Factors Affecting Sri Lankan Consumers’ Purchase Intention Towards Sweatshop – Free Global Footwear Brands: A Study Using a Modified Theory of Planned Behaviour

The fundamental human need for clothes and footwear has now given way to the idea of fashion, which is constantly expanding into important areas like ethical fashion. Growing ethical fashion concerns have had a significant influence on customers’ buying intentions. The purpose of this study is to determine what influences Sri Lankan customers' decision to buy global footwear companies that do not employ sweatshop labour and assess the impact of each factor. A modified theory of planned behaviour is used to assess the link between attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, self-identity, and ethical obligation in relation to the intention to buy international sweatshop-free footwear brands. A quantitative approach was used, and a standardized questionnaire was administered online among 150 consumers, to collect data. The findings of this study highlighted positive influence from attitudes, subjective norms, ethical obligation and self-identity towards purchase intention whereas attitude was recognized as the most influential determinant towards the purchase intention of sweatshop-free global footwear brands. Thus, the study's authors suggest global marketers to adopt a more instructive marketing strategies based on the local value system to promote ethically made global footwear brands by targeting educated and medium – high income earning consumers in Sri Lanka.