Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Female Consumers' Motivation and Intent to Dispose of Apparel in an Eco-friendly Manner: A South African Emerging Market Perspective

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Abstract

Various stake holders have in recent years voiced concern about disposal of apparel and textile products, especially in emerging market contexts such as South Africa. This emphasizes the need for further empirical investigation regarding female consumers' apparel disposal behavior (i.e. donating, reselling or recycling) and more specifically, the determinants of their pro-environmental motivation and intent. The theoretical basis of this study included a combination of variables derived from the Norm-Activation Theory (i.e. awareness of consequences, moral norms) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (i.e. social norms, attitude, perceived behavioral control and behavioral intent). Structural equation modeling revealed the significance of moral norms and attitudes as predictors of intent. Contrary to prior empirical evidence, perceived behavioral control emerged as the weakest predictor of intent. Furthermore, positive associations exist among female consumers' awareness of environmental consequences and their social norms as well as between their social norms, attitudes, perceived behavioral control and moral norms. The findings of this study provide insight pertaining to the relevance of existing theoretical insights in a developing emerging market context and also offer a basis for the development of pro-environmental waste disposal campaigns and intervention strategies. It may also serve as a basis for further investigation in other emerging markets to establish underlying motivational factors that may contribute to consumers' eco-friendly apparel disposal behavior.

How to Cite:

Stols, M. J., Sonnenberg, N. C. & Marx-Pienaar, N., (2017) “Female Consumers' Motivation and Intent to Dispose of Apparel in an Eco-friendly Manner: A South African Emerging Market Perspective”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 74(1).