Purchase Intention of Korean Consumers toward Eco-bag

Abstract

Due to growing international concern regarding issues such as climate change and global warming, consumers are becoming increasingly open to spending extra money to help in preserving their environment through less wasteful manufacturing practices. In past years the sale of environmentally friendly items, such as reusable shopping bags, mugs and non-plastic food containers has soared. The fashion industry is no exception. Despite the growing interest at home and abroad, few studies have sought to examine the factors influencing eco-friendly fashion consumers in Korea. In particular, ecologically-friendly bags known as eco-bag is leading to the popularization of eco-fashion and has grown into the center of fashions eco-trend(GREEN LIVING, 2014). Compared with other eco-friendly fashion products, eco-bags are spectacularly popular fashion product not merely in Korea, but internationally. Should our research be able to explain why people are so interested in purchasing eco-bags, as well as what kind of variables significantly affect purchase intention of eco-bags, lessons-learned will be applicable in improving the standing of other eco-friendly fashion products. So in this research paper, the purpose of this study is to explain Korean consumer's purchase intention toward eco-bag. To explain eco-bag boom, this study proposes composite model based on 'modified Theory of Planned Behavior(TPB)' allows to test environmental consciousness and 'Lee's model' that allows to test the influence of confucian cultural values. Through this composite model, reasons of eco-bag boom will be identified and the way forward of eco-friendly fashion product also can be suggested. Google's online document service was employed to collect respondent data. Responses were collected using convenience sampling from October 15th through October to 25th, 2014. A total of 202 female consumers participated in the survey, with the final data set reduced to 187 individuals after eliminating invalid data. The result of multi regression analysis showed four independent variables (attitude, ethical obligation, self-identity, and group conformity) among seven independent variables (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, ethical obligation, self-identity, face-saving, and group conformity) were positively related to purchase intention. In other words, consumers with a positive attitude toward eco-bags, high concerns about the environment and with an ethical obligation to overcome environmental issues tend to have higher purchase intentions. The result showed that only group conformity among three normative factors (subjective norm, face saving and group conformity) was positively related to attitude toward eco-bag. This study attempts to measure what types of variables have an affect on the purchase intention of Korea women in regard to eco-bag, and to analyze its influence on each variable with revised composite model from the integration of three existing models to better understand the eco-bag trend in its entirety in Korea. This study has meaningful implication to both the industry and consumer. Consumers who have a more positive attitude toward eco-bag have a higher purchase intention toward eco-bag. Therefore, fashion markers and retailers should improve the consumers' attitude through education of sustainable consumption to increase buying eco-fashion product. Fashion marketers and retailers need to promote environmental concern and responsibility. This study supports the idea that ethical obligation and self-identity are a powerful structure in explaining consumer behavior toward purchasing eco-bag. Accordingly, marketers and retailers should focus their attention on messages that emanate "environmental value" by encouraging eco-fashion marketing when advertising products. And group conformity had influence on a positive attitude toward eco-bag which is important variable of its purchase intention. So, viral marketing or advertising campaigns could be highly effective by defining the image of 'the group'.