From ‘I’ to ‘We’: personal and social identity in food-waste-derived fashion acceptance

Food-waste-derived fashion (FWDF) transforms food-industry by-products into fashion materials, but its potential depends on consumer acceptance of material novelty and price premiums. This study examined factors related to innovation-adoption readiness, purchase intention, and willingness to pay (WTP). Cross-sectional data from 398 participants were analysed using hybrid structural equation modelling, controlling for sex assigned at birth, age, education, and income. Readiness was associated with purchase intention, and both were associated with WTP for a T-shirt and bag. Identification with sustainable-fashion consumers was the only factor directly associated with all three outcomes. Environmental self-identity and market mavenism were directly associated with purchase intention, past general fashion purchasing with WTP, and sustainability-information importance with readiness and WTP. Significant indirect effects further indicated that several distal factors were associated with acceptance through readiness and purchase intention. Overall, the findings distinguish receptivity, purchase consideration, and WTP as interconnected but differentiated responses requiring product-specific investigation.