5.1. Discussion
Textiles can be reused and recycled in several ways to reduce the amount of waste that is burned or added to landfills, which in turn helps to conserve natural resources, limit pollution, and save energy. Improvements to current recycling rates can include: (1) better infrastructure between textile producers and recyclers, (2) adding curbside collection programs for consumers, (3) increasing end-use markets of waste recyclables, and (4) educating consumers on the advancements they can be making to be sustainable [
27]. Connecting many of these improvements, the single-stream process of recycling paper, glass, plastic, and cans have been successful in recent years. Single-stream processes are convenient for the consumer, as the materials do not need to be sorted before the recycling process occurs. The convenience of single-stream recycling serves as a huge step forward for recycling engagement across thousands of United States households [
28]. A positive next phase will include curbside pickup of textiles across numerous communities. Additional funding for developing recycling techniques in connection to government regulations would be beneficial for increasing sustainability. The growth of buy-back programs across the industry would also serve as a big step to gain additional buy-in from consumers [
17].
The current study found that participants had positive attitudes toward recycling, the environment, and green products. Participants also indicated their willingness to engage in sustainable behaviors and their intention to buy sustainable apparel. These relationships highlight that holding a positive attitude toward an action can result in an intention to act. Attitude was also found to be the strongest predictor of the intention to purchase green products. Positive consumer attitudes and a greater concern for the environment lead to stronger efforts to reduce environmental impacts [
23] and a stronger purchase intention. If consumers feel as if they can positively impact the environment, they are more likely to engage in more sustainable consumption. These consumers also have a higher likelihood of purchasing green products, as they feel that their individual consumption behaviors have a direct impact [
22].
In the current study, the subjective norm yielded results inconsistent with previous literature [
26], as family and friends were not found to influence intention to engage in sustainable practices. In contrast, family and friends were found to influence participants’ intention to purchase sustainable apparel. This influence is likely to derive from indirect cues that are taken when family and friends purchase quality, a sustainable brand, or avoid purchasing fast fashion. These observations may educate consumers on the products that they purchase.
When consumption of sustainable apparel is supported, family and friends maybe more impactful if they engage in similar sustainable practices. In this study, family and friends that purchased apparel with organic, low-impact dyed, or recycled materials had a positive influence on participants’ purchase intention. Sustainable consumption also increases the tendency for consumers to give and receive secondhand apparel among family and friends. It is also believed that more sustainable consumption will lead to reuse, upcycling, reselling, or donating unwanted apparel items [
13]. As consumers spend more time caring for their garments, an emotional attachment and engagement in more sustainable practices may result.
Previous literature has indicated that social norms are not direct influences on behavior but have an indirect impact through personal norms [
20]. This study also supports the disconnect between social norms and behavior, as influences from family and friends were not found to have a significant relationship with the intention to engage in sustainable practices. However, family and friends were found to influence the intention to purchase sustainable apparel. This may be due to the visibility that sustainable apparel has when it is being worn by family and friends. People that have a stronger social conscience are reported to be more aware of environmental challenges, more involved with recycling, and more willing to purchase sustainable apparel [
20]. While the influence of family and friends may be indirectly important, previous literature has also indicated that approval from significant others may not be as impactful as previously thought [
23]. It is also important to note that consumers may be purchasing sustainable apparel based on their own decisions and interests instead of a direct influence from family and friends [
22].
In the current study, perceived behavioral control has strongly supported the basis of convenience rather than price. Convenience played a significant role in both the intention to engage in sustainable behavior and the intention to purchase sustainable apparel. Paul et al. [
23] also determined that communicating convenience and the availability of sustainable products is an important aspect of PBC and sustainable product purchase intentions. Based on this information, it is also important to note that the perceived availability of sustainable apparel is viewed to be limited as compared to more unsustainable apparel products.
Of significance, price did not have a significant influence on the intention to engage in sustainable behavior or the intention to purchase sustainable products. This result is of great interest, as price is typically a strong factor when people are shopping. However, it does not seem to be an influential factor when people are seeking sustainable options. Kang et al. [
22] also found something similar, as consumers indicated that making a meaningful difference has a greater impact on their actions than concerns about price, availability, location, or consumption. Thus, price is irrelevant for consumers that feel they can make a difference through their own sustainable practices. Consumers that are knowledgeable of sustainability issues are not deterred by the price of sustainable apparel and will support sustainable initiatives if they feel they can make a difference for the environment [
22].
Relationships between the TPB variables and demographic characteristics also drew significant insights in this study. Female participants were found to have more positive attitudes toward recycling than male participants and were also found to engage in more sustainable behaviors. Cho et al. [
13] also had a similar result which stated that females tend to engage in more sustainable apparel consumption, as they are more frugal and fashion-conscious. Females have also been found to be more interested and engaged in general sustainable consumption processes [
13].
