While research focusing on clothing repair and community mending events as part of sustainable clothing consumption practices has been conducted in some developed European countries (e.g., the U.K. and the Netherlands), little research has examined consumer clothes mending/repairing behavior in a U.S. context. The purpose of this study was to explore U.S. consumers’ specific barriers and motivations to engage in clothing repair and their likelihood to participate in clothes mending and community mending events. An intercept survey approach was used to administer a questionnaire to participants who were attendees at three different events in a mid-sized city in Colorado, U.S. across a two-week time span. Data were collected from 254 participants. Path analysis was conducted to test four sets of hypotheses. The results suggested that consumers’ perceived barriers negatively influenced their mending frequency. Consumer’s perceived motivations positively influenced their attitudes toward mending, their mending frequency, and sustainable post-consumption clothing behaviors (SPCBs). Furthermore, participants’ attitudes toward mending, mending frequency, and their SPCBs positively influenced their intentions to mend clothes and to participate in community mending events. The current study advances the understanding of US consumers’ clothes mending behaviors and provides critical implications for local governments and education systems.

This study investigated how sustainability-related messages of cotton textile and apparel products influence consumers’ attitudes toward the message and interaction with other consumers in social media. Three hundred and eighty-eight online survey data of US consumers investigated the effects of perceived information and emotion toward sustainability practice messages on attitude toward and social interaction with other consumers and the effects of attitude on social interaction in social media. The results confirm that emotion is an influential variable, and, specific, positive emotion is an influential variable for attitude, and attitude influences social interaction with other consumers of sustainability practice messages. Negative emotions influence both attitude and social interaction. The information does not influence attitude but directly impacts social interaction, which may bring the purchase intention of sustainable fashion products. Thus, apparel marketers should consider emotionally sustainable promotion messages when tailoring their brand communications on social media. This study helps clarify the relationships between emotion and social interaction for sustainable fashion products. It also contributes to the theoretical foundation and has implications for sustainable fashion marketing and management in social media.

This study provides understanding of factors that affect US consumers’ intentions to patronize retail apparel brands engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study utilizes a dual theoretical framework comprised of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and Schwartz’s value theory. Data were collected via a web-based survey from a national sample of 407 US consumers. Findings revealed that moral norms, subjective norms, and attitudes were all important predictors of US consumers’ intentions to patronize retail apparel brands engaged in CSR. Overall, the results of this study provide important theoretical implications for extending the TRA to include measures of self-transcendent values (universalism and benevolence) and moral norms in the context of consumers’ ethical decision making. The findings also provide important practical implications for retail apparel brands planning to incorporate CSR policies in their corporate agenda. It is proposed that retail apparel brands should integrate CSR related information in their strategic marketing activities to increase consumer awareness of its socially responsible business practices, which in turn may enhance brand image.

The apparel industry supply chain is complex and constantly under scrutiny for its adherence to socially responsible practices. Thus, corporate social responsibility has emerged as an important aspect of business strategy for retail brands. A growing number of consumers expect apparel companies to exercise ethical behavior in their corporate business practices that aligns with consumers' own values and lifestyle choices. The purpose of this study was to develop and empirically test an integrative model based on macrotheories of human behavior. Study findings from a national sample of 407 consumers in the United States revealed that universalistic values, moral norms, expectations of ethical behavior, knowledge of environmental issues in the apparel industry, and attitudes all had significant and positive effects on consumers' patronage intentions toward retail apparel brands engaged in socially responsible supply chain activities.

This study explored Millennial consumers’ responses to a cause-related marketing (CRM) initiative for a sensitive social cause—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) homeless youth. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed to examine the effectiveness of CRM in generating financial support for LGBTQ homeless youth. Findings revealed that self-cause congruence may be an important factor in determining Millennial consumers’ responses to a CRM initiative for LGBTQ homeless youth; whereas, message frame/appeal may be less important for generating response to such an initiative. Findings also indicated that gender, information processing, guilt, and skepticism influenced Millennial consumers’ attitudes toward brand, attitudes toward cause, and behavioral intentions toward the CRM initiative. These findings offer implications for brands/companies that may wish to engage in CRM initiative in support of sensitive social causes. By addressing a sensitive social cause—LGBTQ homeless youth—findings provide an original contribution to the CRM literature. Findings reveal that self-cause congruence is an important predictor of behavioral intention toward the LGBTQ social cause. This provides an implication for marketers who want to target their relationship-building efforts toward individuals who have demonstrated prior engagement with a social cause. Findings also have implications for brands/companies that wish to develop CRM initiatives for controversial causes.

STEM enrichment programs have demonstrated positive impacts on young female adolescents’ interest and aptitude in STEM, personal/social-psychological well-being, and educational aspirations. Introducing STEM knowledge and skills in an environment of ‘making,’ that is, in a setting of hands-on activities, may further enhance adolescent girls’ engagement in STEM learning. The maker movement, defined as the convergence of technology and traditional artistry, has generated interest among educators for its potential to nurture STEM learning, including its capacity to engage diverse populations of youths in the making of creative objects through experimentation in science, technology, engineering, and math (i.e., STEM-based making). STEM-based making is a way to support young girls, who often approach making from an esthetic or personal expression perspective, to more fully integrate systems and technologies that advance critical thinking, innovative prototyping, and problem-solving into the making process. Insights are presented as to how STEM-based making designed for young female adolescents—a group that has traditionally had limited access to extracurricular STEM experiences as well as to makerspaces—may foster greater access to, and equity in, STEM learning. The role of universities in facilitating access to and equity in STEM-based making also is addressed.