Purpose: This study investigates the mediating effect of Environmental Attachment (EA) among consumers in an emerging market, concentrating on the impact of two key factors: Green Environmental Awareness (GEA) and Sense of Responsibility (SOR) on Sustainable Product Consumption (SPC). Design/methodology/approach: A thorough online survey was carried out with Google Docs and distributed to 304 Pakistani consumers who now use or are considering purchasing sustainable or green products. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to rigorously test the suggested model utilizing a non-probability sampling technique, specifically the stratified purposive sampling approach. Findings: Green environmental awareness (GEA) and a sense of responsibility (SOR) have been shown to have a substantial impact on creating environmental attachment (EA) in both existing and potential customers of sustainable products. The findings of this study also revealed that environmental attachment (EA) plays an important role as a mediator in the links between green environmental awareness (GEA) and the consumption of sustainable goods (SPC), as well as between a sense of responsibility (SOR) and SPC. Despite this, it is crucial to note that the projected direct effect of GEA on SPC was shown to be statistically insignificant. This conclusion implies that additional factors outside the scope of this study may influence the relationship between GEA and SPC. Research limitations/implications: It is vital to highlight that the focus of this study is on an online sample of consumers near Punjab, Pakistan. Future studies should look at other parts of Pakistan to acquire a more complete picture of sustainable consumption trends. Furthermore, our findings suggest that characteristics impacting sustainable consumption, such as Green Environmental Awareness (GEA) and Sense of Responsibility (SOR), may differ among countries. As a result, performing a comparison analysis involving two or more countries could provide valuable insights into projecting sustainable product consumption among current and potential sustainable product customers. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by investigating the factors of sustainable consumption using the lens of the Norm Activation Model theory (NAM), notably Green Environmental Awareness (GEA) and Sense of Responsibility (SOR), to predict sustainable product consumption. The findings are important for promoting long-term goals in Pakistan and provide a framework that can be applied in other emerging markets.

Ab Hamid, M. R., Sami, W., & Sidek, M. M. (2017). Discriminant validity assessment: Use of Fornell & Larcker criterion versus HTMT criterion. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 890(1), 012163-012171.

Afthanorhan, W. M. A. W. (2013). A comparison of partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) for confirmatory factor analysis. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology, 2(5), 198-205.

Al Mubarak, M. M. S. (2020). Five senses for effective and sustainable corporate social responsibility strategy. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 10(1), 67–72. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.8990

Anh, P. T., Van Son, D., Hong, N. T. T., et al. (2019). Factors Affecting Sustainable Consumption Choice in the Field of Food and Drink: The Case of university Students in Hanoi. Int J Entrep, 23(1S), 1099.

Apichatibutarapong, S. (2018). Factors Affecting Public Awareness Concerning. Creative Commons Attribution, 34(1), 1-4.

Asadullah, M. N., Savoia, A., & Sen, K. (2020). Will South Asia Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030? Learning from the MDGs Experience. Social Indicators Research, 152(1), 165–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02423-7

Austin Kennedy, A. B. (2019). Sustainable Consumption Facts and Trends. World Business Council For Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Bartoszczuk, P., Singh, U. S., & Rutkowska, M. (2022). An empirical analysis of renewable energy contributions considering GREEN consumer values—A case study of Poland. Energies, 15(3), 1027.

Benyamin, A., Djuwita, D., Ariyanto, A. A. (2018). Norm activation theory in the plastic age: Explaining children’s pro-environmental behavior. Creative Commons, 34(2), 1-7.

Bexell, M., & Jönsson, K. (2017). Responsibility and the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. In: Forum for development studies. Routledge. pp. 13-29.

Bick, R., Halsey, E., & Ekenga, C. C. (2018). The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. Environmental Health, 17, 1-4.

Buonincontri, P., Marasco, A., & Ramkissoon, H. (2017). Visitors’ Experience, Place Attachment and Sustainable Behaviour at Cultural Heritage Sites: A Conceptual Framework. Sustainability, 9(7), 1112. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071112

Čapienė, A., Rūtelionė, A., & Tvaronavičienė, M. (2021). Pro-Environmental and Pro-Social Engagement in Sustainable. MDPI Journal of Sustainability, 21(1), 1-20.

Cheng, Z., & Chen, X. (2022). The effect of tourism experience on tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior at cultural heritage sites: The mediating role of cultural attachment. Sustainability, 14(1), 565.

Confente, I., & Scarpi, D. (2021). Achieving environmentally responsible behavior for tourists and residents: A norm activation theory perspective. Journal of Travel Research, 60(6), 1196-1212.

