Research Paper Bridging the Attitude-Behaviour Gap Within Sustainable Fashion Consumption in Germany
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Research Paper
Bridging the Attitude-Behaviour Gap Within
Sustainable Fashion Consumption in Germany
Master Thesis
Geneva Business School
Master of Business Administration: Digital Marketing
Submitted by:
Mira Bocti
Supervised by:
Roberta Giannini
Barcelona, Spain
Date: 04/01/2021
Word count: 14,752Declaration of Authorship
“I hereby declare:
● That I have written this work on my own without other people’s help
(copy-editing, translation, etc.) and without the use of any aids other
than those indicated;
● That I have mentioned all the sources used and quoted them correctly
in accordance with academic quotation rules;
● That the topic or parts of it are not already the object of any work or
examination of another course unless this has been explicitly agreed
on with the faculty member in advance;
● That my work may be scanned in and electronically checked for
plagiarism;
● That I understand that my work can be published online or deposited to
the university repository. I understand that to limit access to my work
due to the commercial sensitivity of the content or to protect my
intellectual property or that of the company I worked with, I need to file
a Bar on Access according to thesis guidelines.”
Date: 03/01/2021
Name: Mira Bocti
Signature:
2Acknowledgements
I would like to thank first and foremost my thesis supervisor, Roberta Giannini,
for her support and guidance throughout this study. Without her assistance this
dissertation would not have been thoroughly and consistently carried out. I
would also like to thank my parents for providing me with the opportunity to
accomplish a Master’s degree, and for their encouragement throughout. This
thesis would also not have been possible without the constant support from the
Geneva Business School committee.
3List of Tables
Table 1 Participant’s Demographics
4Table of Contents
Declaration of Authorship 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 4
Table of Contents 5
Abstract 7
1. Introduction 8
2. Literature Review 11
2.1 Ethical Consumerism 11
2.2 Sustainable Fashion Consumption 11
2.3 Exploring the Attitude-Behavior Gap 12
2.4 Holistic Theoretical Framework 13
2.4.1 External Limitations that Interfere With Ethical Purchasing 14
2.4.2 Individual Limitations that Interfere With Ethical Purchasing 15
2.5 Bridging the Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Marketing Strategies 16
2.5.1 SHIFT Framework 17
3. Methods 19
3.1 Research Method 19
3.2 Sampling Method 20
3.2.1 Sample Demographics 22
3.3 Data Collection 23
3.3.1 Structure of Interview 23
3.3.2 Interview Procedures 25
3.4 Data Analysis 26
4. Findings 28
4.1 The Attitude-Behaviour Gap in Sustainable Fashion Consumption 28
4.2 The Impeding Factors and Attitudes 29
4.2.1 Price 29
4.2.2 Lack of Presence 30
4.2.3 Information 31
4.2.4 Fashionability 32
4.2.5 The Self Over Sustainability 32
4.2.6 Powerlessness 33
5. Conclusions, Limitations, and Recommendations 33
55.1 Discussion 34
5.2 Bridging the Gap 35
5.3. Limitations & Recommendations 37
References 37
Appendix A 43
Appendix B 45
6Abstract
Climate change has become a major concern in today's society, which in turn
has led to an emergence of environmentally friendly market trends, such as ethical
consumerism. Yet despite the fact that most consumers intend to purchase in a more
sustainable manner, their actual purchasing behaviour proves to do the exact opposite.
This phenomenon, commonly known as the attitude-behaviour gap, has been an
ongoing topic in many research papers. Yet this gap with regards to sustainable fashion
consumption has scarcely been studied, and very few have looked at marketing tactics
to bridge the gap. The first purpose of this study is to then gain insight on the reasons
behind the attitude-behavior gap within the sustainable fashion consumption in
Germany using a qualitative approach. This information was then used to layout the
relevant marketing tactics that could help minimize this gap. In order to do so, 14
interviews were conducted on German consumers to better understand their attitudes
towards sustainable fashion as well as the influential factors that impede this behaviour.
The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using an inductive approach, within
the principles of a grounded theory method. The findings revealed the following
intervening factors: price, lack of presence, information, fashionability, self-over-
sustainability and powerlessness. These themes were then taken into account within the
marketing tactics that could potentially influence sustainable fashion consumption.
These tactics can be useful for marketers and brands within the sustainable fashion
sector.
Key Words: Attitude-behaviour gap, sustainable fashion, consumer behaviour,
marketing strategies, ethical consumerism.
71. Introduction
The concerns related to the environment have become an urgent and significant
issue in this modern day and age. According to a survey, since 2014 the global concern
for the environment has increased 6% in 2019 (Lampert, Metaal, Liu & Gambarin,
2019). Furthermore, the conducted survey also indicated that 77% of people worldwide
are concerned about the environment (Lampert et al., 2019). This rise of concern has
contributed to the emerging trend of ethical consumerism, whereby ethical
consumerism is an intentional form of consumption that is based on an individual's
personal and moral beliefs (Carrigan, Szmigin & Wright, 2004). This emerging trend
has in turn yielded growth in sustainable industrial sectors and processes, one of which
is the sustainable fashion industry (Lundblad & Davies, 2015). Unlike fast fashion, in
which its production methods harmfully impact the environment and its short-term
usage becomes a crucial issue, sustainable fashion aims to do the exact opposite
(Böstrom & Micheletti, 2016). To further elaborate, the characteristics of sustainable
fashion is that it employs ethical conduct, reduces the fast fashion industry and its
impacts, uses organic materials and avoids damaging the environment in its production
process (Henninger, Alvizou & Oates, 2016; Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018).
