Understanding consumer knowledge and engagement in the second-hand fashion market

Purpose This study examines how consumer knowledge related to second-hand fashion supports reuse-based consumption as a pathway for reducing textile waste and addressing the environmental pressures associated with fast-fashion production. It focuses on consumer decision-making in the fashion market by analysing how environmental cognitive learning and environmental engagement relate to environmental knowledge and customer knowledge in the context of second-hand fashion. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 525 Spanish consumers and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (SmartPLS 4.0), we analyse how cognitive and engagement-related factors are associated with environmental knowledge and customer knowledge in the second-hand fashion context. Findings The results show that environmental cognitive learning and environmental engagement are positively associated with customer knowledge, enhancing consumers’ evaluative understanding of sustainable fashion offerings. The findings also suggest that these mechanisms contribute to environmental knowledge and may support more informed orientations toward second-hand fashion consumption. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on knowledge management and sustainable consumption by examining how learning- and engagement-related factors are related to knowledge formation in the second-hand fashion market. Its originality lies in bringing together environmental cognitive learning, environmental engagement, environmental knowledge, and customer knowledge to examine how consumers interpret second-hand fashion offerings and their environmental relevance in a reuse-based context.