David, A., Thangavel, Y. D., Sankriti, R. (2019). Recover, recycle and reuse: An efficient way to reduce waste. International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD).

Dlamini, S., Tesfamichael, S. G., & Mokhele, T. (2021). Socio-demographic determinants of environmental attitudes, perceptions, place attachment, and environmentally responsible behaviour in Gauteng province, South Africa. Scientific African, 12, e00772.

Du, Y., Wang, X., Brombal, D., et al. (2018). Changes in environmental awareness and its connection to local environmental management in water conservation zones: The case of Beijing, China. Sustainability, 10(6), 2087.

Eckert, E., & Kovalevska, O. (2021). Sustainability in the European Union: Analyzing the Discourse of the European Green Deal. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(2), 80. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14020080

Escalera-Reyes, J. (2020). Place Attachment, Feeling of Belonging and Collective Identity in Socio-Ecological Systems: Study Case of Pegalajar (Andalusia-Spain). Sustainability, 12(8), 3388. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083388

Fang, W. T., Chiang, Y. T., Ng, E., & Lo, J. C. (2019). Using the norm activation model to predict the pro-environmental behaviors of public servants at the central and local governments in Taiwan. Sustainability, 11(13), 3712.

Fenitra, R. M., Premananto, G. C., Sedera, R. M. H., et al. (2022). Environmentally responsible behavior and Knowledge-Belief-Norm in the tourism context: The moderating role of types of destinations. International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks, 10(2), 273-288.

Fischer, D., Böhme, T., & Geiger, S. M. (2017). Measuring young consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior: development and validation of the YCSCB scale. Young Consumers, 18(3), 312–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/yc-03-2017-00671

Gelski, J. (2019). Sustainable product market could hit $150 billion in the U.S. by 2021. Retrieved from Food Business News: Link.

Gravelines, Ž., Banytė, J., Dovalienė, A., et al. (2022). The Role of Green Self-Identity and Self-Congruity in Sustainable Food Consumption Behaviour. Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 13(2), 336–356. https://doi.org/10.15388/omee.2022.13.83

Guckian, M., De Young, R., & Harbo, S. (2017). Beyond Green Consumerism: Uncovering the Motivations of Green Citizenship. Michigan Journal of Sustainability, 73-94.

Gurney, G. G., Blythe, J., Adams, H., et al. (2017). Redefining community based on place attachment in a connected world. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(38), 10077-10082.

Hoffmann, S., Lasarov, W., Reimers, H., & Trabandt, M. (2024). Carbon footprint tracking apps. Does feedback help reduce carbon emissions? Journal of Cleaner Production, 434, 139981.

Hosany, S., Prayag, G., Van Der Veen, R., et al. (2017). Mediating effects of place attachment and satisfaction on the relationship between tourists’ emotions and intention to recommend. Journal of Travel Research, 56(8), 1079-1093.

Hosta, M., & Zabkar, V. (2020). Antecedents of Environmentally and Socially Responsible Sustainable Consumer Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 171(2), 273–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04416-0

Hu, B., Tuou, Y., & Liu, J. (2019). How Do Destination Social Responsibility Impact Residents’ Pro-Tourism Behaviors? The Mediating Role of Place Attachment. Journal of Sustainability, 12(5), 1-14.

Hume, M. (2010). Compassion without action: Examining the young consumers consumption and attitude to sustainable consumption. Journal of World Business, 45(4), 385–394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2009.08.007

Isa, S. M., Ariyanto, H. H., & Kiumarsi, S. (2019). The effect of place attachment on visitors’ revisit intentions: evidence from Batam. An International Journal of Tourism Space, Place and Environment, 22(1).

Jaiswal, D., Singh, B., Kant, R., et al. (2021). Towards green product consumption: Effect of green marketing stimuli and perceived environmental knowledge in Indian consumer market. Society and Business Review, 17(1), 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbr-05-2021-0081

Jan, I. U., Ji, S., & Yeo, C. (2019). Values and green product purchase behavior: The moderating effects of the role of government and media exposure. Sustainability, 11(23), 6642.

Jansen, S. J. T. (2019). Place attachment, distress, risk perception and coping in a case of earthquakes in the Netherlands. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 35(2), 407–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-019-09706-7

Kautish, P., Paul, J., & Sharma, R. (2019). The moderating influence of environmental consciousness and recycling intentions on green purchase behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228, 1425–1436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.389

Khandelwal, U., Kulshreshtha, K., & Tripathi, V. (2019). Importance of Consumer-based Green Brand Equity: Empirical Evidence. Paradigm, 23(1), 83–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971890719844428

Kil, N., Holland, S. M., Stein, T. V., & Ko, Y. J. (2012). Place attachment as a mediator of the relationship between nature-based recreation benefits and future visit intentions. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(4), 603-626.

