Determinants affecting the intention to buy green clothing products : A quantitative study on Swedish millennials

Abstract: Background: The clothing industry is guilty of environmental destruction, at the same time consumers and more specifically Swedish millennials have shown increasing concern for the environment. Those favorable environmental attitudes and concerns has however in some green contexts shown to not affect the intention to buy green products which might suggest that there exists a so-called attitude-intention gap. There is a lot of uncertainty concerning why this attitude-intention gap may exist and what factors that may have an influence on the consumer’s green purchasing criteria. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to first reveal if there exists an attitude-intention gap among Swedish millennials when it comes to purchasing green clothing products. Secondly, the study investigated the determinants that influence the intention to buy green clothing products among Swedish millennials. Methodology: The study used a deductive and quantitative research approach by conducting an online survey which was distributed with a non-probability convenience sampling technique as well as with a snowball sampling technique towards Swedish millennials. The survey resulted in 150 valid responses which was quantitatively analyzed. Findings: The findings revealed that there exists an attitude-intention gap among Swedish millennials when it comes to the context of green clothing products. The most influential determinants affecting the intention to buy green clothes were: Knowledge about green clothing products, followed by habits of buying traditional clothing products and then the subjective norm. Additionally, gender differences among majority of the determinants were identified. Implications: The findings provide suggestions for decision makers marketing green clothing products to focus on increasing the knowledge among consumers as well as easing the process of changing old purchasing habits. Furthermore, it is of value for Swedish policymakers whom with this knowledge know where to concentrate their focus and resources in order to spur the green consumption. Originality: This paper contributes to theory by applying the well-known TPB framework with the addition of personal and situational determinants on the context of green clothing products. Furthermore, new insights regarding what determinants that affects the intention to buy green clothing products when it comes to the context of Swedish millennials were found.