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DISSERTATION

THE IMPACT OF ETHICAL BUSINESS

PRACTICES ON CONSUMER

BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THE BRANDS

OF CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN THE

UNITED KINGDOM

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor xxxxxxx, forsupporting and guiding throughout the research module, without who myresearch would not be possible. I would like to thank tutors at Coventry

University London that have granted me with valuable knowledge, which hassupported my dissertation.

Finally I would like to thank those who have participated in my research andbought value by giving their responses to conduct this paper.

Abstract

This research determines the impact of ethical practices on consumer

behavior in U.K clothing industry. The main aim of this research is to identifythe present ethical and unethical practices that take place in the U.K clothingindustry; examine the impact of ethical practices on the brand reputation andhow the CSR contributes to customer decision-making process when

purchasing clothing.

Research follows an interpretivism philosophy that explores social

phenomena of consumer behaviour, through inductive approach using

grounded theory in the time frame of ten weeks. The data collection methodthat was used in the study is qualitative, using semi-structured interview

questions collected from eight students from a number of different courses atCoventry University London that investigate the nature of consumer behaviour

towards ethics in the clothing industry.

The findings of this research have highlighted the growing ethical trend

among consumers which pay careful attention to the clothing choice; the

reputation has determined a significant factor that is influenced by the ethicalscheme of the brand which can be damaged if was found to have a negativeimpact of stakeholders; CSR represents a driver and demand that persuadesconsumers to make the purchasing decision towards socially committed

brand.

Limitations of this research include the sample size of respondents that maynot represent to a larger group of consumers when analyzing the social

factors affecting decision making towards ethical brands.

This research investigates the ethical practices of brands that influence

consumer attitude and decision-making that has a significant impact on thereputation and brand image of a business operating in clothing industry.

Table of Contents

Chapter ONE: Introduction 7

1.1 Research Background 71.2 Rationale of the research ....................................................................... 81.3 Research question and Objectives ......................................................... 91.3.1Research question: .............................................................................. 91.3.2Objectives ............................................................................................. 91.4 Dissertation structure ........................................................................... 10

Chapter TWO: Literature review 10

2.1 Key concepts 112.2 Related Theories and Theoretical Models ............................................ 13

2.2.1 Three Levels of Business Ethics 132.2.2 Corporate Ethics of a business ...................................................... 142.2.3 The role of ethics in Organizational Culture Framework ................ 152.2.4 Model of Business Ethics ............................................................... 172.2.5 A model of CSR Actions in Relation to Consumer Behavior .......... 182.3 Empirical Study .................................................................................... 19

2.3.1 Ethical and Unethical practices that are present in clothing industry................................................................................................................ 192.3.2 Relationship between corporate ethics and brand reputation ........ 212.3.3 Corporate Social Responsibility as a part of consumer behavior ... 22

CHAPTER THREE: Research Design 24

3.1 Research Philosophy 253.2 Research Approach .............................................................................. 263.3 Research Strategy ................................................................................ 273.4 Qualitative research ............................................................................. 283.5 Data Collection method ........................................................................ 29

3.5.1 Semi-structured interview 293.5.2 Non-probability sampling ............................................................... 313.6 Reliability and Validity .......................................................................... 323.7 Research Ethics ................................................................................... 33

3.8 Limitations 34

CHATPTER FOUR: Findings 35

4.1 Ethical and unethical business practices in U.K clothing industry 35

4.1.1 Ethical Practices 354.1.2 Unethical practices ........................................................................ 374.1.3 Ethical changes in clothing industry ............................................... 384.2 Reputation and ethical behaviour: ........................................................ 39

4.2.1 Relation between unethical business behaviour and consumer

attitude 394.2.2 Reputation and recommendation of purchase ............................... 404.3 Corporate Social Responsibility ............................................................ 414.3.1 CSR for clothing brands from consumer perspective ........................ 41

4.3.2 Transparency as a part of CSR 424.3.3 Impact of charity and donations on consumer ............................... 434.3.4 Impact of CSR on price increase ................................................... 44

CHAPTER FIVE: Analysis 45

5.1 Ethical and unethical practices in U.K clothing industry 45

5.3 Corporate Social Responsibility and consumer purchasing decision 48

CHAPTER SIX: Conclusion and Recommendations 50

6.1 Conclusion 506.2 Recommendations ............................................................................... 52

References 54

Appendix 1: Ethics Checklist 65

Appendix 2: Consent Form 70

Appendix 3: Participant Information Sheet 72

Appendix 4: Cover letter 74

Appendix 4: Meeting Diary 75

Appendix 5: Interview Questions 77

Appendix 6: Transcript of interview 78

List of Figures

Figure 1. Dissertation Structure 10Figure 2. Three levels of Business Ethics (Solomon , 1991) .......................... 13Figure 2.1 Corporate Ethics of a Business (Kaplan,2016) ............................. 14Figure 2.2 The role of Ethics in Organizational Culture (Ferrell, 2012) .......... 15Figure 2.3 Corporate Reputation Framework' (Isherwood, 2012) .................. 16Figure 2.4 Model of Business Ethics (Svensson and Wood, 2008) ............... 17Figure 2.6 Model of CSR action in relation to consumer behaviour (Trudel,

2011) 18Figure 3 Research Onion (Saunders, 2011) .................................................. 25Figure 5.1 Three levels of business ethics (Solomon, 1991) ......................... 47Figure 5.2 Corporate Reputation Framework (Isherwood, 2012) ................... 47Figure 5.3 Model of CSR action in relation to consumer behaviour (Trudel,

2011) 49

List of Tables

Table 1.Unethical practices (Mandal, 2010; Pozgar, 2012; Wilkinson, 2010;

Green, 2013; Friedrichs, 2009) 12Table 2. Ethical practices ( ............................................................................. 12Table 3 Sampling specification ...................................................................... 32

Chapter ONE: Introduction

This chapter presents the introduction of ethical and business practices intodays clothing retail business, including the research background, rationale ofthe research, research question and objectives and finally the structure of thedissertation.

1.1 Research Background

The number of consumers that involve in the background story of their clothingpurchase is increasing. The concern is focused on many aspects including: theoriginal source of material and suppliers of their clothing brand, making themconcerned about the transparency and ethical stance of organizations (Arnold,2009). Many clothing brands today are accused of using hazardous chemicalsincluding formaldehyde and nonylphenol ethoxylate; which can causenumerous health dangerous including cancer (Shen, 2012; Rozas, 2017).