A significant relationship was also found between subjective norms and participant age, as younger participants were less influenced by family and friends than older participants. Even though children learn consumer socialization behaviors through family members, it seems as if younger consumers actively reject product recommendations from family and friends [
29]. In the current study, younger participants were also found to have less positive attitudes toward green products and lower intention to purchase sustainable apparel than older participants. It may be hypothesized that factors such as having a stronger ecological conscience may be related to age, as consumers are likely to have engaged in new or refined behaviors throughout their lives. Thus, older consumers may continue to be learning from family, friends, and other outside sources. The positive relationship between older consumers and their likelihood to adopt new behaviors is a positive sign for younger generations as well.
Overall, sustainable consumption must feel relevant to consumers’ lives and must enhance consumers’ social image. If these conditions are met, consumers are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward sustainable options, feel more pressure from peers to engage in purchasing sustainable apparel, and overcome challenges related to sustainable consumption [
22]. However, additional research is needed on the topic of relevancy based on consumers’ specific social images. As the current study highlights, consumers have positive attitudes toward recycling, the environment, and green products, while older consumers are more influenced by family and friends. Thus, there are numerous opportunities for retailers, marketers, policymakers, and governments to step in and support sustainable initiatives.
5.2. Implications
Of significance in this study, participants indicated that convenience is of greater importance than alternative sustainable processes, even when participants indicated that they were concerned about the social and environmental impact of consumption. Knowledge of consumer behavior toward sustainability helps policymakers, retailers, product developers, and marketing managers make appropriate decisions for their communities, companies, and consumers. The design of new products and packaging should also be reviewed for more sustainable options to increase recycling rates [
4] and quality. The insights gained can also help educate and persuade consumers to engage in convenient processes that help achieve more sustainable practices and improve their current habits.
The utility of this study is primarily with retailers. Retailers can determine the various viewpoints that their consumers may have toward sustainability and adjust their assortments and marketing campaigns accordingly. It is important to know where consumer behavior and product demand is headed in order to make a profit.
We continue to be a long way from full consumer awareness of sustainable practices, as some consumers are ignorant of the global impact that consumption has had on the planet [
15]. To make a difference in the industry, consumers, retailers, manufacturers, and other partners must join forces and share information on sustainability. The industry must determine sustainability standards that will support retailers and help consumers make informed decisions. Governments across the world must work to set basic laws to protect the environment. These laws need to consider the use of the planet’s resources, minimize excessive consumption, and improve current waste disposal methods that are significantly polluting our planet. As outlined by Markkula and Moisander [
30] and Harris et al. [
15], policymakers must focus more on large-scale actions, including cultural and social contexts, instead of simply informing and educating consumers.
This study also serves as a foundation for researchers, as extant literature primarily focuses on consumer interests toward sustainability and not the perceptions that consumers have toward their own behaviors. Results from this study also further the use of the TPB in sustainability literature and has provided an avenue to solidify the theory. The results of this study also provide new topics for research, including the need to delve deeper into how demographics impact intention to engage.
5.3. Limitations
There are a few limitations to this study. First, intention is a widely accepted predictor of behavior but may not fully represent the actual behavior that would unfold. In the context of this study, people may not actually engage in the purchasing of green products, as there may be a lack of confidence in the performance of the product, and the higher price point of the green product may dissuade the consumer when making a purchasing decision [
26].
Second, participants were only recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, which may be biased toward specific populations, including people who are comfortable using the internet. Due to the nature of online surveys, participants may have also rushed through the survey without much consideration or may have selected more preferential answers. To help eliminate possible issues, data that had repetitive answers were removed from the data analysis. In addition, the post soliciting participants was only distributed once, leading to a possible bias based on when the participant engages in the survey (e.g., people seeking income during the day versus people who seek entertainment in the evening, etc.). Future research on this topic should seek a random sample to further test the TPB and hypotheses formed in this study. Overall, since the compensation for this study was relatively modest, it also is not believed that participants were biased when responding to the survey questions.
Third, participants may have engaged in virtue signaling when selecting responses within the survey. Virtue signaling is ‘to take a conspicuous, but essentially useless action, ostensibly to support a good cause by actually showing off how much more moral you are than everyone else’ [
31]. In this study, participants may have wanted to demonstrate themselves in a more positive light than what exists in reality. However, these surveys were anonymous, confidential, and completed individually, and were also completed in a short amount of time. Due to the instinctual quick nature of filling out the survey, it is believed that participants will have indicated their true feelings on the topic. The survey items were also stated in a neutral manner with the goal of making the survey unbiased and open to genuine responses.