in advance, which offerings will increase (or decrease) satisfaction and, consequently, drive (or not drive) sustainable consumption. The application of a segmented Kano perspective in an apparel and sportswear context that helps to answer these questions is presented: 17 potential offerings were assessed by a sample of 490 consumers. Our analysis demonstrates the usefulness of this methodology and that returning used products (to recycle them), discounts for buying sustainable products, sustainability level indicators, and biobased materials are highly attractive. However, the responsiveness varies across the derived consumer segments, from being decisive or attractive to indifferent or reverse. As assumed, gender and attitude towards sustainability are good predictors for segment membership.

The Effect of Recycled HDPE Plastic Additions on Concrete Performance

“…Research on beaches has shown that coastline plastic waste in 192 countries in 2010 amounted to between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons [6]. This waste threatens marine organisms [7] and has led to many demands to restrict plastic use and reshape behavior at the consumer level [8]. Recycling has increased in developed countries since 2006 [1] and offers a partial solution.…”

Toward More-Than-Human Understandings of Sport and the Environment: A New Materialist Analysis of Everyday Fitness Practices

“…Currently, consumers, and particularly women consumers, have become more concerned with the issues of environmentalism and sustainability. Research has shown that women, more than men, value the environment and are more likely to engage in environmentally friendly behavior (Arora-Jonsson, 2011;Baier et al, 2020). Other research has emphasized the growing popularity of sustainability in consumers' choices when buying activewear.…”

Human Perceptions of Recycled Textiles and Circular Fashion: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Moreover, product storytelling "narrative" and the institutional theory and customer behaviour [80] were discussed. Hence, a diverse range of case studies was seen in several articles [81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88].…”

“…Some sustainable concepts are perceived as adding value [92]. The studies recognised increasing awareness of sustainability in general [84,92,103], growing trends such as the sharing economy in terms of collaborative consumption [95], and more and more awareness of companies in the fashion industry realising the need for sustainable offers [88,100]. Nevertheless, risks and losses were also perceived, as discussed below.…”

“…Furthermore, the participants perceived the sustainability concept in the fashion industry as limited to the usage of organic materials and recycling [100]. In another study, sustainable consumption was linked to purchasing environmentally friendly, durable, and repairable products [88]. Magnier et al [96] measured awareness as "awareness of the environmental issue" and "awareness of ocean plastic recycling".…”