Unethical practices of brands are a common news headline in the social media.

In the past years the companies operating in clothing industry have faces thecriticism from the public, these include small incidence to large scandals(Minwir, 2016). From the short-term perspective these unethical actions lead tonegative brand image, however in the long term this will ruin the brandsreputation and decline the revenue (Holmes, 2011).

One of the recent reports of Financial Times indicates the a famous British retailcompany –Primark – that involved in a disaster accruing in Bangladesh wherethe factory has collapsed due to terrible condition of the building, despite thatworkers were forced to continue their daily work which later caused 1,100people to die (Kazmin, 2015). Compelled by these issues consumers areengaging in focusing on ethical companies that engage in sustainable materialsand are socially obligated. The ethical clothing trend has impacted manybrands, which practice more ethical behavior that includes transparent supplymanagement, recyclable materials that are usually used by SME and largeorganization (Morrison, 2015). A multinational organization H&M, based inUnited Kingdom, has enhanced the companies social ethical commitment in

the recent years by setting up a sustainable strategy, being responsible forreducing environmental damage as well as focusing on fair treatment of itsemployees on different levels (Wong, 2015).

The growing trend of globalization has pressurized many clothing brands tointroduce global supply chain for materials used in production in order to

obtain competitive advantage (Bair, 2013). Apart from the financial focus,

clothing brands are expected to comply towards the ethical issues such as theenvironmental impact and workplace. In the past decade there were

significant unethical practices that led to environmental damage and extinctionof human lives (Knani, 2013). The brands that have their manufacturing plantsin developed counties have used their corporate power in order to develop afavorable pricing strategy, as a result of these practices brands acquire

negative publicity through the increasing attention of media which damagesthe corporate reputation and the way consumers perceive the brand (Black,2008).

1.2 Rationale of the research

Ethical business practices are important for an organization in order to conductsuccessful business within the global environment. It is essential for brands tounderstand the ethics as the multinational clothing corporations operate at anumber of international locations and face various legal obligations (Brooks,2015).

The main purpose of this study is to investigate on how ethical and unethicalpractices in the modern clothing industry impact the consumer behaviour, whichwill support the organization in creating a strong consumer relationship, andenhance their reputation and bring more profit in the long term (Rendtroff,2009).

The past research was focuses on ethical practices in other industriesincluding: ethics in hospitality industry ( Knani, 2011), ethics and compliance inglobal pharmaceutical industry (Shaw and Whitney, 2016) and food supplychain management (Maloni,2006), however the clothing industry is very

controversial and there is a lot of criticism of ethical behavior so this researchwill be used to investigate the clothing market which has developed in todaysrapidly changing business environment. There are a number of articles thatfocus on ethical stance of fashion controversy, as discussed by Beard (2015),Branding of Ethical fashion and the consumer where the rise of ethicalfashion has being discussed in relation to luxury brands using real leatherproducts in contrast with the mass and niche markets that assign the demandfor ecological fashion, considering the lifestyle of consumers and purchasingbehavior (Beard, 2015).Arvidsson (2010) Labor conditions in the FashionIndustry, the article discusses the transparency of modern multinationalorganizations in terms of supply chain management, labor regulations and howthe international legislation interfere with the standards of labor conditions(Arvidsson,2010).

The significance of this research is to discover unethical business practices thatmany brands come across throughout building the consumer trust andpurchasing behavior are demanded by a modern customer in U.K. Theresearch will provide the missing element of previous studies through providinga parallel between ethics in retail and brand reputation along with the consumerbehaviour. This research will provide support in understanding what does theend use want which will make a positive change in a way that ethical businessin todays fashion retail business.

1.3 Research question and Objectives

1.3.1Research question:

How do the ethical practices of companies operating in clothing industryimpact the consumer brand perception in U.K?

1.3.2 Objectives

Objective 1:To examine ethical and unethical practices in U.K clothing IndustryObjective 2:To investigate the impact of negative and positive ethical actionson a brand reputation in the U.K clothing industry

Objective 3: To identify the influence of CSR on consumer purchasing decisionin U.K clothing industry

Chapter Six:

Conclusion and

Recommendation

1.4 Dissertation structure

Chapter One:

Introduction

Chapter Two:

Literature Review

Dissertation

Chapter Five:

Rdiscussion

Chapter

Three:Methodology

Chapter Four:

Research Findings

Figure 1. Dissertation Structure

Chapter One focuses on introduction of the dissertation that provides a

background of the research, rational and research question and objectives.

Chapter Two will introduce the literature review for the research that have been

used in the past and provide an empirical study.

Chapter Three will outline the Methodology that will be used including the

research design, philosophy, approach, strategy and ethics.

Chapter Four will establish the findings that were carried out through primary

research.

Chapter Five, result discussion, for primary and secondary data collected.

Finally, Chapter Six will conduct a conclusion followed by a recommendationfor the research.

Chapter TWO: Literature review

This chapter of Literature Review has highlighted the main theories andtheoretical models of relation to ethical business, reputation of company as aresult of its CSR practices and customer-brand relationship through ethicaldecision-making process. Further the main empirical data has being presentedbased on the proposed research objectives focusing on the neutral, positiveand negative data.

2.1 Key concepts

According to Fryer (2009), business ethics are related to how organizations

perceive the right and wrong behavior in relation to stakeholders, how “good”and “bad” business situation create responsibilities, rights and duties towardsconsumers (Fryer, 2009). Further Mandal (2010) states that businesses ethicalpractice is the moral principles by witch a company conducts ‘Code of Ethics’that allows to develop connection with key stakeholders through businesstransparency, law compliance and ethical marketing activities (Mandal, 2010).

Mitchell (2003) outlines specifically that positive ethics represent good publicrelations; organizations that have a strong ethic initiative have an ability toenhance corporate reputation and improve company’s customer loyalty(Mitchell, 2003).

Unethical practices in corporate business field include engagement in variousstakeholder parties. Most repeated business unethical practices in the past tenyears in fashion retail (Mandal, 2010; Pozgar, 2012; Wilkinson, 2010; Green,2013; Friedrichs,2009).