Although ethical consumerism is an up and coming trend, there exists a gap
between consumers’ attitude towards the environment and their actual purchasing
behaviour, whereby environmentally concerned consumers continue to purchase
brands that have a negative impact on the environment regardless of their intention to
purchase more eco-friendly alternatives (Devinney, Auger & Eckhardt, 2010). To
further demonstrate, a recent survey states that 65% of consumers claim they would
purchase brands that are sustainable and environmentally friendly, yet only 26%
actually end up doing so (White, Hardisty & Habib, 2019). This phenomenon,
commonly known as the attitude-behaviour gap, can particularly be noticed within
fashion consumption (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Although numerous theoretical studies
have aimed to understand the gap in terms of ethical consumerism (e.g. Auger &
Devinney, 2007; Carrigan & Attalla, 2001; Johnstone & Tan, 2015), very few have
looked at understanding the attitude-behavior gap within sustainable fashion
consumption (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018). Moreover, Papaoikonomou, Ryan &
Ginieis (2011) suggest that it is quite significant to study the underlying causes of this
gap. Hence, studying the underlying causes and factors that impede sustainable fashion
consumption behavior is deemed necessary.
Some argue that the attitude-behaviour gap could be caused by the behavioural
frameworks used to investigate the consequential barriers (Carrington, Neville &
Whitewell, 2010 ; Hassan, Shiu & Shaw, 2016; Govind, Singh, Garg, D’Silva, 2019).
Specifically that of Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour, the most frequently
used behavioural model to understand the gap. This model assumes that intentions lead
to behaviour, and those intentions are influenced by social norms, perceived behavioral
control and attitudes. Yet many studies have shown that in most cases attitudes are a
poor indicator for behavior as they do not include other external situational contexts
(Hassan et al., 2016). Thus a holistic approach that incorporates external and internal
factors has been shown to yield more accurate results. Apart from the frameworks used,
other studies have also suggested that specifying the sector when investigating the gap
could perhaps provide more specific determinants that cause the gap (Johnstone & Tan,
2015; Liobikiené & Bernatoniené, 2017). Hence, despite the numerous developed
8research on the attitude-behavior gap, there is still limited amount of research pertaining
to the attitude-behavior gap within the sustainable fashion industry (Lundblad &
Davies, 2015; Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018 ; McNeill & Moore, 2015). In addition
hardly any research focuses on tactics to mitigate this gap within sustainable fashion
purchasing (Mckeown & Shearer, 2019).
This gap then remains a concern for not only policymakers but most importantly
for marketers because nowadays the majority of purchasing behaviour is not
environmentally sustainable, hence changing this behaviour is deemed necessary
(Johnstone & Tan, 2015). This is especially relevant in the fashion sector since fast
fashion industries are one of the most polluting industries in the world (Böstrom &
Micheletti, 2016). Thus the need to alleviate this strain on the environment through
sustainable fashion purchasing is necessary. It is then imperative to construct a better
understanding of the reasons behind this gap in order to provide marketers with
effective tactics that can persuade consumers to purchase sustainable alternatives,
which in turn can help minimize the environmental impacts of the clothing industry.
Hence, the first aim of this research paper is to understand the consumer’s attitudes and
main barriers that take part in the attitude-behaviour gap within sustainable fashion
consumption. Subsequently, this study allocates the relevant marketing strategies that
can neutralize the barriers within the findings of this research.
The structure of this study begins by defining the emergence of ethical
consumerism and sustainable fashion. Once these terms have been examined the study
will need to acknowledge and understand the reasons behind this gap. This will be
achieved by examining the different literature that study the gap, specifically with
regards to the different behavioral models used. Furthermore, the study has found that
using a holistic behavioral framework to understand the gap within ethical purchasing
is more appropriate. Thus the following section includes a detailed holistic framework,
in which perceived external and individual factors hinder an ethical purchase. In
addition, the study has identified the distinctive marketing strategies found in literature
that are effective in influencing ethical behaviour. These marketing strategies will then
be placed specifically with regards to sustainable fashion within the findings of the
research.
With regards to the methodology, a qualitative approach using snowball
sampling to acquire participants for the interviews was employed. Moreover, the
interviews conducted considered German consumers’ actual purchasing behaviour,
their personal circumstances, values and emotional affinities towards the environment
(Johnstone and Tan, 2015), as well as their perceptions towards sustainable fashion.
The participants ranged in age, gender, and occupation, as the objective is to attain a
general understanding of consumer’s attitudes. Yet the criteria for the participants used
within this study is that they held some form of academic background and that they are
somewhat ethical consumers. The data obtained through the interviews were then
transcribed, analyzed and categorized into different themes. Using grounded theory
principles, the factors and themes found were described in more detail.
Once these factors have been established and analyzed, the study moves
forward into defining the most suitable and relevant marketing strategies that could be
implemented in order to bridge the attitude-behavior gap. This part uses the findings of
the research and combines the relevant marketing strategies discussed. By doing so, the
research paper was able to identify the appropriate marketing methods that can
persuade consumers to purchase sustainable fashion. Overall, the finding of this
9research contributes an effective marketing strategy that may be implemented by
sustainable fashion brands. This may help increase demands within the sustainable
fashion industry and in turn help mitigate the attitude-behavior gap. Nevertheless, some
limitations prevailed, and further suggestions for future studies were recommended.
Yet despite these limitations, the contribution of this research still provides relevant
implications that can be used to help minimize the un-environmentally sound behaviour
of purchasing clothing.
102. Literature Review
2.1 Ethical Consumerism
Consumption patterns today have become unsustainable and environmentally
damaging (White et al., 2019). Yet, due to a wide range of factors consumers are
becoming more aware of how their purchasing behavior can impact both the
environment as well as societies (Auger & Devinney, 2007; Moser, 2016). These
factors include the rise of media coverage on ethical and social issues, the emergence
of activist groups and the increase of ethical and sustainable products in the market
(Carrington et al., 2010; Auger & Devinney, 2007). Subsequently, this gave rise to
ethical consumerism, whereby consumers with an ethical mindset hold a sense of
responsibility towards the environment and society, and wish to express their values
and beliefs through their purchasing behavior (Carrington et al., 2010). More
specifically, ethical consumerism is composed of individuals that take into
consideration the greater impacts of their consumption towards animals, the
environment and other individuals (Barnett, Cloke, Clarke & Malpass, 2005). For
example, if an individual is concerned for animal welfare, they would choose products
that do not harm animals and might even boycott brands that have mistreated or tested
on animals.
