The differences between students’ knowledge of environmental apparel and environmental worldview based on college major and gender

Abstract

An increased interest in environmental concern has been embraced within the consumer market, particularly in the apparel market. As such, environmentally friendly clothing items are becoming more prevalent in the mainstream consumer market. In order to better understand factors relating to environmental concern and environmental apparel knowledge, this study compared students’ environmental orientation and environmental apparel knowledge depending on college major and gender, and identified attitudes and perceptions of environmentally friendly clothing at a university located in the Midwestern area in the United States. Results indicated that some majors, particularly those grouped as Environmentally Related majors differed from other major groups. Gender was found not to make a difference in either environmental orientation or environmental apparel knowledge in this study. Attitudes and perceptions about environmental friendly clothing were evaluated. In addition, some attitudes and perceptions were found to be correlated with scores relating to environmental orientation and apparel knowledge.