Passion for the past: The effect of charity appeals and nostalgia on apparel donation intentions

Abstract

Although consumers’ clothing disposal behavior is of considerable interest in the research community, there is a lack of empirical studies that thoroughly examine how consumers respond to charity messages in the context of clothing donation. Drawing on construal level theory, this study aims to contribute to the topic by examining the interplay of charity appeals (other- vs. self-benefit) and social emotion (nostalgia vs. control) on clothing donation behavior. Our results show that consumers reveal greater donation intentions toward other-benefit appeals than self-benefit appeals. Also, the results indicate that high nostalgic consumers tend to reveal greater donation intentions than low nostalgic consumers (Study 1). Further, the charity appeals effect is moderated by situationally induced nostalgia. Specifically, we found that the congruent matching of other-benefit appeals with nostalgia increases donation intentions (Study 2). These findings provide important implications, both theoretically and managerially, by systematically highlighting how different charity appeals can be beneficial in charitable advertising, depending on nostalgia highlighting the sentimental longing for the past.