Studies (Markovic, Iglesias, Singh & Sierra, 2018; Govind et al., 2019; Carrigan
et al., 2004) have further shown that consumers tend to positively engage with
companies that are ethically and socially responsible, and negatively engage when they
are not. To further elaborate, a study that surveyed 30,000 individuals within 60
countries found that 55% of them would pay more for commodities from companies
that act socially and environmentally responsible (Johnstone & Tan, 2015). A higher
demand from ethical consumers has in turn influenced companies to incorporate
environmental and social responsibilities within their businesses (Johnstone & Tan,
2015) as well as creating a new market share that caters to the ethical consumers
(Moser, 2016).
Although ethical consumers hold strong attitudes towards the need for
sustainable products, these attitudes do not translate into their actual purchasing
behavior (McNeill & Moore, 2015). This phenomenon, commonly known as the
attitude-behaviour gap, can specifically be noticed within sustainable fashion
purchasing behaviour (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018). In order to examine the attitude-
behavior gap within sustainable fashion consumption, the study will first need to define
sustainable fashion consumption and what it entails.
2.2 Sustainable Fashion Consumption
There are various terms that describe sustainable fashion, such as ethical-, eco-
, or green- fashion, and are used interchangeably in different literature (Henninger et
al., 2016). Each term aims to highlight the perceived wrongdoings of the fashion
industry such as environmental impacts and workers rights (Lundblad & Davies, 2015).
Yet for the purpose of this study, the term sustainable fashion is categorized as fashion
that uses environmentally friendly and biodegradable material, reduces water
11consumption in their production, avoids harmful substances and neutralizes fast fashion
and its impact (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018).
Studies that examine purchasing behaviour have found that consumers are
increasingly showing interest with regards to the ethical and environmental concerns in
fashion consumption (Niinimaki, 2010; Lundblad & Davies, 2015). Despite this
interest, there is a lack of consumer demand within the sustainable fashion market
(Jacobs, Petersen, Hörisch, & Battenfeld, 2018). For instance, a survey showed that
around 34% of Germans find sustainability in clothing important (Splendid Research,
2016). Yet, the sustainable fashion industry is still a niche market, whereby the market
share takes up 3.7% (Jacobs et al., 2018). Thus there exists a gap between the
consumer's attitudes towards the environment and their actual consumption. This
attitude-behaviour gap, has been a frequent topic within literature, specifically with
regards to ethical consumption (Carrigan & Attalla, 2001; Johnstone & Tan, 2015;
Carrington et al., 2010; Davari & Strutton, 2014). Many of those studies have sought
to discover the barriers that impede sustainable purchasing, such as price
(Papaoikonomou et al., 2011; Chang, 2011), convenience and availability (Johnstone
& Tan, 2015; Carrigan & Attalla, 2001), and perceived quality (Newman, Gorlin &
Dhar, 2014).
Yet despite the vast research on the attitude-behaviour gap, many contributions
claim that further research is needed in understanding the gap (Jacobs et al., 2018),
especially with regards to the factors that impede ethical purchasing. Liobikiené and
Bernatoniené (2017) further claim that specifying the industry with which the gap takes
place provides more distinctive factors that may help in understanding the gap. While
there are many studies that have focused on certain sectors, such as household cleaning
products (e.g. Johnstone & Tan, 2015; Bodur, Duval, & Grohmann, 2015) or food
industries (e.g. Davari & Strutton, 2014; Gifford & Chen, 2017; Shepherd, Magnusson,
& Sjödén, 2005) a scant amount of research has focused on the consumption of
sustainable fashion ( e.g.Lundblad and Davies, 2015; Wiederhold & Marinez, 2017 ;
McNeill & Moore, 2015). In addition hardly any research focuses on tactics to mitigate
this gap within sustainable fashion purchasing (Mckeown & Shearer, 2019). Thus it is
important to further investigate the factors that cause the attitude-behavior gap within
sustainable fashion consumption, as well as finding the right marketing strategies that
could reduce the gap. The following section will then be examining the ways in which
existing studies have seeked to understand the gap. Proceeding this, the research will
then take a look at the existing marketing strategies aimed to influence the purchase of
ethical and sustainable products.
2.3 Exploring the Attitude-Behavior Gap
Many studies have sought to understand the possible factors that could cause
the attitude-behavior gap within ethical consumerism with the help of certain attitude-
behavioral frameworks (e.g. Boulstridge & Carrigan, 2000; Hassan et al., 2016;
Papaoikonomou et al., 2011). The most frequently used model is the theory of reasoned
action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and its revised edition, the theory of planned behaviour
(Ajzen, 1991). According to Ajzen’s theory, intention is the main motivation that can
influence behaviour, it indicates the extent that can influence how far someone is
willing to go in order to act on the behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). Furthermore, he states that
12subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and attitude towards the behaviour are
the main factors that construct the intention (Ajzen, 1991). Whereby perceived
behavioral control consists of controllability (e.g. finance, knowledge, habits) and self-
efficacy (e.g time, will power, skills, and abilities) of the act (Carrington et al., 2010).
