Abstract:
1. Introduction
Millennials’ increased environmental concerns do not always translate into
sustainable fashion choices. Although millennials are considered an
environmentally conscious generation, there is a disconnect between their
attitudes toward sustainability and their purchasing behaviours in the
fashion industry. Despite the significant environmental damage caused by
the fashion industry, there is still limited adoption of sustainable fashion,
and fast fashion remains the more popular choice. Therefore, this study
investigates the factors influencing sustainable fashion avoidance intention
among millennial shoppers in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka.
2. Research Methodology
Based on an Extended Brand Avoidance Model, this study identifies the
factors influencing millennials' intention to avoid between 1981 and 1996
who live in the Colombo district and intend to avoid sustainable fashion
through purposive sampling. The proposed hypotheses were tested using
multiple regression analysis with the support of the SPSS 25 version.
3. Findings and Discussion
Findings revealed that ideological incompatibility is the most significant
variable impacting sustainable fashion avoidance intention among
millennial shoppers in the Colombo district. This finding is in line with the
literature and may be due to individuals’ perceptions of sustainable fashion
as a form of greenwashing or a seller’s tactic to increase profits by charging
a higher price for green fashion. Moreover, symbolic incongruence, unmet
expectations, and materialism also significantly predict millennials’
sustainable fashion avoidance intention.
4. Conclusion and Implications
The study offers implications by recommending that marketing managers
enhance sustainable product quality, such as matching goods with
millennial ideals and investing in educational campaigns to make them
aware of the positive environmental effects of suitable fashion.
Furthermore, this study empirically examines the context using a modified
Brand Avoidance Model, which will be a seminal work for future
researchers
