The social influence motivating middle-aged Germans to purchase sustainable clothes
Vol. 126 No. 5B (2017), Original Article
Vol. 126 No. 5B (2017)

The social influence motivating middle-aged Germans to purchase sustainable clothes

Original Article
https://doi.org/10.26459/jed.v126i5B.4120
Published 2017-05-09
Andreas Reich
Payap University

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the social influence motivating middle-aged Germans to purchase sustainable clothes. 267 respondents participated in this research. Two focus groups were divided. The first group is determined as individuals being interested and the second group not being interested in sustainable clothes. In the first part an indicator for a trend for sustainable clothes is detected. The second part analyzes the social needs and forces that are determined to be the independent variables of this conclusive research. The final part comprises of an open question to determine the popularity of certifications, which label sustainable clothes.

Findings highlight that 60.7% of the respondents are interested in sustainable clothes. The esteem needs are the most influencing. In contrast, the confirmation needs are the least influencing social forces. However, all three independent variables have great influence on the motivation to purchase sustainable clothes. The independent sample t-test with p values between 0.000 and <0.05 implies that there is a significant difference between both analyzed groups.

However, despite over 60% of respondents are interested in sustainable clothes, only 16.01% of the respondents were able to mention a certification label for sustainable clothes. This discovery leads to the knowledge that there is a lack of popularity of certification labels.

Key words: Social Influence, Motivation, Sustainable Clothes, Germany

https://doi.org/10.26459/jed.v126i5B.4120
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