Are you as green as the Grinch - or is it just an illusion?

Sammanfattning

Thesis purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to reveal what critical factors affect the attitude-behaviour gap when consuming green apparel online, and what aspects in retailers’ green communication strategies are perceived to have an influence on performing green consumer behaviour online. Theoretical perspective: An own illustration of a theoretical framework has emerged from the reviewed literature. This framework includes theories that have been used in order to argue for our findings. The most prominent theories used are the theory of the attitude-behaviour gap, consumers’ online behaviour, literature conceptualising green communication strategies, and literature investigating factors that influence consumers’ green consumption. Methodology: This thesis uses a qualitative method with an abductive approach to gain in-depth understandings, and takes on a relativist philosophical stance to understand consumers’ attitudes and behaviours. The data collection includes online observations of two fast fashion companies and 15 semi-structured consumer interviews. Empirical data: Our empirical data consists of consumer perspectives on what factors are critical in order to consume environmentally friendly. The collected data from online observations is used to illustrate sustainability actions taken by the studied companies, and to illustrate examples from retailers’ communication on their purchasing websites. Conclusions: Firstly, our thesis confirms a gap between attitude and behaviour when consuming environmentally friendly. Secondly, the study has resulted in a framework including three prominent factors that influence green consumer behaviour. The framework demonstrates that in order for a consumer to be influenced to perform a green behaviour, sustainability has to become fashionable, transparency and simplification in online communication strategies are needed, and retailers have to create a sense of obligation with the consumer.