Kopnina, H. (2018). Education for sustainable development (ESD): The turn away from ‘environment’ in environmental education? In: Environmental and sustainability education policy. Routledge. pp. 135-153.

Kumar, S., & Yadav, R. (2021). The impact of shopping motivation on sustainable consumption: A study in the context of green apparel. Journal of Cleaner Production, 295, 126239.

Lee, C. K. C., Yap, C. S. F., & Levy, D. S. (2016). Place identity and sustainable consumption: Implications for social marketing. Journal of strategic marketing, 24(7), 578-593.

Liu, Y., Sheng, H., Mundorf, N., et al. (2017). Integrating norm activation model and theory of planned behavior to understand sustainable transport behavior: Evidence from China. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(12), 1593.

Lorek, S., & Spangenberg, J. H. (2014). Sustainable consumption within a sustainable economy – beyond green growth and green economies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.08.045

Mancini, P., Marchini, A., & Simeone, M. (2017). Which are the sustainable attributes affecting the real consumption behaviour? Consumer understanding and choices. British Food Journal, 119(8), 1839-1853.

Martin, D. M., & Väistö, T. (2016). Reducing the attitude-behavior gap in sustainable consumption: A theoretical proposition and the American electric vehicle market. In: Marketing in and for a Sustainable Society. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. pp. 193-213.

Matharu, M., Jain, R., & Kamboj, S. (2020). Understanding the impact of lifestyle on sustainable consumption behavior: a sharing economy perspective. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 32(1), 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq-02-2020-0036

Matzembacher, D. E., & Meira, F. B. (2019). Sustainability as business strategy in community supported agriculture. British Food Journal, 121(2), 616–632. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj-03-2018-0207

Mensah, J. (2019). Sustainable development: Meaning, history, principles, pillars, and implications for human action: Literature review. Cogent Social Sciences, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1653531

Meschede, C. (2020). The Sustainable Development Goals in Scientific Literature: A Bibliometric Overview at the Meta-Level. Sustainability, 12(11), 4461. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114461

Mittal, I., & Gupta, R. K. (2015). Natural resources depletion and economic growth in present era. SOCH-Mastnath Journal of Science & Technology, 10(3).

Nasir, M., Mohamad, M., Ghani, N., & Afthanorhan, A. (2020). Testing mediation roles of place attachment and tourist satisfaction on destination attractiveness and destination loyalty relationship using phantom approach. Management Science Letters, 10(2), 443-454.

Novianti, Y., Ginting, N., & Marpaung, B. O. Y. (2018). Place attachment of the public space in Krueng Cunda. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 126, 012154. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/126/1/012154

Oe, H., Yamaoka, Y., & Ochiai, H. (2022). A qualitative assessment of community learning initiatives for environmental awareness and behaviour change: Applying UNESCO education for sustainable development (ESD) framework. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3528.

Palacios-González, M. M., & Chamorro-Mera, A. (2020). Analysis of socially responsible consumption: A segmentation of Spanish consumers. Sustainability, 12(20), 8418.

Panda, T. K., Kumar, A., Jakhar, S., et al. (2020). Social and environmental sustainability model on consumers’ altruism, green purchase intention, green brand loyalty and evangelism. Journal of Cleaner production, 243, 118575.

Parveen, S., Farooq, S., Sahibzada, H. E., & Ali, H. (2020). Relationship of energy consumption and economic growth in Pakistan. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 6(2), 605-617.

Quoquab, F., & Sukari, N. N. (2017). Why sustainable consumption is not in practice? A developing country perspective. Sustainable economic development: Green economy and green growth, 103-113.

Quoquab, F., Mohammad, J., & Sukari, N. N. (2019). A multiple-item scale for measuring “sustainable consumption behaviour” construct: Development and psychometric evaluation. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 31(4), 791-816.

Rakic, B., & Rakic, M. (2018). Collaborative partnership paradigm in the sustainability-oriented supply chain as the way to sustainability. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 16(3), 2639-2650.

Ramkissoon, H., Weiler, B., & Smith, L. D. G. (2012). Place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour in national parks: The development of a conceptual framework. Journal of Sustainable tourism, 20(2), 257-276.

Rasool, F., Zuberi, N. A., Siddiqui, N. U., et al. (2019). Using the Theory of Plan Behavior and Norm Activation Model to Understand Individual Energy Conservation Behavior in Karachi, Pakistan. International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 10(1), 93–99. https://doi.org/10.46660/ijeeg.vol10.iss1.2019.223

Raymond, C. M., Kyttä, M., & Stedman, R. (2017). Sense of place, fast and slow: The potential contributions of affordance theory to sense of place. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 285227.

