Abstract:
Consumers’ clothing consumption is the cause of many social and environmental
consequences, especially in emerging economies where consumption continues to escalate. It is
therefore vital that consumers adopt more voluntary simplistic lifestyles with sustainable clothing
practices. This study relies on the self-determination theory to explore the influence of basic
psychological needs (i.e., competence, autonomy, and connectedness) and self-determined motivation
(i.e., identified- and integrated regulation as well as intrinsic motivation) on female consumers’
voluntary simplistic clothing practices. Data were derived from 469 online questionnaires and
structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses. Competence was identified as
the most influential basic psychological need, followed by the need for connectedness and autonomy.
Moreover, intrinsic motivation is the strongest predictor of voluntary simplistic clothing practices,
while integrated regulation is deemed insignificant and identified regulation has a negative association
with the practices in question. In summary, it would seem that female consumers are keen on adopting
voluntary simplistic clothing behaviors. This may be due to their intrinsic motivation and competence
rather than their exposure to extrinsic influences. This study provides valuable insight into the
motivational determinants of voluntary simplistic clothing consumption in South Africa and may
thus serve as a platform for further investigation into other emerging markets.
