The Role of Fashion vs. Style Orientation on Sustainable Apparel Consumption: An Update

This study examines whether style (versus fashion) orientation can be an alternative approach to promote sustainable fashion consumption, and, if so, what factors might influence consumers’ attitudes toward style or fashion orientation. Based on data collected from 6,386 consumers across five countries (the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden), we find a strong relationship between style orientation and sustainable apparel behaviors, thus suggesting style as a potential to improve sustainable apparel consumption. We also find that consumers with high levels of materialism tend to be more fashion oriented, whereas hedonism has no differential influence on the two orientations. Further, knowledge and information play a vital role as consumers with higher environmental concerns and higher skepticism towards sustainable product claims tend to be more style oriented. Further analyses also suggest that factors of style and fashion orientation differ by country, as differences are also found between the countries regarding style and fashion orientation and apparel consumption behavior. The study provides various public policy implications that may foster style orientation and sustainable apparel consumption.