Razem, M., & El Kaftangui, M. (2020). Place Attachment and Sustainable Communities. Architecture_MPS, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.amps.2020v17i1.003

Rezvani, Z., Jansson, J., & Bengtsson, M. (2018). Consumer motivations for sustainable consumption: The interaction of gain, normative and hedonic motivations on electric vehicle adoption. Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(8), 1272–1283. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2074

Rutha, N. M. H., Abbas, S. S. (2020). The Role of Technology in Enhancing Place Attachment in Public Place. Journal of Materials Science and Engineering, 23(1), 1-16.

Sahibzada, M. U. K., Sadiq, A., Khan, S., et al. (2017). Fabrication, characterization and in vitro evaluation of silibinin nanoparticles: an attempt to enhance its oral bioavailability. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 1453-1464.

Sartal, A., Bellas, R., Mejías, A. M., & García-Collado, A. (2020). The sustainable manufacturing concept, evolution and opportunities within Industry 4.0: A literature review. Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 12(5), 1687814020925232.

Shabbir, M. S., Bait Ali Sulaiman, M. A., Hasan Al-Kumaim, N., et al. (2020). Green marketing approaches and their impact on consumer behavior towards the environment—A study from the UAE. Sustainability, 12(21), 8977.

Shao, Y., & Liu, B. (2017). Place Attachment Assessment System in Contemporary Urbanism. Procedia Engineering, 198, 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.079

Sharma, N., Saha, R., & Rameshwar, R. (2019). “I don’t buy LED bulbs but I switch off the lights” Green consumption versus sustainable consumption. Journal of Indian Business Research, 11(2), 138-161.

Shimova, O. (2019). Belarus on the Way to Sustainable Development: Circular Economy and Green Technologies. In: Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Belarus. Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83867-695-720191007

Shin, Y. H., Im, J., Jung, S. E., et al. (2018). The theory of planned behavior and the norm activation model approach to consumer behavior regarding organic menus. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 69, 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.10.011

Stancu, C. M., Grønhøj, A., & Lähteenmäki, L. (2020). Meanings and Motives for Consumers’ Sustainable Actions in the Food and Clothing Domains. Sustainability, 12(24), 10400. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410400

Sun, H., Mohsin, M., Alharthi, M., & Abbas, Q. (2020). Measuring environmental sustainability performance of South Asia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 251, 119519.

Thorisdottir, T. S., & Johannsdottir, L. (2019). Sustainability within fashion business models: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 11(8), 2233.

Tripathi, A., & Singh, M. P. (2016). Determinants of sustainable/green consumption: A review. International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 19(3-4), 316-358.

Verma, P., Kumar, V., Daim, T., et al. (2022). Identifying and prioritizing impediments of industry 4.0 to sustainable digital manufacturing: A mixed method approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 356, 131639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131639

White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT consumer behaviors to be more sustainable: A literature review and guiding framework. Journal of marketing, 83(3), 22-49.

Xu, J., & Han, R. (2019). The Influence of Place Attachment on Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Social Media. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 5100. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245100

Yang, C., Tu, J. C., & Jiang, Q. (2020). The influential factors of consumers’ sustainable consumption: A case on electric vehicles in China. Sustainability, 12(8), 3496. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083496

Young, W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., & Oates, C. J. (2010). Sustainable consumption: green consumer behaviour when purchasing products. Sustainable development, 18(1), 20-31.

Younis, F., Chaudhary, A., & Akbar, M. (2015). Pattern of development and sustainable economic growth in Pakistan: a descriptive analysis. University Library of Munich, Germany.

Yue, B., Sheng, G., She, S., & Xu, J. (2020). Impact of Consumer Environmental Responsibility on Green Consumption Behavior in China: The Role of Environmental Concern and Price Sensitivity. Sustainability, 1-16.

Żelazna, A., Bojar, M., & Bojar, E. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility towards the Environment in Lublin Region, Poland: A Comparative Study of 2009 and 2019. Sustainability, 12(11), 4463. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114463

Zelezny, L. C., & Schultz, P. W. (2000). Psychology of promoting environmentalism: Promoting environmentalism. Journal of social issues, 56(3), 365-371.

Zsóka, Á., Szerényi, Z. M., Széchy, A., & Kocsis, T. (2013). Greening due to environmental education? Environmental knowledge, attitudes, consumer behavior and everyday pro-environmental activities of Hungarian high school and university students. Journal of cleaner production, 48, 126-138.