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Doing Good Better: Impure Altruism in Green Apparel Advertising

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  • So Young Song

    (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Fashion Design and Merchandising, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-5060, USA)

  • Youn-Kyung Kim

    (Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA)

Abstract

In this study, we identify impure altruism as a duality of altruistic and egoistic warmth. We examine how these feelings motivate consumers to buy green apparel in response to advertisements. We test the effectiveness of the message orientation and its interactivity with a beneficiary and propose modeling impure altruism as the reason why consumers purchase green apparel. The study uses a quasi-experiment to estimate a comparison effect among advertising stimuli. We conduct an online survey among US consumers that garnered 586 responses for the main data analysis. The results indicate that egocentric appeals increase perceived uniqueness and that human beneficiary appeals lead to higher communal harmony. The findings show that communal harmony and global wellbeing prompt altruistic warmth and that uniqueness and product quality encourage egoistic warmth. Notably, altruistic warmth contributes to egoistic warmth, which indicates the existence of impurely altruistic consumers. Both altruistic and egoistic warmth lead to the intention of purchasing green apparel. We recommend “feel-good” marketing strategies to publicize the benefits of a sustainable lifestyle. The study contributes to the theoretical development of sustainability and can serve as an extension of a discrete model of altruism and egoism on consumers’ sustainable behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • So Young Song & Youn-Kyung Kim, 2019. "Doing Good Better: Impure Altruism in Green Apparel Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-20, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5762-:d:277553
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Arthur Cheng-Hsui Chen & Hsiu-Hui Wu, 2020. "How Should Green Messages Be Framed: Single or Double?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Watchara Chiengkul & Patcharaporn Mahasuweerachai & Chompoonut Suttikun, 2022. "Do Charity or Non-Charity Sporting Events Have a Greater Influence on Participants’ Warm Glow?: An Experimental Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Sher Jahan Khan & Saeed Badghish & Puneet Kaur & Rajat Sharma & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "What motivates the purchasing of green apparel products? A systematic review and future research agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4183-4201, November.
    5. Septianto, Felix & Kemper, Joya A., 2021. "The effects of age cues on preferences for organic food: The moderating role of message claim," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Kumar, Sushant & Murphy, Mikko & Talwar, Shalini & Kaur, Puneet & Dhir, Amandeep, 2021. "What drives brand love and purchase intentions toward the local food distribution system? A study of social media-based REKO (fair consumption) groups," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Bei Wang & Alina M. Udall, 2023. "Sustainable Consumer Behaviors: The Effects of Identity, Environment Value and Marketing Promotion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, January.
    8. Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas & Rafael Fernando Rondon-Eusebio, 2022. "Green Marketing Practices Related to Key Variables of Consumer Purchasing Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Chen Pang & Jie Zhou & Xiaofen Ji, 2022. "The Effects of Chinese Consumers’ Brand Green Stereotypes on Purchasing Intention toward Upcycled Clothing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Chia-Lee Yang & Chi-Yo Huang & Yi-Hao Hsiao, 2021. "Using Social Media Mining and PLS-SEM to Examine the Causal Relationship between Public Environmental Concerns and Adaptation Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-23, May.
    11. Eunsoo Choi & Eunji Kim & Inji Kim & Incheol Choi, 2020. "Attitude Toward Social Enterprises: A Comparison between For-Profit and Social Enterprise Employees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-10, March.
    12. Habib, Muhammad Danish & Filimonau, Viachaslau & Coşkun, Ayşen & Wang, Ling-en & Ermolaev, Vladimir A., 2023. "Altruistic and collectivistic values as the antecedents of surplus food donation intention," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

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