Ethical Dimensions in Clothing Purchase

It is widely reported that consumer interest in environmental and ethical issues is growing. Evidence suggests that ethical considerations are now impacting on a broad range of consumption decisions. The focus of this paper is the impact such concerns may hold in clothing purchase decision making. Through an inductive qualitative approach, clothing purchase decision making has been explored before discussing consumers’ knowledge and concern of ethical issues within the supply chain. Any impact that these concerns may exert has been discussed. It is identified that although there is widespread knowledge and understanding of the ethical issues that may be present in the manufacture of clothing, these concerns do not play a primary role in consumers’ selection of items. Product attributes such as colour, style and fit dominate the decision making process in most cases. Despite this, ethical considerations can be seen to impact on the consumer in three key ways: initial boycott of particular products or brands; influencing final purchase decisions if items are similar on other criteria and, impacting on post-purchase satisfaction with the product

The Role of Country of Origin in Brand Following on Social Media Among U.S. Consumers

An understanding of how consumers interact with brands online is still in its infancy. This study will attempt to explain what motivates consumers to follow brands on social media, looking specifically at the role country and region of origin of products plays in explaining the relationship. Given the personal nature that attracts people to social media to build relationships, it is believed that the personal nature of brands originating from the social media users’ home country will heighten the likelihood that consumers track certain brands and may enhance the relationship that evolves between the brand and the consumer. A model is proposed to explain the relationship, with survey data from U.S. consumers used to begin to establish any links between product origins and brand tracking behavior through social media

An Exploratory Study into the Factors Impeding Ethical Consumption

Although consumers are increasingly engaged with ethical factors when forming opinions about products and making purchase decisions, recent studies have highlighted significant differences between consumers’ intentions to consume ethically, and their actual purchase behaviour. This article contributes to an understanding of this “ethical purchasing gap” through a review of existing literature, and the inductive analysis of focus group discussions. A model is suggested which includes exogenous variables such as moral maturity and age which have been well covered in the literature, together with further impeding factors identified from the focus group discussions. For some consumers, inertia in purchasing behaviour was such that the decision-making process was devoid of ethical considerations. Several manifested their ethical views through post-purchase dissonance and retrospective feelings of guilt. Others displayed a reluctance to consume ethically due to personal constraints, a perceived negative impact on image or quality, or an outright negation of responsibility. Those who expressed a desire to consume ethically often seemed deterred by cynicism, which caused them to question the impact they, as an individual, could achieve. These findings enhance the understanding of ethical consumption decisions and provide a platform for future research in this area

The impact of fashion line extensions on consumers’ valuations of mainstream and niche brands examining the moderating effect of (slow-fashion versus fast-fashion) line extension on the relationship between (niche versus mainstream) brand type and consumers’ valuations