However, even though Ajzen’s theory is useful in predicting behaviour it
assumes that individuals behave rationally (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). Many
theorists have criticized this model, claiming that it does not consider other factors that
may affect behavior, suggesting that this could perhaps be one of the underlying causes
of the gap (Papaoikonomou et al., 2011; Carrington et al., 2010; Caruana, Carrington
& Chatzidakis, 2016). Joshi and Rahman (2015) also agree to this point claiming that
the theory of planned behaviour disregards environmental and situational factors during
a purchase. Ajzen’s framework also suggests that intentions lead to behaviors, which
has been shown to be a poor indicator for actual behavior (Govind et al., 2019).
Furthermore, most theoretical approaches tend to focus specifically on the relationship
between attitudes and behavior rather than the actual behavior itself (Carrington et al.,
2010). In response to these issues, theorists have reconceptualised the elements of
Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior and constructed a holistic approach that
integrates other factors that have been found to impede consumer ethical behavior
(Carrington et al., 2010).
The idea of using a holistic framework to investigate the gap is highly relevant
within sustainable fashion consumption, as many complex factors come into play with
regards to fashion and pro-environmental behavior. For instance, Lundblad and Davies
(2015) researched female sustainable fashion consumers to explore their reasons for
purchasing such fashion. They found that the attitude-behaviour gap in the sustainable
clothing industry could stem from consumers feeling of disempowerment, their limited
awareness of its impact, the availability in the market, limited fashionable choices as
well as the credibility of information that is provided. Similarly, Jacobs et al. (2018)
used a quantitative method to explore female fashion consumers, and claimed that
transparency, availability and information within the sustainable fashion industry has
shown to be impeding factors. In addition they also found that consumers care more of
self-benefits and perceive sustainable fashion as not so durable. Taking a different
approach, Wiederhold & Martinez (2018) looked into the younger generation of both
females and males to understand the gap within sustainable fashion and found that
price, availability, transparency, image, enertia and consumption habits acted as
barriers towards sustainable fashion consumption. McNeill & Moore (2015) also found
that consumers’ level of concern for the environment, their previous experiences, as
well as their preconceptions can influence sustainable fashion purchasing.
2.4 Holistic Theoretical Framework
Based on the mentioned literature, it becomes clear that there are many different
factors that can influence sustainable fashion consumption. Thus this study will lay out
a more holistic framework that will help compare the findings within this research. This
holistic framework is specifically that of Papaoikonomou et al.’s (2011) framework, as
it takes a holistic approach in which they not only combine commonalities within other
theoretical frameworks, but they also researched actual ethical behavior and integrated
the common factors found that influence those behaviors into a single framework.
13These factors were characterized into perceived external and individual limitations,
which will further be explained in more detail.
2.4.1 External Limitations that Interfere With Ethical Purchasing
This section describes the external limitations that could explain why ethical
consumers might not act according to their ethical beliefs. With regard to the theory of
planned behavior, the external limitations would be equivalent to the perceived
behavioral controls. According to Papaoikonomou et al. (2011), the perceived external
limitations include: lack of availability, inefficient ethical alternatives, keeping up with
social obligations, information and its legitimacy, and limited budget and high prices.
Lack of Availability. The lack of availability is said to interfere with a
consumers intention to purchase a sustainable product. To further elaborate, if the
consumer’s intention to purchase sustainable products exists, yet it’s availability is
lacking or inconvenient it will constrain the consumer's final decision to an item that is
immediately available (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018). Accordingly, the lack of
availability in sustainable clothing has also been a commonly found barrier (Shaw,
McMaster & Newholm, 2016; Hassan et al. 2016). However, Papaoikonomou et al.
(2011) claim that their study was based in Spain whereby the ethical market was still
developing. Yet other countries that have a variety of ethical products, such as
Germany, may not have the same issue (Papaoikonomou et al., 2011). Furthermore,
Jacobs et al. (2018) also argue that sustainable clothing can be easily purchased online.
Thus availability of sustainable fashion posing as a barrier is contended, yet should be
further investigated.
Inefficient Ethical Alternatives. The point on availability also correlates to the
lack of ethical alternatives. To further elaborate, Papaoikonomou et al. (2011) state that
many of their participants were not satisfied with the existing ethical products in the
market. Thus, even if ethical products were available, the lack of alternatives could also
impede the purchase. This is especially concerned with sustainable fashion purchasing,
as studies show that there exists a stigma towards the fashionability of sustainable
clothing (Jacobs et al., 2018). Thus when a consumer chooses an ethical alternative
they sometimes feel that they need to compromise on other criterias such as
“functionality or style and design” (Papaoikonomou et al. 's, 2011, p.84) or even quality
(Jacobs et al., 2018). Bray, Johns & Killburn (2011) further expand this point by
claiming that consumers might want to buy sustainable apparel, yet colour and style are
usually more important. As Boulstridge and Carrigan (2000) note that when consumers
have to choose between personal and social, the personal always wins
Keeping up with Social Obligations. Another important factor that impedes
consumers ethical behaviour is keeping up with the social obligations. This relates back
to the pressures of social norms, whereby people feel they need to comply with what
others are doing (Papaoikonomou et al., 2011). This concept has been reinforced by
many studies, indicating that social norms have a great effect on consumers' ethical
purchasing behaviour (Bucic, Harris & Arli, 2012; Peattie, 2010; Ottman, 1992). These
constructs, in particular, have a great impact on purchasing clothing items as fashion
14provides consumers with a sense of belonging and allows them to gain acceptance from
others (Lundblad & Davies, 2015). Thus fashion purchasing tends to be linked to
fashionability self-expression/self-identity and adhering to social standards (Lundblad
& Davies, 2015), which can sometimes outweigh one’s ethical standards (McNeill &
Moore, 2015).
