Sustainability and Social Responsibility

The Future of Fashion Sustainability: A Qualitative Study on U.S. Female Millennials’ Purchase Intention towards Sustainable Synthetic Athleisure Apparel

---

Abstract

U.S. consumers are motivated to purchase sustainable synthetic athleisure apparel for the following values: (1) functional value, (2) social value, (3) emotional value, (4) conditional value, and (5) epistemic value.  Many consumers view price is the key determinant, making the functional value of the utmost importance. One significant finding under the functional value was that fit and comfort are two important features that consumers expect in athleisure apparel and would expect if paying more for sustainable synthetic athleisure. As for social value, consumers claim to shop at big name retailers including Nike, Lululemon, Adidas for athleisure. The emotional value was tied with the conditional value in terms of significance to consumers. Consumers are attracted to sustainable apparel brands due to the values that they uphold. All participants claimed that sustainable synthetic athleisure is an innovative product, expressing epistemic values towards the concept.

Keywords: sustainability, athleisure, synthetic, polyester

How to Cite:

Ganak, J., Summers, L., Adesanya, O., Chi, T. & Tai, Y., (2019) “The Future of Fashion Sustainability: A Qualitative Study on U.S. Female Millennials’ Purchase Intention towards Sustainable Synthetic Athleisure Apparel”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8237