Fast Fashion vs Sustainable Fashion: Psychological Mechanisms of Generation Z Consumption in the Influencer Era

Kholifah Kholifah; Kabul Trifiyanto

doi:10.55980/ebasr.v5i2.461

Authors

Kholifah Kholifah Department of Business Digital, Universitas Putra Bangsa, Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia
Kabul Trifiyanto Department of Business Digital, Universitas Putra Bangsa, Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55980/ebasr.v5i2.461

Keywords:

Sustainable Fashion, Influencer Exposure, Purchase Intention, Actual Purchase, Behavior Self-Control

Abstract

The increasing popularity of sustainable fashion has not been accompanied by corresponding purchasing behavior among Generation Z, reflecting a persistent intention–behavior gap. However, existing research has predominantly focused on purchase intention, providing limited explanation of how social influence and self-regulation shape its translation into actual behavior. This study examines how sustainability attitude and influencer exposure affect sustainable fashion purchasing behavior through purchase intention and whether self-control moderates the intention–behavior relationship. Using an explanatory cross-sectional design, data from 200 Generation Z consumers in Indonesia were collected through purposive sampling and analyzed using PLS-SEM. Sustainability attitude does not significantly predict purchase intention (β = 0.379, p = 0.086), whereas influencer exposure has a positive effect (β = 0.563, p = 0.011). Purchase intention positively predicts actual purchase behavior (β = 0.278, p < 0.001) and mediates the effect of influencer exposure, but not sustainability attitude, on actual behavior. Self-control negatively moderates the intention–behavior relationship, indicating that greater self-control weakens the translation of purchase intention into actual purchases. The model explains 88.2% of the variance in purchase intention and 67.8% in actual purchase behavior. These findings reveal the distinct roles of sustainability attitude, influencer exposure, purchase intention, and self-control in explaining Generation Z’s sustainable fashion purchasing behavior.

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