Can a connection with the indigenous cultural values encourage sustainable apparel consumption?

Purpose The authors investigated the role of cultural (i.e. traditional and religious) values in predicting the relationships between the attitudes toward the environment and slow fashion and the purchase intention for sustainable apparel. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted in Amazon Mechanical Turk with the millennials of the US ( n = 317). The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings The connection with indigenous cultural values in terms of the (1) traditional values positively influenced attitudes toward the environment and slow fashion; (2) religious values positively influenced attitude toward slow fashion but did not influence attitude toward the environment. (3) Both attitudes towards environment and slow fashion positively influenced purchase intention for sustainable apparel. (4) The connection with cultural values did not influence purchase intention toward sustainable apparel directly; however, (5) attitude toward slow fashion mediated the relationship between connection with cultural values and purchase intention for sustainable apparel both in terms of traditional and religious values, and (6) attitude toward the environment mediated the relationship between connection with traditional values and purchase intention for sustainable apparel. Practical implications Instead of focusing only on pro-environmental messages, marketers should use culture-specific cues to evoke favorable attitudinal and behavioral responses toward sustainable apparel. Social implications Advertisement cues of sustainable apparel imbuing the target market's cultural values could help in protecting culturally significant elements of nature in the long-term by evoking positive attitudes toward the environment and slow fashion and encouraging purchase intention for sustainable apparel in the short-term. Originality/value The authors indicated the importance of indigenous cultural values in shaping favorable attitudes toward the environment and slow fashion and purchase intention for sustainable apparel.