Lack of Information and Its Legitimacy. In relation to the lack of information
and its legitimacy, Papaoikonomou et al. (2011) claim that consumers find it difficult
to inform themselves with factual information on ethical products. Furthermore,
Birtwistle and Moore (2007) find that consumers tend to have low awareness of the
environmental impacts the fast fashion industry creates, which leads them to carry on
with this behavior regardless of their ethical attitudes. Yet recent findings show that
possessing information has little impact on consumers' ethical decisions (Johnstone &
Tan, 2015). Regardless, the main issue in both cases was that the consumers had a
mistrust towards the legitimacy of the information provided. This could partly be due
to greenwashing, whereby companies place false claims about the environmentally
friendly attribute of a product (Lane, 2013). This pushes consumers to feel that
companies place environmental claims as a marketing ploy rather than providing
relevant and truthful information (Bray et al., 2011). Hence, the trust of information
provided and the knowledge gained by consumers could be factors that diverge
consumers from purchasing sustainable clothing.
Limited Budget and High Prices. The last factor regards the premium price
consumers pay for ethical products. This has been a common barrier found in research
papers (e.g. Shaw et al., 2005; Chang, 2011; Bruder, Feldmann & Hamm, 2014),
whereby consumers find it too expensive to act ethically which in turn pushes them to
buy the cheaper non eco-friendly product. Furthermore, Bray et al. (2011) found that
when consumers do pay the higher price for an ethical item, they sometimes
experienced “post-purchase dissonance” (p. 601) which made them avoid purchasing
ethical products afterwards. In the sustainable clothing industry, items tend to be higher
priced as higher quality of raw materials and better standard of labour costs are used
(Jacobs et al., 2018), hence price could pose as a barrier to sustainable fashion
purchasing.
2.4.2 Individual Limitations that Interfere With Ethical Purchasing
While there are external elements that hinder ethical purchase, Papaoikonomou
et al. (2011) also claim that individual limitations exist, whereby consumers show
inconsistencies within their actual behavior. These individual limitations include:
opting for the easy choice, compromise in everyday life, and change takes time.
Opting for the Easy Choice. A common barrier with regards to the attitude-
behavior gap is the concept of time and effort. Some consumers find that consuming
ethically requires more time and energy (Papaoikonomou et al., 2011). This factor of
opting for the easy choice is all about the convenience of purchasing a sustainable
product, especially since finding such products is sometimes found to be time
constraining and effortful. Thus most consumers tend to choose whatever is available
15and come to terms with the fact that sometimes such unsustainable actions are
inevitable (Papaoikonomou et al., 2011). Wiederhold and Martinez (2018) further
explain that since consumers are faced with a myriad of products with different
attributes, they tend to focus on fewer attributes such as price and disregard the ethical
side. Hence the effort and time needed to research, find and analyse information on
sustainable clothing could hinder a consumers motivation to purchase such items and
furthermore, push them to opt for whatever is readily available (Papista, Chrysochou,
Krystallis & Dimitriadis, 2017).
Compromise in Everyday Life. The compromises in this case could also relate
to the time and effort it takes to act ethically, yet it also relates to a consumer's
motivation and willingness to act ethically. The question here is: are consumers willing
to compromise on certain aspects for the greater good? This could also be connected to
a consumer's loyalty towards a brand, as a strong loyalty towards a brand makes
individuals less motivated to break that loyalty regardless of their concerns (Bray et al.,
2011). Moreover, consumers with strong loyalty towards a brand could result in a
biased perception, such as ignoring negative information on their brand (Wiederhold &
Martinez, 2018). This is highly related to fashion consumption, whereby ethically
consumers still purchase from brands that have been connected to sweat-shops (Hassan
et al., 2016). Thus brand loyalty can also be a hard process to break away from, causing
a change in behaviour to be more difficult to implement.
Change Takes Time. The last perceived external factor is that change takes
time. This factor relates to breaking old habits as purchasing ethical products can be a
relatively new inclusion in consumers’ usual purchasing methods (Carrrington et al.,
2001). Thus when thinking about changing one’s habit and purchasing ethical
alternatives, it all comes down to an individual's willingness to change that habit
(Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018). Furthermore, changing habits comes gradually which
means that every individual could be in the process of changing their habits and
mindsets (Papaoikonomou et al., 2011). Thus a consumer could be in the process of
wanting to purchase ethically, yet has not fully transformed into an ‘ethical consumer’.
Therefore, taking into consideration the consumers transitional stage is important, as it
can also determine their values and motivations.
Overall these are the common barriers that have been found to impede ethical
consumption and perhaps even sustainable fashion consumption. The first aim of the
research paper is to further investigate the barriers that could cause the gap by
examining consumers’ interactions, attitudes and conceptions of sustainable fashion
consumption. By doing so this study hopes to find unanticipated factors. The second
aim of this research paper is to find the strategies that could potentially neutralize the
barriers found within this study. The following paragraph then outlines the marketing
strategies that claim to be effective in mitigating the gap within ethical consumption.
2.5 Bridging the Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Marketing Strategies
As mentioned earlier, the second part of the research is to correlate the barriers
that will be found within this study with suitable marketing strategies. The reason for
16this is that, the gap between consumers’ attitudes towards environmental issues and
their conflicting consuming behavior is a major concern for policy makers and social
marketers (Moraes, Carrigan & Szmigin, 2012), especially since the current
consumption patterns are not environmentally sustainable. Furthermore, research
suggests that companies that promote their social and environmental responsibilities
are gaining positive attitudes from consumers, which can in turn increase profitability
(White et al., 2019). Thus it is quite important for companies that are sustainable and
environmentally friendly to be able to find the right tactics to promote their ethical
attributes and in turn increase consumer demands.
In relation to the attitude-behavior gap, some theorists have recommended
marketing strategies that can help mitigate the gap. For example Davari and Strutton
(2014) aimed to find out which of the four green marketing mix elements (price,
product, place and promotion) had a greater impact on the four dimensions of
consumer-based brand equity (brand association, trust, loyalty and perceived brand
quality) (Davari & Strutton, 2014). They did so by conducting a quantitative study
using questionnaires that focused on five-well known brands in the food sector.
