Assessing the sustainable fashion avoidance among millennial shoppers: special reference to Colombo District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The fashion industry significantly contributes to the global economy but remains the second largest polluter in the world, impacting pollution, carbon emissions, and resource depletion. Despite millennials stated environmental concerns, there remains a significant attitude behaviour gap, as consumer adoption of sustainable fashion is limited. Therefore, this study investigates the determinants of sustainable fashion avoidance intentions among millennial shoppers in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. Current research adopts a deductive research approach to examine the applicability of an extended Brand Avoidance Model in understanding consumers' sustainable fashion avoidance intention. Purposive sampling was adopted to distribute a structured, self-administered questionnaire to 384 millennial shoppers in the Colombo district. Multiple regression analysis was conducted using SPSS 21 software to examine the hypotheses of the study. The results revealed that ideological incompatibility is the most significant factor which impacts sustainable fashion avoidance intentions among millennials. Despite this, in the district of Colombo in Sri Lanka, millennials' intention to avoid sustainable fashion is also significantly influenced by materialism, unmet expectations, and symbolic incongruence. By improving product quality, matching products with customer values, and raising awareness through effective education, marketing managers may get beyond significant obstacles to sustainable fashion. Ensuring affordability and creating trust through transparency will motivate customers to make sustainable decisions. Finally, policymakers can help these initiatives by imposing rigorous rules on sustainability claims and rewarding ethical fashion companies.