Joy M. Kozar and Kim Y. Hiller Connell
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between social and environmental responsibility knowledge, attitudes, and purchasing behavior.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between social and environmental responsibility knowledge, attitudes, and purchasing behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge of, and attitudes towards, issues of social responsibility, including social and environmental aspects related to the production and distribution of apparel and textile goods. Information regarding engagement in socially and environmentally responsible apparel‐purchasing behavior was also collected. Participants included students enrolled at a four‐year institution located in the Midwestern USA.
Findings
Participants indicated being more knowledgeable about apparel environmental issues as compared to apparel social issues. Overall, participants exhibited low involvement in socially and environmentally responsible apparel‐purchasing behavior. However, both knowledge and attitudes of social and environmental issues were significant predictors of socially and environmentally responsible purchasing behavior.
Practical implications
Given the competition among apparel companies operating in the marketplace, this study lends valuable insight for firms in implementing strategic social and environmental practices and policies. The implications of this study also suggest that firms within the industry may need to respond to the barriers perceived by consumers in engaging in sustainable apparel‐purchasing behavior.
Originality/value
The findings of this study are useful in understanding the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Previous research on this topic has been inconclusive. A thorough examination of this topic is important, as noted by previous scholars, consumers have the ability to effect change in the marketplace through their purchasing behavior.
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Kim Y. Hiller Connell and Joy M. Kozar
The purpose of this paper is to analyze changes in undergraduate student knowledge of issues of sustainability relevant to the apparel and textiles industry. Assessment occurred…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze changes in undergraduate student knowledge of issues of sustainability relevant to the apparel and textiles industry. Assessment occurred prior to and upon completion of a course that addressed topics specific to the global production and distribution of apparel and textile goods. The study also examined modifications in students' reported apparel purchasing behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants included those in their third, fourth or fifth year of undergraduate education in the apparel and textile discipline at a higher education institution located in the Midwestern USA. All participants were enrolled in a course focused on globalization and the apparel and textile industry. Measures used to assess students' knowledge of social and environmental sustainability issues related to the industry and their apparel purchasing behavior were included in the research instrument.
Findings
Pre and post comparisons revealed significant changes in students' knowledge of social and environmental issues relevant to the apparel and textile industry. However, the study found no significant adjustments in apparel purchasing behavior. Further, a post hoc analysis revealed no significant relationship between students' knowledge and their reported purchasing behavior.
Originality/value
Limited resources exist which examine methods for educating apparel and textile students about sustainability issues, with even less research documented on assessing the effectiveness of these methods. The paper analyzes the contributions sustainability‐focused curriculum can make in modifying the level of knowledge and purchasing behavior of students and recommends further strategies to yield possibly even greater results.
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Joy M. Kozar and Sara B. Marcketti
The purpose of this study is to measure undergraduate students' ethical and materialistic values, and the correlation of these variables with the purchase of counterfeit apparel…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to measure undergraduate students' ethical and materialistic values, and the correlation of these variables with the purchase of counterfeit apparel products.
Design/methodology/approach
Students (n=741) were surveyed via an online method. Instrument items from the Muncy‐Vitell consumer ethics scale and the values‐oriented materialism scale ascertained students' values of ethics and materialism. Previous purchasing behavior of counterfeit apparel goods was also assessed.
Findings
A significant relationship between materialism and ethics was found. Those participants who reported to be more ethical in their decision making were those that held less materialistic values. Ethics and materialism were also significantly related to the purchase behavior of counterfeit apparel goods. Consumers holding stronger ethical values and who were less materialistic were less likely to report purchasing counterfeit apparel products.
Practical implications
Findings are useful in understanding the values orientation of consumers who purchase counterfeit apparel goods. Segmenting consumer groups of varying ethical beliefs and materialistic tendencies and targeting them through appropriate marketing messages could be successful in encouraging greater socially responsible purchase behavior.
Originality/value
Since purchasing counterfeit products is specifically a consumption activity related to brand prestige and image, it seems plausible that a relationship between an individual's materialistic values and purchase behavior of counterfeit apparel goods could exist. Moreover, given previous findings that more materialistic consumers also tend to be less ethically‐minded, exploring the relationship between consumers' ethical perceptions and their purchase behavior of counterfeit products is useful.
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Joy M. Kozar and Mary Lynn Damhorst
The purpose of this study is to examine if older female consumers prefer apparel advertising models more closely resembling their age.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine if older female consumers prefer apparel advertising models more closely resembling their age.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample for this study consisted of 163 women between the ages of 60 and 80. Full‐color photographs of fashion models were presented as stimuli. A questionnaire measuring participants' beliefs about the models, purchase intentions, perceived similarity with the models, and perceived fashionability of the model's clothing was used.
Findings
Participants perceived older looking models to be more attractive than younger models and indicated more likelihood of purchasing the clothing worn by the older models. Participants who perceived more similarity to the models also had more positive beliefs about the model's appearance and attractiveness, indicated a greater willingness to purchase the model's clothing, and perceived the model's clothing to be more fashionable.
