I Don’t Buy It! A Critical Review of the Research on Factors Influencing Sustainable Fashion Buying Behavior

Natalie Hogh (), Joshua Braun, Lara Watermann and Simone Kubowitsch
Additional contact information
Natalie Hogh: School of Business, Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, An der Hochschule 1, 86161 Augsburg, Germany
Joshua Braun: School of Business, Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, An der Hochschule 1, 86161 Augsburg, Germany
Lara Watermann: School of Business, Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, An der Hochschule 1, 86161 Augsburg, Germany
Simone Kubowitsch: School of Business, Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, An der Hochschule 1, 86161 Augsburg, Germany

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-25

Abstract: Research on the factors influencing sustainable fashion consumption, particularly green apparel buying behavior (GABB), has grown significantly in the last decade. Understanding how to promote GABB while reducing fast-fashion consumption is of critical importance to researchers, marketers, and policymakers. However, deriving actionable insights requires robust methodologies. Therefore, the goal of this systematic narrative review was to analyze existing literature on GABB, to identify key drivers, and to critically examine the methodological approaches, applied theoretical backgrounds, and utilized geographical scope. Following a structured multi-stage review process—including a database search, screening, and synthesis— n = 15 empirical studies focusing on GABB were included. The identified drivers are categorized into five factors: sociodemographic, personal, behavioral, social influences, and product attributes. Additionally, the review identified methodological shortcomings, including a predominant reliance on self-reported data, a lack of experimental designs and longitudinal studies, and a limited sampling scope across studies. Addressing these limitations in future research is essential to develop practical interventions that encourage sustainable fashion consumption and guide effective marketing and policy strategies.

Keywords: sustainable fashion consumption; consumer behavior; green apparel purchasing behavior; sustainable behavior; systematic narrative review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/4015/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/4015/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:4015-:d:1645822

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().