• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.66 no.7
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• pp.17-33
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• 2016

Consumption of faux fur is a part of ethical consumption, and is valuable in terms of protecting and caring for animals. The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of consuming faux fur (i.e., characteristics of faux fur consumption and how consumers relate faux fur with ethical issues) from the perspective of consumer culture theory. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with those who have purchased faux fur. Two overarching themes emerged in regards to consuming faux fur, altruistic and egoistic orientation. Regarding the altruistic orientation, participants were sympathetic to animals, and considered consumption as part of practicing social responsibility and ethics. Participants had concerns for animal rights and conflicts with others who consumed actual fur. They viewed faux fur as an alternative to actual fur. Regarding egoistic orientation, participants isolated themselves from ethical issues in order to be free from guilt. Despite the preference for actual fur, they compromised between their desire and social criticism. Furthermore, their intention was to pretend as if they were wearing actual fur or move onto a completely different style, and had a negative outlook on social change regarding the adoption of faux fur. The findings contribute to a better understanding of consumer culture of consuming faux fur. Further research on diverse aspects of ethical consumption is warranted.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.390-407
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• 2021

The study aims to assess the current status of sustainable clothing habits from the perspective of consumers. Awareness and management behavior regarding microplastics from fashion products and usage of fleece and faux fur were investigated. A random online survey involving 413 women was conducted to figure out their perceptions on microplastics that are shedded from fashion products such as fleece and faux fur. The results indicate that 73.6% were not aware of the fact that microplastic is released during the washing process of fleece and faux fur. Furthermore, only 26.6% of the respondents who were aware of microplastics from clothing washing were making efforts to reduce its emission. The respondents considered product sustainability more in the selection stage than in the management stage (p<.001). The results revealed that, although the respondents were highly aware of the risk of environmental pollution that microplastics pose, they were neither fully cognizant of the fact that microplastics may come from fashion products, nor did they make efforts to reduce its emissions. Compared with respondents in their 20's, respondents in the age of 30-40 years seemed more aware of microplastics from fashion products and exerted more effort to reduce its emission.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.144-158
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• 2017

Fur garment has long been the conventional symbol for luxury, or conspicuous consumption. However, as fashion items began to diversify as part of overall fashion trend, fur items are now more about individual taste and style than just lavishness. Synthetic fur is especially emerging as a new promising fashion material, with a touch almost like natural fur at an affordable price. Along with the emergence of 'Vegan Fashion' trend, synthetic fur is establishing itself as a popular fashion textile. This study is an attempt to investigate subjective evaluation and physical properties of natural and synthetic furs, whose results will further serve as basic data in developing synthetic fur materials. Sensory and emotional evaluations are carried out on natural and artificial furs. For analysis, factors such as weight, thickness, air permeability, gloss and compressibility were surveyed to observe how they influence the physical properties. According to the subjective evaluation, natural and artificial fur samples do not differ in conspicuous ways in appearance. Experiments on physical properties, specifically warm/cool touch experiment, show that natural fur has a slightly higher warm sensation than artificial fur. Luster analysis by using a microscope revealed that there are subtle qualitative differences between natural and artificial fur. During the subjective evaluation, subjects found it hard to state distinct quantitative differences in luster. A survey as a means of assessing qualitative differences in gloss seems to be necessary to complement the evaluation. Results from this study will potentially serve as resources for diversification of fashion product designs using synthetic fur.