Child Labor	Fraud	Misuse of companyname
Abusing WorkersRights	Manipulating	Damping pollutants

Environmenthazardous	Corruption	Price fixingagreement
Sexual harassment	Tax avoidance	Cybercrime
Advertising	Employee Theft	Disadvantagedconsumers

Table 1.Unethical practices( Mandal, 2010; Pozgar, 2012; Wilkinson,

2010; Green, 2013; Friedrichs, 2009)

Ethical practices in clothing industry include participation towards ecologicalprocess such as; reducing waste and complying with a transparent supplychain. Most ethical practices have been discussed in the table below (Hawkins,2006; Macdonals, 2016; Arnold, 2009).

Sustainableresources	Compiling withregulations and laws	Social Responsibility
Recycling process	Fair supply chainmanagement	Charity partnership
BusinessTransparency	Fair Trade	Consumercompliance
Ethical Marketing	Labeling	Cross-collaborationwith socialcommunities

Table 2. Ethical Practices (Hawkins, 2006; Macdonals, 2016; Arnold,

2009; Loue, 2007)

2.2 Related Theories and Theoretical Models

2.2.1 Three Levels of Business Ethics

According to Crane and Matten (2007) business ethics are decisions that are

right and wrong that are taken by the organization, the theory of right and wrongis planted into morality concepts (Crane and Matten, 2007). Solomon (1991)has developed a theory that highlights relationship between the ethics and thebusiness at a number of levels. Ethics firstly, are considered at a micro levelwhere ethical level of organization is monitored based on daily internal activitiesand the decision making process of the employees working for the organization.

For a clothing company this will focus on the employees working conditionsboth at headquarter location, other branches and suppliers negotiation scheme.

These matters are critically assessed in order to monitor corporate ethicalperformance (Amatulli,2017). The next level according to the theory is -meso,at this stage the business is considered write and wrong actions in regards toits activities. In clothing industry this will focus on the question-Is it right to payemployees the minimum wage in the supplier country? Finally the macro level–is the last stage, which involves external activities, the consideration isfocused on the role of organization towards society, at this point it is consideredat an international level, considering the influence on the external environmentand society. At this stage the clothing retail will monitor its ethical activities atan international context to ensure an equal distribution among communities.

Figure 2. Three levels of Business Ethics (Solomon, 1991)

The limitations of this theory are that it does not consider the brands longevitywithin the market at each stage and the size of the business, as this has a direct

impact the ethical compliance. A clothing brand that is at the development stagemay have micro level of ethics rather than a large multinational organizationthat in obligated to progress at micro, meso and macro levels (Robert, 2005).

This theory fulfills the first objective of the study.

2.2.2 Corporate Ethics of a business

Figure 2.1 Corporate Ethics of a Business (Kaplan,2016)

Corporate ethics connect to the ethical business practices and values,

customer relations, shareholders, implementation of ethics, society, suppliersand employees. These components create an ethical strategy that exceedslegal requirements; instead it creates a philanthropy –which representsvolunteer actions towards company’s responsibilities (Kaplan, 2016). In retailindustry purposes and values of corporate ethics reflect the brands missionstatement, employees component include development of policies such ashealth and safety in the garment of manufacturing plant. Customer relations arealso a part of this framework model that include; after sales support, suppliercompliance with Fair Trade, transparency of chain management (Crane, 2016).

The limitations of this framework are that it does not consider the level of impactof each aspect o the particular clothing brand. For example for particularclothing brand the society can implicate a greater influence rather thansuppliers where they will focus on their brand image more than on ethical supply

chain management. Another limitation that the model does not consider is themass and luxury market brand ethics, for a luxury brand that uses genuineleather the society ethics might not be as high as customer relations as theyare looking for high quality products (Beard, 2008).

When comparing this model to the theory of Micro, Meso and Macro ethicslevels of business it could be seen that the common point is that each level hasstakeholder compliance, while theory considers the division of stakeholders thetheoretical model states the ethic behaviour as an overall business system.

2.2.3 The role of ethics in Organizational Culture Framework

Figure 2.2 The role of Ethics in Organizational Culture (Ferrell, 2012)

According to Ferrell (2012) the theoretical model of business ethics remains an

important part of the relationship between the corporate ethics and obtainingfinancial profits through customer loyalty, satisfaction and employeecommitment. In clothing industry, the framework applies to the ethical culturethat is transparent to all stakeholders which enhances consumer trust, wherethe business has healthy ethical culture of organization and compliance withsocial ethical standards. The framework allows understanding the importanceof ethical culture in CSR of an organization. The main element in the ethicalculture relates a set of norms, which conduct formal policy within theorganization such as code of ethics (Gialacone, 2005).

Limitation of this model includes that it does not consider the consumersmotives towards purchasing clothing that is developed by an organizationfollowing an authentic procedure of creating compliance between allstakeholders within the organization.

When comparing this theoretical model of ethical business culture to thetheoretical model of business ethics it could be seen that both models highlightthe compliance between stakeholders however this model has an additionalcomponent of the profit acknowledgement which shows that ethical behaviourdoes not only create an positive relationship between the business and thecustomers, employees and suppliers but also brings benefits to theorganization by boosting the profit.

The framework fulfills the objective of identifying the corporate responsibilitiesin terms of ethics towards consumer behavior that provides a further insight onthe business profit impact.

2.2.2 Corporate Reputation Framework

Figure 2.3 Corporate Reputation Framework (Isherwood, 2012)

Corporate reputation consist of a process that includes brand personality,

identity and image created by its ethical or unethical practices, which leads tofinal destination of the chain process a specific brand reputation (Isherwood,2012). In the fashion industry reputation of the brand represents a significantimpact, if company is involved in negative business practices, such as childlabor, it will damage corporate image as a result there will be a significant

impact on consumer perception of that particular brand in terms of losing trustand reliability and destruction of corporate reputation (Waddington, 2012).

The limitation of this model: The framework does not consider customerexpectations, which would bring an in-depth understanding of the impact ofparticular group of consumers on the vision of corporate reputation.

Understanding the customer expectation may vary depending on the individualfactors and may enhance or damage the corporate reputation (Khan, 2007).

This framework fulfills the objective of identifying the impact on brand reputationthrough its corporate actions.

