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The purpose of this research was to examine the relative importance of socially responsible attitudes, along with catalogue shopping involvement and product‐related attributes, as predictors of consumers' intentions to purchase apparel. Data were collected through a mail questionnaire to randomly selected customers of an alternative trade catalogue; the 320 respondents represented a 67 per cent response rate. Data were analysed by a maximum‐likelihood estimation procedure using LISREL VII. The proposed model exhibited good fit to the data as evidenced by chi‐square, GFI, AGFI, and RMS measures. Social responsibility, desire for individuality in dress and shopping involvement were all positive predictors of intention to purchase apparel. Desire for individuality exerted the greatest influence, followed by attitudes toward social responsibility.

This research was designed to generate inductively distinguishable clusters of ethnic apparel consumers; theoretical propositions describing these clusters were intended as a comparative benchmark for further research as a guidance for marketing of ethnic apparel to definable consumer segments. Data were collected from a nationwide mail survey (n = 348) of ethnic apparel consumers. Clothing benefits, attitudes toward alternative trading organisations, beliefs about world issues, personal values, patronage commitment, and demographic characteristics were measured. Consumer clusters were formed and analysed through principal component, cluster, MANOVA, ANOVA and chi square analysis. Two distinguishable clusters emerged with salient differences relative to creativity and individuality, culture‐specific versus pancultural focus, body size and camouflage, interest in fashion, hedonic experience and design complexity. Recommendations for further research and for marketing to multiple consumer segments were offered.

The purpose of this study is to invoke a consumer socialization approach to compare mothers and tween daughters on variables that may shape their clothing preferences and consumption behaviors. Additionally, this study explored the variables that predict how mothers and daughters respond to Pretty Brainy, an online clothing company that incorporates prosocial messaging into its product design and marketing.

Data were collected from 106 mother-daughter pairs using an online survey. In completing the survey, participants were instructed to view and evaluate the Pretty Brainy brand web site and clothing.

Mothers and daughters assigned similar degrees of importance to several clothing characteristics – including aesthetics/design, comfort, fit, use of socially responsible construction/production methods, and use of high performance technology – providing support for the consumer socialization model. Mothers and daughters were not similar on all clothing constructs explored, however, differing on the importance of some clothing characteristics examined (notably, brand name), as well as past socially responsible clothing purchase behavior, clothing involvement, and proximity of clothing to self. These differences may be explained in part by the mothers’ and daughters’ respective life stages. Among both mothers and daughters, attitude toward brand was the strongest predictor of purchase intention toward Pretty Brainy, which is consistent with established models of the attitude-intention relationship.

This study provides understanding about the influence of mothers upon tween girls’ clothing consumption behaviors, helping to clarify inconsistencies in prior work as well as lending new insights into the role of mothers in socializing their daughters with respect to socially responsible clothing consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ responses to prosocial marketing claims presented on apparel hang tags. Guided by the theory of reasoned of action, this study examined the impact of varied prosocial claims (environment, labor, cancer charity) upon college students’ evaluations of hang tags used to promote university-branded apparel (i.e. t-shirts) as well as their attitudes and patronage intentions toward the apparel.

An intercept survey approach, with an experimental design component, was used to administer a written questionnaire to 262 college students. The experimental design component required participants to examine a university-branded t-shirt and to read the information provided on the product hang tag attached to the t-shirt.

In total, 60 percent of college students read apparel hang tags on a very frequent or frequent basis to gain information about brand name, care instructions, and fiber content. Further, college students evaluated apparel hang tags featuring prosocial marketing claims more positively than they evaluated hang tags with no prosocial marketing claim. In turn, these evaluations positively predicted the amount of money students were willing to pay for a university-branded t-shirt as well as their attitudes and purchase intentions toward university-branded apparel.

Findings suggest that apparel companies engaged in socially responsible business practices may wish to develop hang tags that address both desired product attributes as well as company engagement in prosocial initiatives.

This study extends the understanding of the role that prosocial marketing claims play in informing consumer's attitudes and behaviors relative to apparel.