Fashion market hierarchy and consumer acceptance of recycled apparel: evidence from a multi-group structural equation model

Purpose Fashion markets are inherently hierarchical, structured by price tiers and symbolic value, yet recycled apparel is often positioned as a uniform sustainability solution. This study aims to examine how fashion market hierarchy shapes consumer acceptance of recycled apparel by conceptualizing market positioning as a psychological context. Focusing on lower-middle and upper-middle market segments, the study investigates how consumers form purchase intentions and willingness to pay for recycled apparel within tiered fashion markets. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an online survey of Japanese consumers (n = 329). A multi-group structural equation model with ordinal indicators was estimated to compare lower-middle and upper-middle fashion market segments. The model examines the relationships among perceived quality, environmental motivation, brand trust, social influence, skepticism toward recycled apparel, purchase intention and willingness to pay. Findings The findings reveal that perceived quality plays a central role in building brand trust across both market segments, underscoring the importance of functional and performance-related evaluations in recycled apparel. Environmental motivation contributes to trust formation only in the lower-middle market segment. In contrast, in the upper-middle market segment, purchase intention is primarily shaped by social influence and is negatively associated with skepticism toward recycled apparel. Across both segments, purchase intention is positively related to willingness to pay, indicating that intention formation translates into acceptance of price premiums. Originality/value Against the backdrop of large-scale post-consumer clothing disposal in Japan, this study extends fashion marketing research by demonstrating that consumer acceptance of recycled apparel is contingent on fashion market hierarchy rather than driven by a single, uniform psychological mechanism. By linking post-consumer textile circularity to evaluations of quality, trust, social influence, skepticism, purchase intention and willingness to pay, the study shows how recycled apparel can function as both a waste-reduction strategy and a market-segmented offering within circular fashion business models, including resale and secondhand markets.