2.2.4 Model of Business Ethics

Figure 2.4 Model of Business Ethics (Svensson and Wood, 2008)

Model developed by Svensson and Wood (2008) indicates that business ethicsas an ongoing process that includes following stages: expectations,perceptions and evaluations. In fashion retail industry each stage is a criticalexternal component of the society expectation in terms of fulfilling consumerdemand and transparency, which conduct the brand values and norms. The

organization develops perceptions that enhance customer relationship thatleads in being ethical in many aspects including being environmentally friendly,fair labor practices and ethical marketing (Bon, 2014).

The limitation of this model is that it does not consider the purchasing intentionsas quality or the price of the product; despite the ethical corporate actions thesefactors have a significant impact on consumer choice.

2.2.5 A model of CSR Actions in Relation to Consumer Behavior

Figure 2.5 Model of CSR actions in relation to consumer behaviour

(Trudel, 2011)

According to Trudel (2011) the organization’s CSR activities encourage

consumer attitudes; further these create the intentions that have an impact onthe behaviour of the customer. In clothing industry the company’s CSRactivities such as positive or negative consumer brand knowledge stimulate theattitudes and intentions of themselves in recognizing the responsiblepurchasing made which leads to final stage of the consumer behaviour dividedin three categories such as buying other brand, pay premium price such asluxury clothing brands or punish these brands by avoiding their products as aresult of not complying with CSR expectations (Trudel, 2011).

The limitations of this model include that it does not consider the consumerpsycological factors-the main drivers for buying or avoiding the brand, as well

as the social motives.According to Trehan (2009) motivation is one of the mainpsychological factors that determin the specific behaviour in achiving thegoal.Motivations can be internal or external however they work towards aspecific goal of consumer(Trehan, 2009).When recognzing the clothing buyingprocess there ais a number of motivational behaviour that is engagged for thestyle and the level of prestige of the brand in contrast with other (Khan, 2007).

Furthermore this model does not consider the ifluence of consmers on theirattention towards organizational CSR compliance such can be allocated ; low,medium or high. According to David (2017) in the clothing retail theenvironmental impact, supply chain management and child labor have asignificant impact on consumers purchasing behaviour, while price fixingagreements woud represent a lower importance in terms of unethicalbehaviour.

2.3 Empirical Study

2.3.1 Ethical and Unethical practices that are present in clothing

industry

Neutral

According to CRM (2015) it was found that consumers place most unethical

issues that include: tax avoidance, exploitation of labor including child labor andenvironmental responsibility (CRM, 2015).

Positive

Maw (2014) outlines that most brands are transferring to an ethical and safemethods of business that will generate more ethical clothing business in thefuture perspective to comply with consumer demand for sustainable clothingproduction regarding the environment and human labor practices (Maw, 2014).

Further Trapp (2010) and McMillan (2016) state that Fair trade compliance hasincreased among fashion retail brands by 40% in 2015, as a result of consumerdemand. Moreover the fashion retailers have developed more sustainable

packaging, fashion retailers began introducing sustainable materials recyclablefabrics that eliminate waste and have a positive impact on the externalenvironment; in 2015 U.K brands have increased their recycling process by12.5 % (McMillan, 2016;Trapp, 2010). In addition to the research by McMillan(2016) and Trapp (2010) it was found that a brand –Patagonia in 2016influenced by the sustainable material use to encourage less waste hasdeveloped a clothing line from recycled fabrics, which has used organic cottonwhile decreasing the energy use by 62% than original cotton products. Markand Spencer and H&M has also enhanced its sustainability and Fair trade hasdeveloped a sustainability program in 2010 that insures the transparency insupply chain management paying a fair wage paying 850,000 manufacturingworkers. Further to promote the sustainable fashion retail, Barnes (2011) hasfound that clothing brands today develop a video campaign in order to promotesustainable fashion, one of the most successful to approach this behaviour wasfound to be Nike, which influenced consumers and encouraged other brands(Barnes, 2011).

Negative

Findings by Richards (2007) and Barnes (2006), both state that most unethicalpractices originate from fast-fashion, rather than luxury brands in U.K, fastfashion includes: Primark, H&M and Asda, where organizations are involved inpaying less than the living wage while setting significant production targets andun-transparent supply chain management, this accrues despite the 1.2trilionfashion industry (Richards, 2007).Study by Cohen (2010) conducted onclothing brands have found that 45% of corporations operating in U.K use childlabor practices based on the figure of 55 brands (Cohen, 2010).AdditionallyHendriksz (2017) states that the wages remain extremely low especially thosemanufacturing in developing and undeveloped countries, receive as low as 13pence per hour ( Hendriksz, 2017). On the other hand Dhaka (2016) states thatHealth and Safety measures remain one of the biggest challenges in retailmanufacturing management, Rana Plaza building collapse was found to bemost significant industrial disaster taking away lives of 1135 people (Dhaka,2016). Following these results Ethical Consumer Marker Report (2016) shows

that fashion retailers continue to use 90% of genetically modified, which has asignificant impact not only on the consumers and manufacturing workers butalso on the environment (ESMR, 2016).

Retail industry has a significant environment degradation impact, as found byHermes (2014) 20% of pollution to water is from the clothing manufacturingwhich uses up to 8,000 toxic and synthetic substances which are then releasedinto environment (Hermes, 2014). Despite these results Mintel (2009) reporthas outlined almost 35% of consumers in U.K have little to no interest in clothesthat were manufactured ethically, while 11% were not sure of they supportethical clothing in general (Mintel, 2009).

2.3.2 Relationship between corporate ethics and brand reputation

Neutral

According to Stanley (2016), ethics play an important role in consumer

decision-making, 51% of consumers have placed a strong connection betweenethics and the way that they perceive the brand (Stanley, 2016). On the otherhand, controversial studies by CRM (2015) based on 1,012 participants havefound British consumers indicate most brands being less ethical (36%) from2010-2015, while 25% stated that companies have improved their ethicalbusiness (CRM, 2015).

Positive impact

The organizations that have a strong ethical scheme can decrease the financialfines facing from the government as well as enhance their reputation amongstakeholders and develop a long-term loyalty relationship with customer(Mitchell, 2003).Rangan (2015) argues that ethics have no impact on the brandreputation, based on the analysis of companies that engage fully towardsethical approach and companies that never focus on ethics, reputation factorstill remained the same, both company groups received an average of 70-80%customer satisfaction (Rangan, 2015).

