The interaction effect of fashion retailer categories on sustainable labels: the role of perceived benefits, ambiguity, trust, and purchase intention

Abstract

While fashion brands, manufacturers, and third-party agencies have long used eco-labels to inform consumers about their sustainability efforts, this method is now becoming popular among retailers, who are developing and applying their own eco-labels to their products. Yet, there is limited research regarding the impact of fashion retailers’ sustainable labels on consumer perception and purchase intention. The present research addresses this concern and finds that consumer behavior varies depending on whether a retailer creates separate categories for sustainable products and uses more detail in sustainable labeling. Building on categorization and signal theories, this study finds that in the presence (vs. absence) of a sustainable category, a specific (vs. general) sustainable label mitigates ambiguity and increases perceived consumer benefits, trust in retailer, and purchase intention. Findings extend previous research on specificity of sustainable labels to fashion retailing and demonstrate important practical implications of sustainable categorization for retailers, especially those in ecommerce.

Keywords:

• Sustainable label
• sustainable category
• signal theory
• categorization, perceived ambiguity

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Center for Sustainability and Wellbeing, ICONS, Yonsei University in 2023.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data produced in the course of this study are not accessible for public dissemination.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Minjung Cho

Minjung Cho earned her Ph.D. in Clothing and Textiles from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Her research focuses on marketing strategies applying technology to consumer behavior in the fields of fashion and luxury. She has published in journals such as European Management Journal.

Eunju Ko

Eunju Ko is a professor of fashion marketing at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. She is an internationally leading researcher in the fields of fashion marketing and luxury management. She has published over 200 papers in esteemed journals including Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Advertising, and more.

Benjamin E. Borenstein

Benjamin E. Borenstein is The Kevin Tedeschi ‘71 Assistant Professor of Marketing at Villanova University. His research focuses on consumer wellbeing, consumer technology-interaction, as well as the intersection between these two domains. He has published in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Psychology.