The Power of Others: Using Socially Facilitating Message to Promote Circular Fashion Services

Abstract

Circular fashion refers to clothing and accessories that are designed and produced with the intention of being used, reused, repaired, repurposed, and recycled for as long as possible before being returned to the environment in a biodegradable manner. Though the environmental impacts of clothing production and consumption has triggered a push towards resale of used clothing, marketing the environmental benefits alone may not be sufficient to form favorable attitudes among consumers. The purpose of this study is to experimentally test the effect of the presence of a socially facilitating message (communicating the existence of other consumers using and benefiting from circular fashion service) on attitude toward and usage intention of a circular fashion service among consumers in the US and South Korea.