| Summary: | U.S. collegiate apparel is a $4 billion market in which cotton and polyester made by conventional production methods account for 85% of materials used. Sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel offers a new opportunity for cotton made by novel and sustainable production methods to enter and replace conventional cotton and polyester for environmental protection and sustainable business development. This study aimed to provide insights on why U.S. consumers buy sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel and help understand the emerging trend of sustainable cotton apparel. Building on the Theory of Planned Behavior, an enhanced research model of consumer intent to purchase sustainable cotton made collegiate apparel (SCCA) is proposed. 225 eligible survey responses were gathered for data analysis and hypothesis testing. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental knowledge positively influences U.S. consumers’ purchase intentions toward SCCA while the effect of perceived behavioral control is insignificant. Furthermore, consumer environmental knowledge positively moderates the relationship between U.S. consumers’ attitude and their purchase intentions. There are no significant differences between age groups, genders, education levels, or income levels among U.S. consumers in regards to their purchase intentions. The proposed research model exhibits a good explanatory power, accounting for 47.3% of the variance in U.S. consumers’ purchase intentions toward SCCA.
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