Understanding fashion consumers' attitude and behavioral intention toward sustainable fashion products: Focus on sustainable knowledge sources and knowledge types

Companies in the fashion industry recognize sustainability as a major issue and are placing intensive efforts to incorporate it into their marketing strategies. Yet they face a stumbling block as most fashion consumers still have limited knowledge or clarification about sustainability. In addition, there is a lack of in-depth research regarding sustainable knowledge in the fashion industry, especially considering its importance in this field. Therefore, this study, analyzes sustainable knowledge to better understand which sources and types of knowledge are effective. Thus, the purpose of this study is as follows: (1) to examine the influence of sustainable knowledge sources on different types of sustainable knowledge; and (2) to examine the impact of these types of knowledge on sustainable consumer behavior. A total of 245 responses are collected in South Korea through an online survey for the final analysis. The proposed model and research hypotheses are tested using AMOS and SPSS programs. Results indicates that fashion consumers have a positive effect on corporate marketing information. Effectiveness and social knowledge also play an important role in forming attitude toward sustainable fashion products. In conclusion, fashion brands must identify and incorporate effective sources and types of sustainable knowledge into their marketing strategies to expand their business scope. Moreover, this study stands out for examining the specific role of sustainable knowledge in the fashion industry, thus providing a direction for future research.