Determinants of secondhand clothing consumption in Hong Kong: An extended Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) model

As secondhand clothing gains popularity, its environmental and sustainable consumption implications have attracted growing attention. Various behavioral models have been used to explain and predict secondhand clothing purchases. However, many studies overlook contextual factors that directly influence secondhand purchase and mediate the impact of psychological factors on consumer behavior. This study extends the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) model by incorporating two contextual factors to examine the structural relationships among knowledge, attitude, price consciousness, perceived risk, and secondhand clothing purchase behavior. Based on an online survey of 545 respondents in Hong Kong, the study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze these relationships. Results indicate that environmental knowledge and perceived risk directly influence secondhand clothing purchase behavior. Although attitude does not directly affect behavior, it exerts an indirect effect through perceived risk. Price consciousness, however, neither affects nor mediates purchasing decisions. These findings suggest that secondhand clothing purchase in Hong Kong is driven more by environmental knowledge and risk perceptions than by economic considerations. The negligible role of price consciousness may reflect Hong Kong’s highly competitive duty-free retail environment, where the price advantage of secondhand clothing is less pronounced. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how contextual market conditions shape the relative importance of psychological and economic factors in sustainable consumption and offers practical recommendations for promoting secondhand clothing adoption in Hong Kong.