Sustainable fashion – modeling consumer perceptions and the relationship between attitudes and buying behaviors in Germany

Purpose This study aims to identify and analyze the key factors that influence German consumers’ intention to purchase sustainable fashion, with particular attention to the well-documented attitude–behavior gap. The research focuses on the core constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) – attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control – along with individual factors like knowledge and perceived consumer effectiveness, and situational factors such as price and availability. Design/methodology/approach The research is grounded in the TPB, using a quantitative survey conducted with 216 German consumers. Multiple regression analysis was used to uncover the primary drivers and barriers influencing the intention to purchase sustainable fashion. Findings The results show that perceived consumer effectiveness (β = 0.29, p 0.001) is the strongest driver of sustainable fashion purchase intention, suggesting that feeling empowered matters more than knowledge. Subjective norms (β = 0.23, p 0.001) and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.11, p 0.01) also play important roles, while high prices (β = −0.12, p 0.05) and limited availability (β = 0.10, p 0.05) act as barriers. Surprisingly, sustainability knowledge shows no significant influence (β = 0.04, p 0.05). Originality/value This study advances TPB-based research by empirically integrating four context-specific variables – knowledge, perceived consumer effectiveness, price and availability – into a single model. This rare combination offers novel insights into the attitude–behavior gap in sustainable fashion and highlights perceived consumer effectiveness as a key leverage point. It provides actionable guidance for businesses and policymakers to encourage more sustainable consumer behavior in the fashion industry.