Influence of Social Norms on Sufficiency-Oriented Fashion Consumption among Thai Consumers
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Abstract
The rapid expansion of fast fashion has exacerbated unsustainable consumption. While social norms are known to influence behavior, the psychological mechanisms driving sufficiency-oriented consumption in non-Western contexts remain underexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the causal influence of static and dynamic social norms on sufficiency-oriented fashion consumption among Thai consumers, with moral motivation and environmental guilt as mediating variables. A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect data from 450 Thai consumers, and the data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).
The findings revealed that the proposed model demonstrated a strong fit to the data (χ²/df = 2.013, CFI = 0.962, RMSEA = 0.047). Static norms positively influenced moral motivation (β = 0.34, p < 0.001), while dynamic norms significantly predicted environmental guilt (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). Both moral motivation (β = 0.48, p < 0.001) and environmental guilt (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) positively affected sufficiency-oriented fashion consumption. The indirect effects were also significant. This study contributes to sustainability literature by proposing and empirically validating a dual-pathway model (cognitive-moral and emotional) that explains how social norms translate into sustainable behavior within a collectivist culture. Findings offer practical guidance for designing norm-based campaigns to promote sufficiency values among young Thai consumers.
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