Environmental profiles of female apparel shoppers in the Midwest, USA

Concern for the environment has become an accepted part of our lifestyle. A largely untapped consumer commodity with strong reuse or recycling potential is textiles and apparel. Apparel retailers can benefit from a knowledge of the environmentally concerned apparel shopper and can be instrumental in extending society's appreciation for environmental responsibility. The purpose of this exploratory study was to segment female apparel shoppers into environmentally oriented groups and to profile each group with respect to importance of store attributes, lifestyle activities, general environmental attitudes and textile disposal patterns. Factor analysis, stepwise multiple regression and chi‐square analysis were used to analyse data from 113 returned questionnaires. The results indicated that environmental groups can be profiled for textile/apparel products and that each group places emphasis on a different set of store/product attributes when making patronage and purchasing decisions. Profiles of each environmental group with suggestions for retail marketing approaches are provided.