Design Delight Studio

Experimental Evidence on Consumers’ Willingness to Pay in Sustainable Fashion: Key Insights

Overview

A 2025 study published in Scientific Reports explores consumer purchase intention and willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable fashion products, focusing on leather bags made through different levels of circularity. By integrating behavioral theories—including the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)—and Lancaster’s model of product attributes, the research sheds light on how social, environmental values, and perceptions of quality and cost influence consumer behavior in sustainable fashion.

The Context: Fashion’s Environmental Challenge

The fashion industry is a major industrial polluter due to its resource-intensive production and waste generation. As consumer awareness of these impacts grows, demand for sustainable fashion increases. Globally, around 66% of consumers express a willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products, with higher figures in Europe (~72%). However, expressed intention does not always result in actual purchases—highlighting the well-known “attitude–behavior gap.”

Study Design: Bags with Increasing Circularity

The experiment tested three types of leather bags:

• Bag A: Conventional leather product with leather scraps wasted.
• Bag B: Recycled leather bag made from scraps, produced by a social enterprise.
• Bag C: Re-recycled bag using a sustainable composite material, fully closing the leather loop.

Bag C represents the highest level of circularity, aimed at fully integrating waste back into the supply chain. Produced by Cartiera, an Italian social enterprise, these bags also support social sustainability by employing asylum seekers.

Findings on Purchase Intention and Willingness to Pay

• Pro-social and pro-environmental values strongly correlate with higher purchase intention and WTP, particularly for the most circular product.
• Perceptions of higher production costs and improved material and visual quality further increase WTP for the re-recycled bags.
• The study confirms that consumer preferences are influenced not just by environmental factors but also social responsibility and product attributes.
• The research highlights the complexity of sustainable consumer behavior—where personal values, trust, and experience intertwine with product design and cost considerations.

Behavioral Insights & Theoretical Framework

The research integrates:

• Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen): Intentions shaped by attitudes, social norms, and perceived control are key to understanding purchase behavior.
• Lancaster’s model: Utility from product attributes (quality, sustainability) influences consumer choice.
• The study also addresses the “intention–behavior gap”—the discrepancy between positive attitudes and actual purchases—attributing it to individual and situational barriers, such as price, availability, and habitual behaviors.

Policy and Industry Implications

• Promotion of circular economy strategies benefits from targeted communication emphasizing product quality, environmental benefits, and social impact.
• Supporting social enterprises like Cartiera can enhance both sustainability and social inclusion.
• Policies that reduce price barriers or improve availability of sustainable fashion could help bridge the attitude–behavior gap.
• Understanding nuanced consumer values allows brands to design products and marketing strategies that resonate authentically with environmentally and socially conscious consumers.

Conclusion

This empirical study offers valuable insights into consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainable fashion, stressing the importance of combining behavioral understanding with product innovation. It underscores the need for integrated approaches that address social, environmental, and economic sustainability to accelerate market transformation toward circular fashion.

For sustainable fashion brands and policymakers, this research highlights that delivering tangible quality improvements, transparently communicating circular processes, and engaging consumers’ ethical values are pivotal to driving genuine demand.

Design Delight Studio curates high-impact, authoritative insights into sustainable and organic product trends, helping conscious consumers and innovative brands stay ahead in a fast-evolving green economy.