A MORE CREATIVE WORLD IS A MORE SUSTAINABLE ONE: EXTENDING PRODUCT USAGE THROUGH CREATIVITY, EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT, AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of consumer creativity on product usage extension through the mediating role of emotional attachment and the moderating role of environmental awareness within the fashion retail sector in Pakistan. Grounded in Attachment Theory, the study proposes that creative consumer engagement strengthens emotional consumer-product relationships, which subsequently encourage prolonged product usage and sustainable consumption behavior. A quantitative explanatory research design was employed using a cross-sectional survey approach. Data were collected from 400 fashion retail consumers through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS 4. The findings revealed that consumer creativity positively influences emotional attachment and product usage extension. Emotional attachment significantly enhanced product usage extension and partially mediated the relationship between consumer creativity and sustainable usage behavior. Furthermore, environmental awareness strengthened the relationship between consumer creativity and emotional attachment, indicating that environmentally conscious consumers develop stronger emotional bonds through creative engagement with products. The study contributes theoretically by extending Attachment Theory within sustainable consumption literature and integrating creativity, emotional attachment, and environmental awareness into a unified framework explaining product longevity behavior.