• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.424-438
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• 2013

This study examines the value, knowledge and sustainable consumption behavior of fashion consumers. The study shows that universalism/harmony, security/benevolence, power, and tradition/faith have positive effects on buying/usage behavior; however, hedonism/wealth has a negative effect. Stimulation/self-direction and universalism/harmony positively influence boycott behavior; however, power has a negative influence. Universalism/harmony and politeness have positive impacts on care/disposing behavior. Consumer knowledge about fashion related environmental problems, labor practices, ethical issues and sustainable environment knowledge influence sustainable buying/usage behavior; in addition, knowledge about ethical issues and sustainable environmental problems positively influence boycott and care/disposing behavior. Moreover, there were significant differences in values, knowledge, and consumption behavior by age.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.57-71
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• 2019

This study intended to analyze the ethical clothing consumption behavior of female adolescents and use it as a basic data for education. Specifically, the female adolescents were classified according to their shopping orientation and then the differences among these groups were examined in terms of their ethical consumption behavior of clothing products, i.e., buying, using and disposing. As a result, three groups were identified: pleasure-seeking, intermediate, independence pursuing according to the shopping orientation sub-factors (loyal, enjoyment, impulsive, imitative and independent). The pleasure-seeking group were more likely to conduct ethical use behavior of clothing products, while the independence-pursuing group conducted more ethical buying and ethical disposing behavior. The lower their desire to enjoy shopping itself, the more cautious they are about their own decisions, and the more confident they about buying from the brand and store they liked, the more likely they were to conduct ethical buying behavior of clothing products. On the other hand, when the emotional and desire-seeking tendencies are combined with independent shopping tendencies, the more likely they conduct ethical use behaviors. In addition, the more they make independent purchasing decisions, the more likely they are to conduct ethical disposal behaivors. The results of this study suggest that providing detailed consumer education that considers individual differences in shopping orientation is needed.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.505-526
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• 2012

The purpose of this research is to investigate changes in ethical consumption practices after taking an undergraduate course 'Consumption and Ethics'. Through Qualitative & Quantitative research methods, students' pre-course and post-course attitudes were compared to understand changes in behavior. Before taking the course 'Consumption and Ethics', undergraduate participants displayed little regard for ethical consumption, instead displaying primary sensitivity to price and values based on self-centered and conspicuous consumption. After taking the course 'Consumption and Ethics', participants displayed a more altruistic awareness of consumption on society and the environment. In addition, participants displayed a stronger sense of pride as ethical consumer. These emerging values were contrasted with conflicting feelings resulting from the higher prices often associated with ethical products, feelings of regret resulting from ethically-based impulse purchases, and an inability to categorically evaluate the reliability of available information on the ethical products. However, participants demonstrated a willingness to practice ethical consumption and recommend ethical consumption to their friends and neighbors. Overall, participants in the study demonstrated a strong shift to be an ethical consumer as a result of taking the course 'Consumption and Ethics'.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.37-48
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• 2020

Purpose: There has been an increasing focus on consumer ethics by researchers and practitioners alike with the former seeking to examine the general discrepancy between ethical attitude, intention and actual behaviour by proposing behavioural measures to understand ethical consumption. Research into the effects of generational cohorts and gender, two fundamental demographic factors that shape the consumer habituated repertoire, on consumer ethics has reported mixed findings. The present study investigates if there are differences in ethical consumer behavior by generational cohorts and by gender in the context of an emerging market - Vietnam. Research design, data and methodology: Data was collected using a quantitative survey (a link to the questionnaire was posted on relevant social media platforms). A total of 539 usable responses was used for ANOVAs and independent t-tests to test the hypotheses. Results: a) There are significant differences in terms of ethical consumer behavior between Gen Z and Gens Y/X, but no difference between Gen X and Gen Y; b) There is no gender difference in ethically minded consumer behavior. Conclusion: For consumer ethics, generational effects may be moderated by macroeconomic conditions, while gender alone as a biological variable may not be a reliable predictor.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.294-301
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of food neophobia on food choice motives, such as health concern, weight control, ethical concern, and vegetable consumption. A total of 290 questionnaires were completed. Moderated regression analysis was used to measure the moderating effects of food neophobia. Results demonstrated Model 3 to be the best fit, compared to Model 1 and Model 2. In Model 3, the effects of health concern and food neophobia on vegetable consumption were statistically significant (p<0.01). However, the effects of weight control and ethical concern on vegetable consumption were not statistically significant (p>0.05). As expected, the combination of health concern and food neophobia had a significant effect on vegetable consumption (p<0.05). However, weight control and food neophobia, and ethical concern and food neophobia had no significant effects on vegetable consumption (p>0.05). Moreover, health concern related to vegetable consumption was statistically significant at all levels of food neophobia, except, when level of food neophobia was high (p<0.001). In developing and testing moderated regression models, which integrate relationship among food neophobia, health concern, weight control, ethical concern and vegetable consumption in the future, this study may provide a deeper understanding of the complex relationship among vegetable consumption behavior-related variables.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1956-1964
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• 2009

