Pro-Environmental Activism in Apparel Industry: Analysis Toward Theory and Methodology

Abstract

The apparel industry is one of the most contributing industries to any country’s economy. Particularly this sector has the highest contribution to foreign exchange earnings in some countries like Bangladesh. However, despite its economic significance, this industry is considered as one of the most polluted industries in any society. Due to massive environmental degradation across the world, there is now growing concern of socially responsible practices among the industry players and in the industry. Consequently, environmental activism is becoming popular both in academia as well as in industry. The theory of Value, Belief and Norm is considered the most complex psychological theory that is now considered as an effective theory in explaining consumer pro-environmental behavior. The study attempted to find out the applicability of VBN theory particularly within the context of textile and fashion. By means of a systematic literature review and then through qualitative Focus Group Discussion (FGD) the study is trying to observe the trends in the literature about this model as well as to explore any new factors that might be included in the model. The study has generated some interesting findings and based on these findings an integrated modified framework has been proposed. The integrated framework generated from this study included some new aspects or factors of the model. For example, in this integrated framework in the value, there is a new antecedent like collectivist value along with altruistic and bio-spheric value and openness to change. In the norms domain, subjective norms are included along with the personal norms of the original value. Finally, a demographic variable is included as a mediating variable which is not included in the original framework.