Accordingly, the main findings show that consumers are affected with a firm's green
marketing strategies, however promotional activities fail to influence consumers trust
as well as perceived quality on a certain brand. Whilst their findings provided insight
on which marketing element is best fit to influence ethical consumption, it focuses
mainly on the food sector. Yet marketing strategies that can neutralize the gap in
sustainable fashion consumption has scarcely been focused on in studies.
However, one study that has focused on a marketing method that can influence
sustainable fashion consumption is that of Mckeown & Shearer (2019). Their research
sought to examine the influence of celebrity institutional entrepreneurs on the
awareness of the sustainable fashion concept. Their findings found that celebrity
influencers promoting sustainable fashion partially impacted consumers' awareness on
the issues of the fashion industry, yet no significant changes on purchasing sustainable
fashion were found. Thus their study does confirm that celebrity endorsement can
change consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion, yet further research is needed
to determine what other tactics can influence purchasing behaviour.
Consequently, one way for this study to find relative marketing strategies that
can influence sustainable fashion purchasing is by looking at all the tactics that have
shown to influence ethical behavior. White, Habib and Hardisty (2019) conducted a
review of a variety of studies that tackled marketing and ethical consumerism and
devised a comprehensive framework that can be applied as technologies and societies
evolve as well as in any situation (White et al., 2019). Their framework can thus help
address the attitude-behavior gap, specifically with regards to the sustainable fashion
industry. The framework is represented by using the acronym SHIFT standing for:
social influence, habit formation, individual-self, feeling and cognition, and tangibility.
Each category provides tactics that influence a consumers ethical purchasing behavior
(White et al., 2019).
2.5.1 SHIFT Framework
With regards to social influence White et. al (2019) examined three different
aspects: social norms, social identities and social desirability. They further suggest
three tactics within social influence that can increase sustainable behavior. The first
17suggestion is to form or construct social norms, such as sharing what other people are
doing. Secondly, creating a healthy competition between social groups, as groups do
not like to be outperformed by other groups. Lastly, with regards to social desirability,
consumers are more likely to purchase sustainable items when the action can be
observed by others.
In relation to habit formation, White, Hardisty and Habib (2019b) found three
techniques to be most effective in changing habits into sustainable ones. One way is by
using prompts that remind people to act in a certain way; this can help improve self-
efficacy, allowing consumers to feel competent in acting sustainably. Another way is
by providing positive feedback on an individual’s action. Lastly, providing incentives
to act sustainable is also shown to improve sustainable behavior and help form new
habits.
In order to improve sustainable behavior within the individual self, White et al.
(2019) claim that individuals can easily be threatened by changes to the individual self.
For that reason they suggest associating sustainable behaviors with the self-concept can
remove the threat (2019). Another strategy is to place more emphasis on the self-
benefits of sustainable behavior: what can this purchase provide the customer? Lastly,
making ethical consumption effortless for the consumer is key, that way consumers will
more likely repeat that behavior (White et al., 2019b).
The next factor White et al. (2019) discuss is feeling and cognition. Marketers
either use emotional or rational massages. When marketers use emotional messages,
White et al. (2019b) claim consumers are more likely to act on a behavior if the emotion
is positive. With regards to ethical consumerism, hope and pride have been found to be
most effective in influencing sustainable consumption (Antonetti & Maklan, 2014;
Rowe, Wilson, Dimitriu & Charnley, 2019). On the other hand, when marketers use a
rational appeal, framing the message in terms of loss will more likely increase ethical
behavior (Trudel, 2019). Another aspect within rational massages is the use or lack of
information. White et al. suggest using information that explains why a certain behavior
is beneficial for the environment.
The last factor in the SHIFT framework is tangibility. One of the common
themes within ethical consumer literature is the fact that eco-friendly behavior can
sometimes seem abstract and distant from the current situation (White et al., 2019). One
solution to this is to provide consumers with the future benefits of sustainable behavior
(White et al., 2019). Another tactic is to make the environmental issues more current
and concrete (White et al., 2019).
To conclude, White et al. suggest that the best way to use this framework is to
first understand the specified behavior, the situation in which it takes place, and the
barriers that exist (2019). Afterwards, they recommend using the barriers and selecting
the most relevant tactics within the SHIFT paradigm. Thus after understanding the
barriers that exist within purchasing sustainable fashion, the paper will be suggesting
the best marketing tactics with regards to the SHIFT framework. These tactics can be
useful in encouraging ethical consumer behavior within this industry and in effect can
perhaps reduce the attitude-behavior gap.
183. Methods
This first purpose of this study aims to understand the attitudes and motives
behind sustainable fashion purchasing as well as finding the common barriers that
impede this behaviour. This will further explain the reasons behind the attitude-
behaviour gap within sustainable fashion purchasing. In order to find these attitudes
and impeding factors, the study takes an inductive approach using a qualitative research
method. Data was collected using open-ended and semi-structured interviews. This
data was then categorized and coded into common themes using a grounded theory
approach. By categorizing and analyzing the factors of consumers’ different
perceptions and reasons behind purchasing or not purchasing sustainable fashion, the
study can then provide the relevant marketing strategies that may bridge the attitude-
behavior gap. The following section then takes a closer examination of the research
method used, the sampling obtained as well as the data collection and data analysis
procedures.
