With the relaxation of China’s birth policies and the dual independence gained by Chinese women in both mental and economic aspects, maternity wear, as an essential item for pregnant women, has an enormous design space and a growing consumer market, attracting increasing attention from all quarters [1]. However, due to the continuous changes in pregnant womens body shapes and the fact that most women need to continue working and socializing during the early and middle stages of pregnancy [2], maternity wear has a short wearing cycle and rapid turnover [3] leading to the current unsustainable consumption of maternity wear. This study aims to explore the impact of environmental awareness on the sustainable consumption behavior of maternity wear. Specifically, the study objective is to use Grounded Theory to analyze sustainability issues within maternity wear consumption and identify the factors and stages influencing sustainable consumption behavior through online searches for relevant reports and comments. We address 2 research questions. RQ1: How to improve the sustainability of maternity wear to reduce unsustainable consumption? RQ2: How does environmental awareness influence sustainable consumption behavior in maternity wear? This article, based on Grounded Theory, to ensure the timeliness of comments and reports, conducted sample data collection from 2019 to 2022. We conducted searches using keywords such as “sustainable maternity wear,” “ecofriendly maternity wear,” “sustainable fashion,” “maternity wear consumption,” and “postpartum clothing consumption.” We obtained a total of 1086 relevant articles and materials. After careful screening, we narrowed down our searches and organized 45 feasible textual materials for our study. Through online searches for relevant reports and comments regarding sustainable consumption of maternity wear, it identified consciousness-related influencing factors and three stages of sustainable maternity wear consumption behavior. Furthermore, it proposed reference recommendations for promoting sustainable consumption of maternity wear through management practices.
Keywords: environmental awareness, maternity wear, sustainability, consumer behavior, grounded theory