Proactive versus reactive apparel brands in sustainability: Influences on brand loyalty

•Consumers form brand loyalty toward sustainable versus fast fashion in a different manner.•A consumer's perceived value of sustainable fashion brands was more strongly associated with brand trust than with brand affect.•Consumers' knowledge of apparel sustainability strengthened the impact of perceived value of sustainable fashion brands on both brand trust and brand affect while it attenuated the same effect for fast fashion brands.•Consumers' fashion consciousness attenuated the impact of perceived value of sustainable fashion brands on brand affect, while it did not weaken the same effect on brand trust.•Consumers' fashion consciousness strengthened the impact of perceived value of fast fashion brands on brand trust, while the same moderating effect was not significant on the link between perceived value and brand affect.

Building on the literature in brand loyalty and sustainable consumption of apparel, this study compares the loyalty formation mechanism between sustainable fashion and fast fashion brands. A series of hypotheses proposing the difference in the loyalty formation between the two types of apparel brands were developed. A structural equation modeling tested the research model with a sample of 556 U.S. respondents. Although somewhat inconsistent, the results suggest that consumers form brand loyalty toward sustainable versus fast fashion in a different manner. Implications for marketers as well as directions for future research are discussed.