Factors influencing sustainable fashion purchasing intention of the youth in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

These days, fast fashion is an area of interest to many people, especially youngsters because of its reasonable price, ease of access, and eye-catching design. Compared to the era before the rise of fast fashion in the 2000s, fashion brands worldwide are creating nearly twice as many clothing collections, and the total amount of clothes produced has increased by 2% each year (Niinimäki et al., 2020). Nevertheless, fast fashion has detrimentally affected the environment due to wasting clothes, raw-energy overconsumption, CO2 emissions, and microplastic wastes. Research conducted in 2022 on the environmental impacts of fast fashion on water quality highlighted that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, as reported by the United Nations (Bailey et al., 2022). In contrast, sustainable fashion—characterized by the use of eco-friendly materials and a reduction in hazardous waste—presents a promising solution to this issue. Therefore, understanding the factors that shape young people's awareness and behavior regarding sustainable fashion is essential for gaining insights into the fast fashion market among this demographic and developing strategies to mitigate environmental challenges through the promotion of sustainable fashion. Despite the growing importance of sustainable fashion, there remains a gap in research on the factors influencing young consumers' perceptions and purchasing behavior in Ho Chi Minh City. This study aims to identify the key determinants affecting young people's awareness and behavior toward sustainable fashion, assess their level of awareness, and examine their shopping habits in this sector. Based on these findings, the study proposes effective solutions to encourage the adoption of sustainable fashion within the community. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, along with secondary research, was employed to conduct this study. The results indicate that young individuals should enhance their awareness of the factors driving sustainable fashion consumption, including the environmental impact of fast fashion and the critical importance of maintaining sustainable purchasing habits. Furthermore, governments and organizations should offer preferential tax and credit policies to encourage businesses to produce sustainable fashion, through which they change the customers’ behavior of buying clothes, especially young people