The fashion industry has created major social and environmental issues from abusing its workforce to damaging the planet. Over time, these concerns intensified, pushing consumers to reconsider their purchasing behavior. Consequently, many companies have started putting more effort into changing their business models to incorporate the stakeholders’ interests. How ever, mainstream brands have suffered from consumers’ skepticism about the ability of large established brands to reach satisfactory levels of sustainability undermining their good deeds. Brand extensions have been a powerful tool, used by major brands, to enhance these valuations. To examine this phenomenon further, the current study evaluates how slow-fashion brand ex tensions may be a solution to improve consumers' valuations of mainstream brands. Based on prior literature, an experimental study was conducted to test the impact of brand type (niche vs. mainstream) and type of fashion line extension (slow-fashion vs. fast-fashion) on consumers’ valuations. Additionally, the mediating effect of brand satisfaction is examined on the relation ship between brand type and consumer valuations. Results show that consumers show higher customer-based-brand equity and ethicality perceptions when exposed to niche brands. Addi tionally, findings show that the exposure to slow-fashion lines will generate more favorable consumers’ valuations in comparison to fast-fashion lines. This dissertation provides important theoretical and managerial contributions highlighting the positive impact of both brand type and fashion line type on consumers’ valuations. Also, the ability of companies to further en hance these valuations by focusing on brand satisfaction.A indústria da moda criou questões sociais e ambientais. Ao longo do tempo, estas pre ocupações intensificaram-se, levando os consumidores a reconsiderar o seu comportamento de compra. Consequentemente, muitas empresas começaram a realizar mais esforços para alterar os seus modelos de negócio. No entanto, as principais marcas sofrem o ceticismo dos consumi dores quanto à capacidade das grandes marcas estabelecidas de atingirem níveis satisfatórios de sustentabilidade. As extensões de marcas têm sido uma ferramenta, utilizada pelas grandes marcas, para melhorar estas avaliações. Nesta perspetiva, o estudo atual avaliou em maior pro fundidade esta premissa e propõe que as extensões de marcas de moda lenta como uma solução que poderá melhorar a avaliação das marcas consideradas mainstream, pelos consumidores. Com base na literatura, foi realizado um estudo experimental para testar os impactos do tipo de marca (de nicho versus mainstream) e tipo de moda (slow-fashion versus fast-fashion) nas ava liações dos consumidores. Adicionalmente, foi testado o efeito mediador da satisfação da marca na relação entre o tipo de marca e estas avaliações. Os resultados mostram que os consumidores mostram melhores percepções de ética e equidade de marca quando expostos a marcas de nicho. Os resultados mostram ainda que as exposições a linhas de moda lenta geram avaliações mais favoráveis pelos consumidores em comparação com as linhas de moda rápida. Esta dissertação fornece importantes implicações salientando o impacto dos tipos de marcas e linhas de moda nas avaliações dos consumidores. Além disso, a capacidade das empresas para melhorar estas valorizações com base na satisfação da marca

EXAMINING VALUES OF E-LUXURY AMONG YOUNG CONSUMERS

Over the past few years, changes in technology, especially the increased use of online shopping, has impacted fashion retailers. Many brands, such as luxury brands, have recognized the online shopping potential and have engaged in setting up their websites in ways that are geared towards meeting luxury consumers’ online shopping needs. Previous research has examined consumers’ luxury consumptions, but there is no known study that has examined young consumers online luxury consumption and which value perceptions can impact shopping intentions. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to shed some light on understanding young consumers’ online luxury consumption. Specifically, to assess the effects of moderating variables, (i.e., website visual appeal, attitudes towards the website, and luxuriousness of the displayed products), on luxury value perceptions and online luxury consumption. Data were collected from a convenience sample of college students between the ages of 18-35 via an online survey. The final sample consisted of 141 participants. A series of multiple regressions and MANOVA were employed to test all the hypotheses. Results revealed that online luxury consumption is impacted by three dimensions of luxury value (i.e., social, economic, and quality). However, the use of different online shopping platforms such as multi-brand retailers does not significantly impact online luxury consumption. The results add to existing literature related to consumers’ luxury consumption. Future research may focus on the difference between different age groups of luxury consumers

Smart shoppers : studying the relationship between Perceived Quality and Willingness to Pay in Fast and Slow Fashion

