Modeling the intention and donation of second-hand clothing in the context of an emerging economy

The culture of fast fashion accelerates the consumption rate of individuals but at the expense of significant environmental stress. With a large amount of discarded clothing accumulating in landfills, it is crucial to encourage people to dispose of second-hand clothing (SHC) as sustainably as possible, especially in an emerging economy with large volume consumption. Through a survey of 619 respondents from China, this study explored the factors affecting people’s intentions and actual donation behaviors toward SHC. It extends the theory of interpersonal behavior (TIB) with environmental factors to construct a research framework, which included cognitive factors (attitude towards sustainable consumption), social factors (sense of community) and personal factors (perceived hedonic benefit) under TIB and the environment factors refers to problem awareness and ascription responsibility. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that attitudes toward sustainable consumption, problem awareness, ascription of responsibility, sense of community, and perceived hedonic benefit significantly and positively influenced people’s intentions and practices of SHC donation. This study will aid governments and relevant green environmental protection organizations in formulating more precise strategies for sustainable development, and promote relevant research on the sustainable disposal of SHC.