According to MORI (2010) and 75% of UK consumers claimed that positive

reputation has a direct impact on their buying behaviour, Barnes (2011) agreesthat Ethical strategy enhances the reputation among 56% of consumers as aresult of environmental activities (MORI (2010 and Barnes, 2011). This can beexplained through the increasing trend of ethical consumerism that was foundby The Carbon Trust survey based on 1000 respondents in United Kingdomhas revealed that consumers are generally place more importance on ethicalbehavior of a brand than five years ago (TCT, 2016).

Negative Impact

Shandwick (2016) has found that 75% of consumers based on 2,876respondents will recommend the product by the word of mouth, therefore if acompany is found to be unethical they will automatically pass the experienceonto their friends and families which damages the corporate reputation. FurtherHuston and Allen (2007) agrees with Shandwick (2016) where CSR importanceas the reputation plays a considerable role for a consumer when making apurchasing decision, as they determine the expectations for a brand that cancreates a value that will be difficult to replicate through adoption of corporateadvantage where there are many substitute clothing brands (Huston and Allen,2007).

Opposite of Shandwick (2016), the study by Mintel (2015) has found tat 34%of consumers will pass further the negative brand experience if the brand wasfound to be unethical with 29% of these consumers that use social media toshare their opinion on ethical business practices (Mintel,2015).

2.3.3 Corporate Social Responsibility as a part of consumer behavior

Neutral

Shayon (2017) states that 96% of consumers place most importance onCorporate Social Responsibility of the brand are the environmental and social

regulations in regards to the local legislation of the company (Shayon, 2017).

Research by Rodionova (2015) has found that not only does the consumerplace importance of CSR but ethical consumerism in United Kingdom hasraised in demand, reaching £38 billion, in total the number has increased by8% in contrast with 2014 (Rodionova, 2015).

Positive

Survey that was conducted by Smith (2008) based on 25,000 consumers hasshown that customers generally place more attention to CSR of the companythan on its brand image or financial status when considering a purchasingdecision, while Nielson (2015) has found out that 60% of worldwide consumerschose the company that is committed to social responsibilities, further the studyshows that if consumer recognizes the corporate responsibility of the brand,they create a brand loyalty in the future (Nielson, 2015).

According to Reeves (2010) there is little difference among the segmentation

that is inclined regarding the CSR the survey has revealed that both male andfemale support the CSR when considering the purchasing decision. Further itwas found that 83% of consumers support organizations that work incollaboration with charities or conduct donations to help those in need. Incontrast with Neilsen (2015) and Baker (2015) results which show a clearconnection between the age factor and the CSR motives, the report hasestablished a report on consumer response towards brands compliance withenvironmental and social positive importance, specifically outliningtransparency as a part od CSR component which present an appealingopportunity for a conscious consumer for ethical shopping, the percentage ofthese consumers has increased from 55% in 2014 to 72% in 2015 (Baker,2015;Nielsen, 2015).

A study conducted by Butler in (2011) and Stanley (2017) respectively on

consumer behaviour in Corporate Social Responsibility of organization has

found based on 10,000 global participants United Kingdom represents in mostinfluential consumer drive when shopping for products (Butler, 2011; Stanley,2017).

Negative

According Brown (2015) 56% of consumers stop buying products if they

acknowledge that the brand is involved in unethical practices. However, asurvey conducted by Joergens (2006) on consumer attention towards ethics,has outlined that CSR has not particular influence on consumer purchasingbehaviour pattern, it included 120 participants out of which 90% has stated thatthey were not sure if they have ever made purchase of an company thatcomplied with social responsibility or followed was eco-friendly, while only 10%admitted they can identify a clothing brand that socially responsible (Joergens,2006).

According to Mintel Consumer Report (2009) customers are implied to

purchase ethical clothing if the prices on the products would be reduced. Onthe other hand other consumers indicate that they do not trust retail brands thathave cheap ethical products. Santolo (2015) agrees and states that consumerspay great attention to CSR activities of the brand, however the study has shownthat CSR activities work effectively when communicated in a right mannertowards consumer (Santolo, 2015). As an evidence of Mintel Report, Purt(2011) has found the ineffective CSR practice carried out by Sainsbury’s thathas switched to Fair Trade cotton while the original prices of the clothing werekept, as a result consumers did not trust the Fair Trade commitment (Purt,2011).

CHAPTER THREE: Research Design

This Chapter of Research Methodology will analyze the research structureand design, which will be used for the primary data collection. The structure

will include: the Research Philosophy, approach, strategy, data collection

Data collection

:semi-structured

Interview

method, validity, reliability and the ethics of this research.

The research design is the overall strategy of the study that combines a

process in which various elements are determined in order to efficiently

consign the study. Research design will secure the evidence of the study andgive the opportunity to obtain the relevant evidence though research onionusing systematic structure, which was used in order to determine the strategyof the research highlighting the path of this study including the philosophy,approach, strategy and the data collection strategy (Saunders, 2011).

Intepretivism

Inductive

Grounded theory

Qualitative

Cross-sectional

Figure 3. Research Onion (Saunders, 2011)

3.1 Research Philosophy

The Research philosophy used for this research is Interpretivism, as the socialfactors are complex therefore every individual perceives it differently, which

implicates to investigate the social phenomena, the philosophy allows toapproach the investigation of ‘why’ and ‘how’ (Willis, 2007). The main purposeof this research is to explore the external social actors that have an impact onthe complex nature of consumer decision-making process in the clothingindustry (Jankowicz, 2005). Interpretivism philosophy follows a view of anactual image concluded through own choice and adopts towards changeswhich gives opportunity to monitor new behaviours , rather than a accepting theobjective reality (Karami, 2016). According to Saunders (2011) interpretivismhas also a high validity rate, which is important for the research data collectionas well as the suitable perspective in understanding the organizational ethicalbehavior and consumer attitudes. The human psychological process whenstudies through interpretivism philosophy determine the relationship with thesocial framework of purchasing intentions and expectations among potentialcustomers focused on ethical brands (Saunders, 2011). The interpretivismphilosophy will develop an understanding of the customer behavior towards theethical shopping phenomena and the intentions of organizational behavior inthe context of social compliance.

