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The halal supply chain is an important subject, particularly for Muslim customers, producers, and marketers that play an essential role in Muslim marketplaces (Yusoff et al., 2015). The halal supply chain management refers to a halal system's organization to expand halal integrity from the sourcing spot to the customer buying point (Tieman, 2017). It encompasses a process-oriented method implying that every halal supply chain activity, i.e., resourcing of materials, product manufacturing, handling, storage, transporting, and retailing, must be well recorded and presented in line with confirmed reliable halal criteria (Khan et al., 2018). These processes require to be intended to remove the cross-pollution and maintain the products' halal status (Khan et al., 2018). Halal status is a general obligation that focuses on secure consumption (Latif et al. 2014). It incorporates every aspect of consumption and a subject of Muslim customers' everyday lifestyle, including fashion (Alzeer et al., 2018).
Halal fashion is the fashion compliant with Islamic standards on the security, modesty, hygiene, and coziness of wear (The principles”, n.d.). It is viewed as one of the most promising sectors in the fashion industry because it has shown a five-percent annual upsurge and has a potential increase to 361 billion USD by 2023 (Reuters, 2019). The trend of halal fashion has been emerging because the global clothing industry has brought much halal fashion to wide-reaching customers. For instance, up till now, the world's well-known fashion trademarks, e.g., Carolina Herrera, Dolce & Gabbana, H&M, Macy's, and Michael Kors, have invented modest wears presented just for Muslim customers (Reuters, 2019). Other renowned clothing labels such as DKNY, Marks & Spencer, Max Mara, Nike, and Uniqlo, have also worked to enter the lucrative business by producing Muslim modest clothing (Schneider, 2018). Hijab, a most well-known type of halal fashion, was presented on the stage for the world's most significant fashion events such as the 2020 New York Fashion Week and 2020 London Fashion Week, involving front-line trademarks Burberry, Deborah Latouche, Erdem, Oscar de La Renta, Roland Mouret, and Tommy Hilfiger (Atef, 2020; Limam and Berjikian, 2020). As a concept, halal fashion is still in progress, but the way the industry operates has already been emphasized (Seth, 2016). Major players are looking through their supply chains to find ways to better comply with the Islamic code linked to doing business (Seth, 2016). As the halal fashion industry develops, business enterprises at the forefront of the segment are preparing to be closely inspected for Islamic standards in their supply chains. For example, companies like Shukr Clothing ensure that the clothing is manufactured based on Islamic standards at their factories, and Modanisa is progressively establishing the standards for how halal fashion firms do business and choose partners and vendors (Seth, 2016). Thus, it is essential to deliver novel and constructive evidence to designers, producers, and sellers in the Muslim fashion business concerning customers' knowledge about the halal supply chain as the influencer of customers' intent to buy halal fashion.
Nevertheless, Ab Talib et al. (2015) reported that the halal supply chain's standards remain blurred, with diverse scholars proposing different halal supply chain concepts (Yusoff et al., 2015). Besides, in the supply chain context, knowledge of the operations is emphasized to persons in the companies, not consumers (Yusof et al., 2015). Consequently, this research's problem turns into whether customers' knowledge of the halal supply chain influences their shopping intent for halal goods, especially fashion. The essential halal supply chain activities include halal product integrity (raw materials, hygiene, quality, and safety/comfort), a halal production process that must fulfill Islamic laws, and halal logistics and retailing (packing, delivery, and product display) (Omar and Jaafar, 2011). Thus, the customers' halal supply chain knowledge in this paper encompasses the knowledge of halal resourcing (RES), halal producing and designs (PRO), halal handling, storage, packaging, and logistics (HAN), and halal retailing (RET).