3.1 Research Method
As mentioned above the chosen approach for this research is inductive and uses
a qualitative method. The reason behind using a qualitative approach is because
research on the influencing factors and attitudes towards sustainable fashion
consumption is limited (Wiederholen & Martinez, 2018), and by looking at these
attributes, a qualitative approach is deemed more appropriate. To further elaborate,
qualitative research attempts to “make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the
meaning people bring to them” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011, p. 3), it provides a detailed
understanding of the issue, which can only be found by an in-depth discussion with
people (Creswell, 2013). In line with this statement, the research question within this
study also aims to make sense of the attitude-behavior phenomenon in sustainable
fashion consumption by using in-depth interviews with individuals. Using a qualitative
approach has also been shown to provide more valuable and unique factors that can aid
in understanding the attitude-behavior gap (Hassan et al., 2016). Hence, a qualitative
approach is then more appropriate in this case.
Furthermore, a common concern shared among researchers has been the
quantitative methodological approaches that have been used to investigate the gap
within ethical consumption. Moreover, researchers claim that these methodological
flaws could be one of the reasons behind the gap (Shaw et al., 2016). This concern
stems from the fact that most quantitative studies that aim to understand the attitude-
behavior gap employ self-reporting methods or survey instruments, which can often
lead to social desirable answers (Govind et al., 2019). Social desirability bias can be
explained as responses that express what respondents believe to be socially acceptable
rather than expressing their true opinions (Shaw et al., 2016). This type of bias is more
likely to occur with regards to ethical consuming, which can distort the measures of the
consumers’ true intentions and behaviors (Carrington et al., 2010). Auger and Devinney
(2007) further investigate this issue and claim that simple survey methods “are too
noisy” to provide true answers with regards to consumers' ethical purchasing behavior.
For these reasons this study has adopted a qualitative approach over a quantitative one
to understand the gap within an ethical context.
19Apart from the importance of using a qualitative method, this study has also
applied an inductive approach using grounded theory techniques to interpret the data.
Adopting this type of approach allows the study to decipher meanings and theories
behind the raw data (Charmaz & Bryant, 2010). Accordingly “grounded theory aims to
generate a substantive theory that will explain a phenomenon in a specific context”
(Cho & Lee, 2014, p. 5). As this study aims to find the factors that disrupt the behavior
towards sustainable fashion consumption, using grounded theory to conceptualise these
factors into themes will further aid in understanding the reasons behind the attitude-
behavior gap. This is again relevant within this study, as very little studies have looked
into the common themes that cause the gap within sustainable fashion consumption.
Moreover, unlike deductive analysis that set out to test hypotheses based on previous
theories this study utilizes an inductive analysis, whereby a detailed and rigorous
analysis of the primary data found will aid in deriving the common themes present
within the gap in sustainable fashion consumption (Thomas, 2006). Using an inductive
approach allows this research to then identify unanticipated factors and perhaps can add
to the limited yet existing literature (Thomas, 2006).
This study is then qualitative in nature and depends on in-depth interviews to
gather primary data. The data inquired will further provide insight into the perceptions,
opinions and experiences with sustainable fashion consumption. This data will later be
used to conceptualise the common themes that act as the barriers that fuel the attitude-
behavior gap within sustainable fashion consumption. By doing so the paper aims to
then formulate relevant marketing strategies that can perhaps mitigate the gap. Thus
using an inductive approach is further proven to be necessary within this research. The
following section will examine the sampling methods, size and backgrounds of the
participants which have been used within this study.
3.2 Sampling Method
In order for the study to obtain information regarding consumer’s attitudes and
behavior towards sustainable fashion purchasing, semi-structured in-depth interviews
were conducted on German citizens, whereby snowball sampling was used. In relation
to the setting, the study focused on German cities, including Frankfurt and Hamburg.
The reason for this is that a majority of Europeans are concerned about the environment,
including Germans (European Commission, 2019, p. 8). Moreover, in a survey on
German citizens’ general attitude towards the environment, 71% of Germans disagreed
that “clothes should be available at the lowest price regardless of the impact to the
environment or the working conditions under which they were made” (European
Commission, 2019, p. T40), insinuating that Germans consider price to hold value with
regards to ethical conduct. The survey further found that 82% of Germans are also
interested in how environmentally friendly their clothes are (European Commission,
2019, p. T44). Another survey also showed that the market for sustainable fashion is
increasing in Germany, whereby three quarters of Germans find the importance of
sustainability within the fashion industry (Splendid Research, 2016). All this
information implies that Germans have a strong attitude towards protecting the
environment, and tend to care how their fashion consumption could impact the
environment. Thus examining whether these concerns actually lead to a change in
behavior with regards to fashion consumption could prove to be insightful to
20understanding the attitude-behavior gap. Furthermore, the interviews can further
conceptualise the relative factors that contribute to the gap.
Apart from the setting whereby the interviews took place, this study utilized a
snowball sampling method. This form of sampling method depends on participants or
informants providing the researcher with access to other participants, thus creating the
so-called snowball effect (Noy, 2008). The reason this study employed this method is
partly due to the fact that this research took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this time, there were strict measures on interacting with individuals as well as
lockdowns. This further constricted the ability to gain access to participants. With
regards to the method, snowball sampling is usually an alternative when other forms of
gaining information are not feasible (Noy, 2008), thus it was deemed necessary to use
this technique.
Another main reason for using snowball sampling within this research is that
this study did not want to exclude participants regarding certain demographics, as
demographics are less important than knowledge in understanding eco-conscious
behaviour (Laroche, Bergeron & Barbara-Forleo, 2001). Furthermore, other studies
that have looked into understanding the gap within sustainable fashion consumption
have excluded certain demographic attributes within their study, which could have
affected or limited their results. For instance, Wiederhold and Martinez’s (2018) study
excluded the older generation within their study. Yet a study showed that older
consumers could be a potential target group within the ethical market (Carrigan et al.,
2004). Another example is that both Jacobs et al. (2018) and Lundblad and Davies’
(2015) research excluded the male perspectives within their study on understanding
attitudes towards sustainable fashion purchasing, which could have limited their scope.