Understanding ethical fashion consumers in Korea is essential for the expansion of the ethical fashion market. This study analyzed ethical consumers in Korea in an examination of the factors that influence ethical purchase behavior and attitudes. The differences between ethical fashion consumers and non-ethical fashion consumers were investigated using eight variables (perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), self-direction, benevolence, universalism, social responsibility, perceived behavioral control, face saving, and group conformity). Data were collected by means of a questionnaire through both on-line and off-line surveys from April 20 to June 7, 2009. Only the respondents knowledgeable of ethical products or ethical consumption were asked to complete the questionnaire. A total of 494 samples were used for analyses. Using independent samples t-test, the differences in each variable between two groups were examined. There were significant differences between ethical fashion consumers and non-ethical fashion consumers in attitudes toward ethical consumption behavior, behavioral intention, PCE, self-direction, universalism, social responsibility, and face saving variables. The factors influencing attitude and behavior intention were investigated by step-wise regression analyses. For ethical fashion consumers, the attitudes to ethical consumption behavior were largely influenced by PCE and benevolence. Social responsibility was the most predictable variable in guiding behavioral intention. Behavioral intention was also influenced by benevolence and attitude. Group conformity was found to be negatively correlated with behavioral intention. The findings of this study provide significant guidance for marketers of ethical fashion products. This study is the start of ethical fashion consumer research in Korea and can develop into variable subfields in the future.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.125-139
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• 2018

This study explores determinants of purchase intentions for vegan fashion products based on the modified planned behavior model. Survey data from 434 university students were subjected to an analysis using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The results showed that almost half of the consumers surveyed recognized vegan fashion products and a little more than a half of consumers surveyed had purchase experience for vegan fashion products. Clothing, bags, and shoes are the most frequently purchased vegan fashion product categories. From the results of the model test, purchase intentions on vegan fashion products were determined by attitude, subjective norms, ethical responsibility, and ethical identity of the consumers. When consumers have a more positive attitude, have higher subjective norms, stronger ethical responsibility, and stronger ethical identity regarding the purchase of vegan fashion products, they are likely to have a greater intention to purchase vegan fashion products. The findings contribute to the literature by adding test results for vegan fashion products among the ethical product categories, highlighting the importance of the consideration of product category, which can give somewhat different results when exploring ethical consumption. Based on these findings, marketers need to use special tags or signage highlighting the ethical values and meanings of vegan fashion products to better communicate with target consumers with a high level of ethical responsibility and to help increase consumers' control over purchase behaviors through reducing barriers generated by insufficient product information.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.69-87
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• 2014

This research is to develop ethical clothes consumption education program that adopts PBL which is student centered professor-learning method where the learner actively participates in lessons to recognize problems and solve them. This research also tried to see the changes in the students' ethical clothes consumption awareness and problem solving skills and self-directed learning ability after applying this program to lessons. With total of four study topic, seven ethical clothes consumption education programs were developed, and the actual lesson was conducted in controlled group and experiment group. Summary of this research is as followed: First, ethical clothes consumption education program was developed using PBL. Second, teenagers' ethical clothes consumption awareness increased much more than before the course. As both the control group and the experiment group were proven to have high ethical clothes consumption involvement and awareness, it was possible to confirm there is a need for systematic and continuous consumption education at school. Third, when a post test on changes in problem solving ability and self-directed learning ability after applying PBL based ethical clothes consumption education program was conducted, students' problem solving ability was enhanced and both factors, the awareness and behavior of self-directed learning, showed significant difference.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.38-57
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• 2024

This study utilizes social big data to investigate the factors influencing the awareness, attitude, and behavior toward vegan fashion consumption among global and Korean consumers. Social media posts containing the keyword "vegan fashion" were gathered, and meaningful discourse patterns were identified using semantic network analysis and sentiment analysis. The study revealed that diverse factors guide the purchase of vegan fashion products within global consumer groups, while among Korean consumers, the predominant discourse involved the concepts of veganism and ethics, indicating a heightened awareness of vegan fashion. The research then delved into the factors underpinning awareness (comprehension of animal exploitation, environmental concerns, and alternative materials), attitudes (both positive and negative), and behaviors (exploration, rejection, advocacy, purchase decisions, recommendations, utilization, and disposal). Global consumers placed great significance on product-related information, whereas Korean consumers prioritized ethical integrity and reasonable pricing. In addition, environmental issues stemming from synthetic fibers emerged as a significant factor influencing the awareness, attitude, and behavior regarding vegan fashion consumption. Further, this study confirmed the potential presence of cultural disparities influencing overall awareness, attitude, and behavior concerning the acceptance of vegan fashion, and offers insights into vegan fashion marketing strategies tailored to specific cultures, aiming to provide vegan fashion companies and brands with a deeper understanding of their consumer base.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.61-72
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of climate change cognition on clothing behavior of fashion consumers to understand the impact of climate change on the fashion system. An online survey was conducted of 385 people in their 20s-50s working in the fashion industry as well as general consumers. Data collected from surveys were analyzed by factor analysis and t-test. Results are as follow: First, climate change cognition consists of four sub-dimensions, which are 'knowledge of climate change' and 'recognition of climate change in Korea'. Second, clothing behavior related with climate change consists of six sub-dimensions, which are 'environmentally-friendly fashion purchases', 'new clothes-wearing style affected by climate change', 'ethical fashion consumption', 'pursuit of functional fashion', 'pursuit of seasonless fashion', and 'clothes-wearing in response to climate change.' Last, the group with higher cognition of climate change than the group with lesser cognition had significantly higher degree of trying new styles created because of climate change, making ethical fashion purchases, pursuing functional fashion, and wearing clothes in response to climate change.