Positivism was not selected, as it’s objective is to develop views throughgeneralization instead of concentrating on the individual perceptionalbehaviour, it requires larger sample and the statistical quantitative data thatrefers to numerical analysis with an deductive approach, that is not suitable forthis study as the main aim to develop an understanding of social phenomenausing qualitative measures (Lipu, 2007).

3.2 Research Approach

For this research the approach that has being selected is inductive, as it isimportant to understand the human behavior in society through qualitative datacollection and will be suitable for an exploratory research (Anderson, 2004).

The inductive reasoning, ‘follow up ‘ of this research starts with observing andanalyzing to determine particular sequence of behaviour, followed by outlininga pattern and conducting hypotheses based on the ethical practices which

influence consumer behavior in order to construct theory a conclusion ifethical/unethical business practices influence consumer choice of a particularclothing brand (Glase, 2014). The main strength of the inductive approach isthat it focuses on understanding the framework of research within, there forethe meaning of this study will be specifically oriented towards the allocation ofattention to the cause of consumer behaviours and effect accord of the keydrivers for ethical consumer shopping habits, creating a broad conclusion fordifferences and similarities of consumer behaviour towards the ethical practicesin clothing industry, reputation of brands and the CSR of the businesses (Heit,2007). The type of analysis for inductive reasoning will determine a narrowdescription of the type of unethical practices that damage consumer perceptionof reputation of a brand an its impact of shopping preference. Finally theinductive reasoning gives an opportunity of a continuous comparison ofconsumer actions on the positive and negative brand practices (Collins, 2010).

Deductive approach was not selected based on the nature of the approachfocuses on beginning to determine the theory and then conduct a hypothesis.

In other words ‘top-down’ approach from general to more specific (Knight,2009). In addition deductive reasoning is objective, therefore the researchermay not engage personal view of consumers based on individual perception,the research is focused on operational results that were carried out through thefact gathering in a quantitative format. Deductive approach has a specific focuson finding a pattern as a cause of a matter, which is not suitable to analyzeconsumer behavior, as there are unique and unpredictable due to manyvariables of external and internal factors (Collins, 2011).

3.3 Research Strategy

This research follows a grounded theory strategy, the study is explanatoryengaging the link among social relationship between ‘ethical business practices

‘and ‘consumer behaviour’, which will allow developing a theory about the

phenomena from collected qualitative data adopted from the interviews with

open ended questions (Weil, 2017). Grounded theory allows distinguishingsocial patterns of consumers when selecting a clothing brand and builds explicitguidance in adopting qualitative research .The main aim of this type of strategyis to provide a theoretical saturation that is developed from two components theground theories and the primary data collection, which gives opportunity intesting the previously scientifically developed theories such as the ‘Three levelsof business ethics’ which were developed to understand (Belk, 2007).

Grounded theory gives opportunity to gain the understanding of newphenomena of the ethics that can impact on the choice when a consumerconsiders various clothing brands that are available (Holstein, 2012). Whenconsidering consumer drivers for brand choice ground theory presents acyclical process of ability to determine the knowledge, which can be comparedthrough extended studies in the future (Miler, 2002).

Action research was not selected, as it requires –‘continues research spiral’,

which accommodates an action taken after the research is performed. Actionresearch is commonly used to assess particular organization to determine theproblems of that company; this will not be applicable as this research isobserving an industry rather that one organization (John, 2013). Survey will notbe suitable for this research as it uses closed ended questions, which presenta lower validity towards the study, as the main aim of this research is to examinethe behaviour this will require open ended questions with a non rigid format toexplore different behaviors (Jolley, 2012).

3.4 Qualitative research

Qualitative method was chosen on the basis of analyzing consumer behaviorwhere it will be beneficial to gain an in-depth understanding of phenomena ofan inductive strategy, rather than quantitative which involves the statistical dataand is not applicable (McMurray, 2004). Qualitative method allows identifyingreasoning behind the specific consumer action such as recommendation oravoidance of ethical/unethical brand and is also more naturalistic paradigm,further it considers multiple realities that have an inclination to change basedon individual interpretation of the various consumer perception of actions

(Maimon, 2010). This type of research is subjective, meaning it is exposed tointerpretation by the various opinions of consumers. Ground theory isdeveloped to examine the consumer behaviors within a small number ofparticipants to assist the establishment of the hypothesis. The outcome of thedata would be descriptive towards the social research of attitudes and theresults will not be generalized instead focused on individualistic approach.

Qualitative data, unlike quantitative has no statistical data (Maxwell, 2012).

Quantitative data collection is not applicable for this study as we are measuringin depth consumer attitude without focus on numerical broad data. Quantitativedata is objective, as well as being inductive, which is not suitable for thisresearch as it concentrates on the deductive strategy. The results aregeneralized which avoids the individual perception of behavior (Biber, 2010).

Further, mixed method will not be suitable; as it requires both quantitative andqualitative research strategy, further it has an increased complexity towards theevaluation of the data which requires more time and a larger sample for thequantitative research part. Lastly mixed method requires more resources whichhas an implication to be time consuming and costly (Creswell,2014).

3.5 Data Collection method

3.5.1 Semi-structured interview

Design of interview

The interview design consists of three main sections, which allow fulfilling theobjectives of this study. Section A of the interview focuses on developing anunderstanding of ethical and unethical business practices in clothing industryfrom consumer point of view, section B of the interview measures thereputation impact based on the ethical behavior of a clothing brand. Lastly,section C determines the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility of aclothing brand among consumers (Appendix 6).

Eight participants will be interviewed for research, the interviews will be semi-structured, and as this it is one of the most absolute methods in exploratory

research (Born, 2007). Exploratory research allows to investigate the new fieldof research of clothing industry in terms of ethical business behaviors in todaysfast changing consumer market which will allow to define the nature of theresearch and what sets behind particular consumer behaviour (Neelankavil,2015). Interviews give the opportunity to conduct an interactive researchprocess thorough communication of listening and speaking which help tounlock the emotional approach of consumer towards ethics as an important partof this research (Leon, 2003). Interviews have generally a higher response ratein contrast with other data collection method; the reason for this is that theinterviews are carried out in person. As the interview will be semi-structured itallows asking non-rigid format questions, this method supports topics that arerelevant to exploring consumer behavior and choices, additionally theopportunity of asking follow up questions that will be relevant to the topic givingdetailed findings (Wengraf, 2001). There will be eleven questions open-endedwhich means that the participants will have more freedom in giving their actualthoughts, believes and experience in ethics and behaviour.