Occupation was also sought after to further understand the participants situational
backgrounds, which could affect their purchasing criteria. Yet there was no specific
criteria in this case as the study wanted to draw out a generalized perception and
behaviour of sustainable fashion Thus the participants within this study ranged in age,
gender and occupation. By doing so the research assured that there was a semi-
proportional representation of the greater population.
However, certain criterias were implemented in order to find the most
appropriate participants within this study. The first criteria required that the participant
had some sort of academic background. The reason for this is that some studies have
shown that the typical ethical consumer tends to be highly educated (Jacobs et al.,
2018). This criteria is also interrelated with the second criteria, whereby the participants
had to be somehow concerned about the environment and have slightly changed their
behaviour with regards to it. The reason for this is that this research aims to understand
why consumer’s that profess to care about the environment, and intend to change their
behaviour, do not do so with regards to shopping for clothing. Inorder to ensure these
criterias existed, two procedures took place. On one hand the participants were told
beforehand that the interview was targeted to those who are interested in sustainable
fashion as well as those who are not. This allowed the participant to answer in a non-
social desirable way when it came to their own purchasing behaviour. On the other
hand, the structure of the interview questions were done in a way that allowed the
participant to answer first and foremost what their concerns and natural behaviour tends
to be. This will be further discussed within the data collection section. Nevertheless, by
doing so, the answers provided from participants reflected an honest answer regarding
consumers who are concerned about the environment, but may or may not tend to
21purchase sustainable fashion items. Using snowball sampling was also useful in
attaining ethically minded consumers as it ensures that the individuals that are
recommended are information-rich with regards to this topic (Creswell, 2013). To
further elaborate, once interviews were conducted, participants were asked if they knew
anyone else who would be interested and willing to participate. These participants
suggested other willing participants whom they know tend to be ethical consumers. The
study then found 14 participants who fit the criteria. The following part will give an
overview of the participants backgrounds that were used within this study.
3.2.1 Sample Demographics
Overall, the study conducted in-depth interviews with 14 participants in
Germany. The participants consist of nine females and five males. The average age
range is 41, ranging from 21 to 58 years old. All participants either had or were in the
progress of getting an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, whereby 29% of the
participants hold an undergraduate diploma, 21% were in the process of getting one and
50% have a postgraduate diploma. The participants, however, ranged in occupation,
including students, teachers, managers, sales associates, software developers, and IT
department employees. Table 1 provides the overall demographics of the participants.
Because of the small sample size, this study does not assert to represent a general
representation of a population, yet the findings could still prove insightful with regards
to the study. The participants names and personal details have also been excluded to
respect their privacy and instead are named as P1, P2 and so forth. The data collected
was done through in depth interviews, which will be described in more detail in the
following section.
Table 1: Participant’s Demographics
Participant Gender Age Education Occupation
P1 Female 25 Undergraduate Student
P2 Female 55 Undergraduate Teacher
P3 Male 34 Postgraduate Unemployed
P4 Female 24 Undergraduate Student
P5 Female 57 Postgraduate Project Manager
P6 Male 53 Undergraduate Teacher
P7 Male 51 Postgraduate IT Department
P8 Female 49 Postgraduate Financial Manager
P9 Female 21 Undergraduate Student
P10 Female 55 Postgraduate IT Department
P11 Male 35 Undergraduate Sales Associate
P12 Female 33 Postgraduate Project Manager
22P13 Female 58 Postgraduate Teacher
P14 Male 29 Undergraduate Software Developer
3.3 Data Collection
As mentioned this study takes a qualitative approach to understanding the
attitudes and impeding factors behind the attitude-behavior gap. As this is the case, the
best form for collecting primary data within this study is by using semi-structured, in-
depth and open ended interviews. Contrary to quantitative methods of collecting data,
the qualitative method of using interviews provides a deeper understanding of a
phenomena (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, & Chadwick, 2008). Barriball and While (1994)
further claim that there are many advantages for using interviews, including that they
allow the researcher to observe non-verbal communications which can be useful in
evaluating the validity of the responses and that the respondents are unable to gain
assistance from others while answering questions. Hence using an interview is best fit
to understanding the attitude-behavior gap.
There are also different ways to structure interviews, such as structured or semi-
structured interviews. This study decided to rather use semi-structured interviews. This
form of data collection has been shown to play a central role in qualitative research, as
semi-structured interviews can provide information on people’s attitudes, opinions,
values, motives and beliefs (Barriball & While, 1994). Moreover, semi-structured
interviews are versatile and flexible (Kallio, Pietilä, Johnson & Kangasniemi, 2016),
meaning that they enable the researcher to probe insightful and diverse perspectives
from participants. Accordingly, Kallio et al. (2016) further elaborate on the advantages
of using semi-structured interviews, claiming that they enable “the interviewer to
improvise on follow up questions based on participant’s responses” (p. 2955). These
follow-up questions allow greater access to respondent’s perceptions that may not have
previously been thought of by the researcher (Gill et al., 2008).
These advantages also parallel the required needs for this research paper, as it
wishes to understand the underlying attitudes and opinions towards sustainable fashion
purchasing. Thus delving deeper into the participants responses with the use of semi-
structured and follow up questions as well as the dialogue that comes forth is important.
Using this method also provides the means to find new or surprising data that has not
been found before. Now that the reasons for using semi-structured and in depth
interviews has been established, the proceeding step is to examine the way in which the
interview questions were structured.
3.3.1 Structure of Interview
According to Kallio et al. (2016), once the researcher has evaluated the
appropriateness of using a semi-structured interview and previous knowledge on the
subject is well comprehended, the following step is to formulate a guided structure of
the interview questions. The questions in this case must be well-formulated, use clear
non-leading wording and be open-ended (Kallio et al., 2016). Furthermore, the
interview guide should consist of two leveled questions: the main themes which relates
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