Ethical consumerism of clothing

Abstract

This thesis concerns the Finnish consumers buying habbits of clothing and the effect of ethical production in it. The thesis examines the concepts of business ethics, clothing industry, consumer behavior and ethical consumerism. The theoretical framework for this thesis is Carroll’s CSRpyramid and compares the buying decision process of ethical consumers around the world and Finland.

The empirical framework of this thesis applies the sequential explatory design, where both qualitative and quantitative data collection were used. First two clothing industry professionals were interviewed so that the questionnaire would be formulated correctly. Then a questionnaire survey was conducted and it targeted the Finnish consumers. The results show that a vast majority of Finnish consumers do not consider ethics as an important factor when making a purchase decision. They also show that consumers value quality, price and aesthetics above all and that brand has little or no impact. The results also show that Finnish consumers wouldn’t buy unethical clothing or atleast would be on the edge, if they would be 100% sure it was unethical and if the situation would arise. The results also show that Finnish consumers are also willing to pay more for products they know are ethical.