Antecedents to organic cotton clothing purchase behaviour: study on Indian youth

The purpose of this paper is to examine influence of past environment-friendly behaviour, peer influence and green apparel knowledge in the context of organic clothing purchase behaviour.

Data were collected by means of a survey carried out in three major metropolitan cities and a sample of total 889 respondents was collected who were college students in India.

Past environment-friendly behaviour influenced Indian youth’s organic clothing purchase behaviour. Green apparel knowledge and peer influence, interestingly, had no impact on organic clothing purchase behaviour.

The sample was limited to students who had past experience with green products. This was deliberately done as the objective was to examine the influence of past environment-friendly behaviour and green apparel knowledge on organic clothing purchase behaviour. Youth with limited awareness about organic clothing were not contacted. This restricted the findings to a specific youth segment. Further, the study was limited to Indian youth and did not examine the purchase behaviour of other consumer segments. Demographic variables were not used for analysis as only purchase behaviour of young people as a consumer segment was studied.

The findings can be used by organic apparel manufacturers in marketing organic clothing brands to the Indian youth. Organic clothing can be positioned to emphasise green values and distinct lifestyle for environment-conscious youths. Initiatives like celebrity talk-shows, organic clothing exhibitions, and launch of organic clothing designer brands can be used to promote organic apparel. College students can be used as opinion leaders to communicate benefits of organic clothing and inculcate green values among larger population.

Organic products and brands are becoming popular among Indian consumers. There has been limited research on the subject of youths’ purchase behaviour of organic clothing to date. Companies trying to launch organic clothing brands in the country may find the results helpful in understanding green buying behaviour.