Fashion is, undeniably, one of the largest and most lucrative industries with growing expectations. Despite its general acceptance and the success, recently it has been heavily scrutinized regarding its practices and criticized accordingly. From the exploitation of natural resources, poor working conditions and environmental footprint to intellectual property issues, to name a few. This has led companies to rethink and adopt more sustainable practices, which consumers are becoming increasingly aware of and demanding. However, there seems to be quite a gap in the literature between consumers’ perceptions of slow and fast fashion and their purchasing behavior. This dissertation therefore examines four brands, with different levels of perceived quality and from different fashion models, and their effect on willingness to pay. The results show that these dimensions influence consumers’ willingness to pay. Moreover, the mediating effect of brand image and the moderating effect of being a smart shopper were analyzed. Perceived quality was found to have an impact on brand image, although brand image did not have a direct significant effect on WTP and therefore, not suitable as a mediator. Finally, smart shopper dimensions were better understood in the context of fashion, but also not eligible as moderator. The present study adds to the existing literature of the fashion and smart shopper with theoretical and managerial implications that help better understand consumer behavior towards the fashion industry.A Moda é inegavelmente, uma das maiores e mais lucrativas indústrias com expectativas de crescimento positivo. Apesar de ser geralmente aceite, ao longo dos últimos anos, esta indústria tem sido altamente criticada. Desde o consumo excessivo de recursos naturais, às condições de trabalho precárias, à elevada pegada ambiental e aos problemas com propriedade intelectual, apenas para mencionar alguns. Tudo isto, levou a que as tivessem de adotar práticas mais sustentáveis, de modo a responder às exigências dos consumidores mais atentos. No entanto, existe uma divergência entre a perceção dos consumidores de “fast” e “slow fashion” e os atos de consumo. Neste sentido, esta dissertação, pretende estudar quatro marcas, com diferentes níveis de perceção de qualidade e de modelos de moda diferentes, e o seu impacto na disponibilidade a pagar. Os resultados evidenciam que estas dimensões impactam a disposição a pagar do consumidor. Adicionalmente, o efeito de mediação da imagem da marca foi analisado, bem como o efeito moderador de ser um consumidor ponderado e inteligente. Dado os resultados, cabe concluir que a perceção de qualidade impacta a imagem da marca apesar da imagem da marca não impactar a disposição a pagar e, consequentemente, não ser um mediador. Finalmente, as dimensões de ser um consumidor inteligente foram estudadas e concluiu-se que este conceito não é considerado um moderador. Esta dissertação contribui para a literatura existente sobre a indústria da moda e na definição de consumidor ponderado e inteligente bem como identifica implicações que auxiliam a compreensão do comportamento do consumidor

Factors Affecting the Impulse Purchase Intentions for Luxury Pret

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of advertising cues, attitude, perceived price, and subjective norms on the impulse purchase intentions in the context of fashion pret. This study incorporated survey method for data collection and the 386 personally administered questionnaire were distributed among visitors from three high customer traffic malls in the provincial capital of the Province Punjab Lahore. However, 272 responses were used in SPSS 25 and Smart PLS-3 for data analysis. The result found that advertising cues, customer attitude, perceived price and subjective norms showed significantly positive impact on the impulse purchase intentions in the context of fashion pret. Further, this study offers contribution towards brand managers and advertisers particularly in the field of fashion industry. Policy makers may also find important references from this study to develop policy guidelines. Moreover, this study discussed some limitations while performing this research. Finally, this article offers future research suggestions for further development in this area.

Investigating the Causes and Consequences of Brand Attachment of Luxury Fashion Brand: the Role of Gender, Age, and Income

In recent years, luxury fashion brands have experienced drastic growth. This study examines how hedonic motivation, self-image congruence, brand experience, and brand attachment are interrelated factors driving the purchase intention of industrial luxury fashion brands. Our research aims to construct a consumer behaviour model to complete the hedonic motivation process, which influences brand attachment and is influenced by demographic factors. The research model will fully predict the proposed model to examine the effect of gender, age, and income. The survey was conducted in Indonesia with a sample of 324 respondents. Multiple group analysis SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) was used to test the model across samples. The results reveal substantial consumer behaviour disparities based on respondents' gender, age, and income level. Research findings can aid the luxury brand industry, particularly the fashion industry, in comprehending demographic differences. It is crucial to develop specific marketing strategies to promote luxury brands, influencing consumers' purchase intentions

Sustainable Textile Marketing

We know that sustainability has become an important topic in every aspect of life. The textile, fashion, and material industries must also be sustainable, which could be imparted in their development, production, or even marketing. The textile industry has a huge market, as clothing is arguably the most important human need after food. Recently, this industry has been labeled as a polluting industry, a label that could be overcome by the proper development of textile goods and careful marketing strategies. There are specific roles that government, entrepreneurs, and even universities can play in properly educating people to make the textile industry cleaner and greener. Several journals focus only on one of the aspects of this key problem, i.e., the production of sustainable materials, textile education, or textile marketing. However, herein, we strive to bring different areas together on one platform to cover different aspects, i.e., production, policy, education, and marketing related to textile fashion and textile materials