The influence of ethical trading policies on consumer apparel purchase decisions

Purpose – To explore the extent to which consumers' ethical concerns impact upon apparel purchase decisions and highlight the value of The Gap's corporate code of conduct in meeting these concerns.Design/methodology/approach – Face‐to‐face questionnaires were conducted with Scottish consumers in February 2003. Respondents were recruited from central shopping areas using a convenience sampling method.Findings – Despite consumers possessing a high level of awareness of ethical issues, results reveal that factors such as price, quality and style have a greater influence on their apparel purchase behaviour than their concerns about the ethical practices of the supplier.Research limitations/implications – As the study was exploratory in nature and consisted of Scottish consumers only, generalisations of the results should be approached with some caution.Practical implications – Provides a useful insight into The Gap's corporate code of conduct and the extent to which such codes meet the ethical concerns of con...

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