Practical implications
This study suggests that incorporating older looking models in fashion advertisements is a useful strategy in marketing to the mature market.
Originality/value
Many researchers have noted the opportunities and challenges in segmenting older consumers. This paper contributes to an understanding of effective marketing tactics used to appeal to older women. Identifying these strategies is significant given the increasing size and spending power of the mature market.
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Wendy D. Barnes and Joy M. Kozar
The purpose of this commentary is to examine the prevalence in which pregnant women are exploited in the production of apparel goods.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this commentary is to examine the prevalence in which pregnant women are exploited in the production of apparel goods.
Design/methodology/approach
The labor laws of four countries, including China, Mexico, Nicaragua and the Philippines, are assessed and discussed in relation to cases of documented abuse occurring against pregnant women working in the garment industry in these four countries.
Findings
An analysis and consensus of the literature reveals that although all four countries have established labor laws to protect workers, pregnant women continually face abuse and discrimination in the garment industry. Many forms of exploitation occur, including forced abortions, unpaid and/or required overtime, lack of adequate benefits, unfair hiring and promotion practices, and forced job assignments requiring intense physical labor which proves detrimental to the health and well‐being of the worker and unborn child.
Originality/value
Labor abuses in the production of apparel goods are often widely espoused as a result of media campaigns executed by human rights and labor organizations. The focus of such movements, however, is often on the disregard for child labor laws, workers' rights to join unions, and minimum wage violations. Less focus has centered on the treatment of pregnant women in the production of apparel goods. In an attempt to educate consumers, industry and academic professionals, this paper addresses the issue of discriminatory abuses occurring against pregnant women in the garment industry.
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Sara B. Marcketti and Joy M. Kozar
For the continued vitality and success of small businesses, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the effective behaviors of small business owners. The main purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
For the continued vitality and success of small businesses, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the effective behaviors of small business owners. The main purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of the relational leadership framework as used by a successful small business owner.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on the small business owner participating in this study were gathered via formal and informal interviews.
Findings
Results of this paper suggest that the profit potential of an organization as well as employee retention can be improved through leadership that embraces the five key components of the relational leadership framework: inclusiveness, empowerment, purposefulness, ethics, and process‐orientation.
Practical implications
Given the challenges of owning and operating a small firm in today's competitive business climate, it is worthwhile for entrepreneurs to use this case study as an example in effectively managing their organizations.
Originality/value
An important contribution of this paper is the identification of strategies related to the relational leadership framework as applied to the small business environment.
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Amira Mukendi, Iain Davies, Sarah Glozer and Pierre McDonagh
The sustainable fashion (SF) literature is fragmented across the management discipline, leaving the path to a SF future unclear. As of yet, there has not been an attempt to bring…
Abstract
Purpose
The sustainable fashion (SF) literature is fragmented across the management discipline, leaving the path to a SF future unclear. As of yet, there has not been an attempt to bring these insights together or to more generally explore the question of “what is known about SF in the management literature and where could the SF field go from there?”. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the field to identify opportunities for societal impact and further research.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted from the first appearances of SF in the management literature in 2000 up to papers published in June 2019, which resulted in 465 included papers.
Findings
The results illustrate that SF research is largely defined by two approaches, namely, pragmatic change and radical change. The findings reveal seven research streams that span across the discipline to explore how organisational and consumer habits can be shaped for the future.
Research limitations/implications
What is known about SF is constantly evolving, therefore, the paper aims to provide a representative sample of the state of SF in management literature to date.
Practical implications
This review provides decision makers with insights that have been synthesised from across the management field.
Originality/value
This review identifies knowledge gaps and informs managerial decision making in the field, particularly through serving as a foundation for further research.
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Vaughan Reimers, Bryce Magnuson and Fred Chao
Despite supposed widespread consumer support for ethical clothing, it still often fails to translate into actual purchase. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite supposed widespread consumer support for ethical clothing, it still often fails to translate into actual purchase. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the way in which academics have defined and measured ethical clothing could account for this.
Design/methodology/approach
An over reliance on convenience sampling and the use of student samples has also been touted as a possible reason for this attitude-behaviour gap. To address this, this study employed a consumer household sample. It also used a quantitative survey approach to collect its data and structural equation modelling to analyse it.
Findings
In contrast to the way in which academics have conceptualised the construct, consumer perceptions of ethical clothing were found to be influenced by four dimensions: environmental responsibility, employee welfare, animal welfare and slow fashion attributes.
Originality/value
Ethical clothing has typically been operationalised using just two of these four dimensions. Ironically, one of the two dimensions often overlooked by academics – animal welfare – had the strongest influence on consumer perceptions. Previous academic efforts had never employed more than three dimensions, and yet the results of this study suggest that all four must be present if an item of clothing is to be regarded as “ethical”.