The advantages of semi-structured interviews are that they provide a conceptclarification in terms of capturing detailed information from respondents. Semi-structured interview is more adaptable towards each participant and maychange as a result of the participant’s answers (Mitchell, 2009). This type ofinterview has the ability of enhancing the answers by providing personal opinionon the ethical business within the clothing industry and allows researcher todevelop clear understanding of the answers given. Increased validity is one ofthe main advantages of semi-structured interviews as the researcher canclarify, repeat the question and explain it if not understood, which providescontrol of the validation of data throughout the interview process (Holland,2013). On the other hand interviews are generally time consuming and it canpossess difficulties in capturing a particular trend as the respondents may havecompletely different answers (Wengraf, 2001).

Questionnaire will not be suitable as it is used for quantitative measure of theproblem, apart from this there is a low response rate and it is a challenge toobtain in depth information of the study. It is important to outline that it is difficult

to find correct person to answer the survey (Cargan, 2007). Lastly thequestionnaire may poses difficulties in understanding the question, whileinterview allows the respondent to ask further questions if they are not clear.

There is a low emotional response, which makes it difficult as this study focuseson monitoring behavior and finishing the response of individual actions. Lastlyrespondent may avoid or ignore the question and bring a low validity rate, asthe questions may be answer in and dishonest manner (Neelankavil, 2015).

3.5.2 Non-probability sampling

The research is explanatory qualitative that has no sampling frame, as it doesnot represent the population in terms of size, instead it focuses on non-probability sampling with a small number of participants to provide strongtheoretical reasoning for this study regarding ethical brands and consumerchoices (Babbie, 2010). Exploratory research allows using various types ofnon-probability sampling, for this research data collection will be used as a semistructured interview. Semi-structured interview refers to a specific designed setof questions asked in a formal manner however the researcher can proceedwith additional questions if it will be necessary to enhance the data collected.

Non-probability sampling will be used in this research, which will be carried outusing convenience sampling through snowballing method and purposivesampling, which implicates the collection of the face-to-face interviews. Thedata will be collected from students at Coventry University London Campus, asthis will ensure that there are respondents from various backgrounds includingHR, Marketing, Global Business, Finance and Fashion, this is important as thestudy is aiming to determine the different behaviours of consumers in order tounderstand the motivation behind the purchasing attitude.

Snowballing approach will mean that participant will be selected to start theresearch followed by his/her nomination of potential participants that may takepart in this study; this will ensure that they have common interest and potentiallygrowing the number of samples. Purposive sampling means that the researcherwill nominate participants, as this will ensure that there are participants from anumber of different courses. Lastly, non-probability sampling is time efficient

which is suitable for this research that will be carried out in short time period as

the respondents will give relevant data based on their perception of ethics that

they have studies during MBA course in Coventry University London (Arora,

2012)

Probability sampling, in contrast with non-probability requires a larger sample

and is time consuming which is not suitable for this research. Finally probability

sampling is suitable for a survey which will be suitable for quantitative analysis

rather than qualitative which is proposed for this study of consumer behaviour

(Clark, 2007).

Methodology	Qualitative data Collection
Sampling	Snowballing method, purposive
Number of participants	8

Table 3.1 Sampling specifications

Snowballing and purposive sampling was chosen to quota sampling which will

require sub groups to be nominated for the study which will be beneficial if this

study would require comparison or if there would be a clear differences in

ethic perception, however as we are exploring attitudes of individuals which

can vary greatly therefore is method will not be effective (Wrenn, 2007).

3.6 Reliability and Validity

The data collected throughout this research will be reliable, as interview

structure will be approached during the face-to-face interview process it will

remain consistence and standardized. The findings will be reliable as the

process of interview collection involves documentation of the answers by the

researcher, which can potentially reduce errors in the data, in contrast with

other methods when the interviewer is not supervising respondents (Cargan,

2007). To ensure the reliability of the data collected, the interviews will berecorded using device to ensure the accurate and stable information isgathered (Brink, 2006). According to Saunders (2009) validity is concerned ifthe findings of research are what they actually are about. Internal validity of thisresearch involves credibility including content validation has been followed inorder to confirm this, the research has an established set of objectives thatprovide specific description in terms of connection between the study and therespondent’s interview that shows validation of the research. The research hasan sufficient amount of information to be presented (Saunders, 2009). Externalvalidity of this research was generalized by the researcher through detaileddescription of the behaviours that were obtained from the respondents in termsof ethical perception followed by developing a pattern of consumer behavior,which increases the trustworthiness of this research. Suitable sample of 8respondents has been selected for the research has being selected in order toensure that the results are valid, followed by appropriate method of datacollection through interview which can ensure the (Berg, 2004). Throughout theresearch the respondents were not influenced or pressured to answer thequestions during the interview.

3.7 Research Ethics

This research has a minor risk; it pursues an ethical research process throughconfidentiality of the participants. Before the interview will be conducted therespondents will be informed on the policies and procedures. The respondentswill receive the consent form and research cover letter, that includes theinformation on the research, specifically the title, purpose, the time of theinterview and the contact details if further questions will accrue (Appendix 2;3).

The researcher confirms that there will be no harm and risks possessed torespondents, the participants will answer the questions on volunteer basis andnot be influenced or pressured (Loue, 2007). Transparency will be followedduring the data collection and data analysis. Further participants will receivedeclaring their authorization in a form of agreement to take part in the research.

After the data has been collected it will by fully anonymous and will be used

only in for the purpose of this research, the data will remain accurate inaccordance to aims and objectives of the report (Oliver, 2010). This research

follows the Coventry University London Campus standards. The ethic checklisthas been completed and approved by the supervisor (Appendix 1).

