The cross-cultural effects of brand status and social facilitation on enhancing consumer perception toward circular fashion services

While existing clothing consumption practices are contributing to increasing environmental degradation, circular fashion promises to be a more sustainable approach to keep used clothes in circulation instead of being sent to landfills. However, it is necessary to use more than just environmental benefits to motivate consumers to shop for secondhand clothing online through a circular fashion service. Therefore, through two experiments, this study tests the role of brand and social facilitation due to perceived economic and social benefits and the attitude and intention to use a circular fashion service among U.S. and Korean consumers. By applying commodity theory and social facilitation theory, this study found that brand status and a socially facilitating message can enhance perceived benefits, attitude, and intention toward using a circular fashion service, while specific effects are found differently between U.S. and Korean consumers. Implications of these findings and limitations of the study are discussed.