Investigating the gap between attitudinal and behavioral green: an empirical study about intention to adopt 3D-printed clothing

Purpose This study examines why consumers are “more attitudinally green than behaviorally green,” and what factors influence intention to adopt sustainable 3D-printed clothing. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected on Prolific.com on a global scale through a self-administered survey. There are 221 completed responses. A completely randomized design is utilized to control demographic variation. Data were analyzed using the SmartPLS software and structural equation modeling-partial least square (SEM-PLS) technique. Findings The findings reveal that while consumers’ attitudes toward environmental ramifications are strong, these attitudes do not directly influence their intention to adopt 3D-printed clothing. Instead, these environmental attitudes exert their influence through the four constructs of diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory: compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. Furthermore, this research operationalizes ease of use to replace DoI’s conceptually less straightforward complexity, and imitate others to represent DoI’s ambiguous observability constructs, respectively. In sum, the results underscore the efficacy of DoI theory in fostering positive inclinations toward adopting innovative, sustainable 3D-printed clothing. Research limitations/implications Our results verify that environmental protection attitudes, neither product-specific nor general, directly impact the intention to adopt 3D-printed clothing. Their effects are fully mediated (operationalized) by the DoI constructs that tie into 3D-printed clothing, verifying our hypothesis that product-specific benefits are crucial to turning attitudinal green to behavior green, especially for innovative products new to consumers. Future experiments and studies should apply the proposed mediated attitudes in environmental protection (MAEP) model in other contexts to further validate the dual and mediated attitudinal effect. Practical implications The results support an applicable roadmap for the fashion and apparel industry to minimize the gap between attitudinal and behavioral green and engage consumers. The benefits of environmentally sustainable products to consumers are essential for effectively converting attitudinal green into behavioral green. Social implications The fashion and apparel industry must remember that environmental protection attitudes do not automatically turn into consumption behaviors. Specifically, the DoI factors incentivize environmentally concerned consumers who hesitate to commit to sustainable fashion (SF) consumption, helping achieve measurable results in SF consumption. Originality/value Drawing upon the DoI theory, this research contributes to the SF literature by proposing a MAEP model to examine the green attitude-behavior gap in the context of 3D-printed clothing. The results prove the effectiveness of the proposed mediated environmental protection attitudes and DoI’s constructs.