Effects of Green Self-Identity and Cognitive and Affective Involvement on Patronage Intention in Eco-Friendly Apparel Consumption: A Gender Comparison

While eco-friendly apparel has been made available in markets, turning this environmental innovation into companies’ competitive advantage has been challenging. The purpose of the study is to better understand consumers’ eco-friendly apparel consumption and to examine whether gender plays a role in consumer attitudes toward the product. Both male and female consumers’ green self-identity, cognitive and affective involvement, as well as their patronage intention, were examined and compared. The results showed that men and women were motivated by different factors. For men, cognitive involvement was a prominent determinant of their patronage intention and mediated the relationship between their green self-identity and intention. For women, green self-identity was the only factor that motivated their patronage intention for eco-friendly apparel. The findings provide empirical evidence and directions that could help marketers to identify their consumer characteristics and market segments and to develop more efficient eco-friendly apparel market communication strategies in the U.S.