Exploring Millennials' Purchase Intentions toward Sustainable Luxury Brands

Abstract

<p>Due to the environmental damage caused by unsustainable fashion consumption, sustainability efforts should be employed. Previous research has shown that sustainable luxury products containing recycled materials formed a negative impression possibly due to the dissonance between luxury associated with prestige and recycled materials associated with waste. This study used Impression Formation Theory targeting a growing luxury consumer segment, sustainability-conscious millennials, to determine their impressions, brand attitude, and purchase intention towards sustainable luxury brands using recycled materials. An online survey with a sustainable luxury brand description scenario (e.g., luxury brand logo along with 100% recycled materials logo and sustainability rhetoric) was used to determine millennials' impressions. Millennials perceived sustainable luxury products to exude the impression of luxury despite using non-luxurious recycled materials. Therefore, luxury brands are encouraged to cater to this pro-social group of luxury consumers by offering products that help the environment through reuse of materials.</p>