3.8 Limitations

The limitations of this research is that the methodology is focused on qualitativedata collection only through interviews, which is time consuming and may havea delayed data collection as it requires planning the participant meeting whichcan. The time limitation is another factor that can effect the research, as theretwelve weeks to conduct the research this might not be enough to fully explorethe field of study (Rubin, 2009). As this research focuses on measuringbehavior of consumers towards ethical business behavior, ideally the researchshould be repeated over a period time to monitor the changing trends andbehaviors, which will not be possible for this research as it measures thebehavior at one time only. Sample of the research is small with only 8participants, which may not give enough information to analyze the results andbehaviors in relevance to ethical practices. As this research is focused onqualitative data collection through interviews the results may be different amongparticipants, which will bring complications when conducting conclusion of thisresearch (Merriam, 2009).

CHATPTER FOUR: Findings

This chapter presents the findings of the primary research, which will

demonstrate the customer perception of ethical clothing business and theirattitude towards various matters on CSR and reputation. The interview

consisted of three sections: ethical business, reputation and finally corporatesocial responsibility.

4.1 Ethical and unethical business practices in U.K clothing industry4.1.1 Ethical Practices

All, respondents (100%) agreed that ethical fashion business evolves a

combination of factors such as human rights, ethical supply channel, ethically

sources materials and collaboration towards the foundations of animal crueltysuch as PETA organization. The interview has shown that six out of eight

respondents have highlighted that ethical practices in their opinion are

employee commitment and consumer compliance. One of the intervieweeshas stated the combination of factors that indicate an ethical business:

“Ethical business practices is when the business care about the

customers and workers, sustainable materials, what is beneficial fortheir consumers”. Three out of eight respondents have indicated

sustainability and customer compliance as indication of ethical behaviour-

“I believe that ethical behaviour is not only about making profits it’s

about long term sustainability, environmental aspects, customer

advocacy, as people trust reviews which impacts on consumer

decision”.

Respondents have indicated most popular ethical behaviour in relation to theclothing industry, was found to be important for the consumer was recognizedby 37 % of respondents were donations and charity commitment of a clothingbrand, in particular one of the respondents highlighted “Reach out to

charities and organizations is critical for me the organization must becommitting to help others”.

Second most popular ethical component was outlined by 25% of respondentsindicated using non-animal made materials, one of the interviewees has

outlined that they will not wear clothes that were manufactured using real

leather or fur -“Ethical material sourcing will be important; I will not wearsomething that will be cruel to animals or harmful to the environment”.

Lastly, 43% of respondents mentioned transparent supply chain, specificallyone of the respondents have declared that ethical treatment of employeesindicated their perception of ethical brand as this represents a brand image aswhole-

“My understanding of unethical business will be more focused on

employees because in the clothing industry they have low wagebusinesses tend to reallocate in Asia to getter a better profit without

thinking about working conditions of third parties”.

4.1.2 Unethical practices

Four out of eight respondents have outlined that for them unethical businessbehaviour is unfair treatment of employees -“I would say that unethical

practices are when there is harassment at work or mistreatment of

staff”, it is important to mention that employee harassment was indicated byHR student which has a in-depth understanding of unethical practices at work.

Three out of eight respondents indicated that for them unethical practices arethe indications of negative implication on environment, -“Unethical practicesare these that have an negative impact on the environment, such as

dumping waste”. Only one respondent has outlined that these are the

practices linked towards tax avoidance, which are a problem for companies inthe many industries including clothing, specifically they mentioned,

“Unethical practices are scams that used by companies in their favor,

such as tax heavens which damage the reputation in long-run”.

Respondents have indicated the following unethical practices at which theywill stop buying the brand. Five out of eight respondents have mentioned

exploitation of workers is one of the major unethical business behaviour in theclothing industry which is critical for them, specifically one of the respondentshave mentioned about the small wages of the employees working in

manufacturing, “Exploiting labor workers and working over time, and givethe labor work force small wages”, Four of out of eight respondents haveoutlined child labor, one of interviewee that studies global business has

mentioned about children working excessive hours which was found out

during the CSR modules,

“Child labor, I feel that if should not happen, it is wrong in certain

countries the employees work 12 hours in the evening and treated

unfairly with low wages”.

However one of eight respondents has outlined a argument as having the jobfor child in developing or undeveloped country is critical for surviving for manyfamilies: “Child labor is another unethical, you may be giving work butthis will against the society standards”. Three out of eight respondentshave stated the ethical sourcing process of materials that included the

location and the environmental aspects- “Where it is sourced-it should notbe harming the environment”, another respondent have outlined unethicalsourcing that implies on using real fur and labeling as faux fur, where the

organization misleads the labeling - “Sourcing materials, for example

using fake sourcing, where it is claimed as faux fur but its actually a realanimal fur”.

4.1.3 Ethical changes in clothing industry

50% of respondents have outlined that in their opinion brands are more

ethical now than in contrast with previous years as they are influenced by theirpublicity and reputation, “ More brands are into ethical fashion, there aremore philanthropically issues, brands are recycling the products,

charity for children”. 37% respondents were not sure and outlined that thereare more ethical brands however still a significant issue with unethical, one ofthe respondents outlined that the brands are improving their ethical

responsibilities, however large multinational organizations are placing

profitability in the first place -

“It is challenging, businesses are trying to be ethical as people have

access to the companies information, however big brands I understandthe main focus is to be profitable, I would say there is an equal amount f

both practices”.

Further one of the interviewees has highlighted that the society has becomemore concerned about ethics,“ I will say that ethical issues are more

critical, they became more transparent to the consumers”. Only 12% ofrespondents has mentioned that there are more unethical practices in theirpoint of view than before, specifically on of the respondents outlined the

manufacturing process which is conducted in through third parties in

undeveloped and developing countries to reduce the cost,

“ For clothing industry as a whole –No- it is still unethical, as fast

fashion still represents majority of the industry, brands must consider

these especially in developed and developing countries”.

75% of respondents have outlined that ethics impact on their buying decisionwhen considering a purchase, one of the respondents has declared that theyfocus on eliminate animal cruelty through ethical shopping, - “Yes, for me Istart to reduce buying ZARA products, unsustainable, for Stella

McCartney who is not using real materials like leather and fur, for methese impact significant”. 12% respondent has outlined that ethics

sometimes imply to their decision based on the feedback they have receivedfrom a friend or read in social media

“Yes and no, if a friend has told that unethical practice I would stop

buying, other than that it would not impact as I don’t generally think

about it when I shop”.

Only 12% of respondents have indicated that ethics do not play a difference intheir decision making as they do not know the details about the brand “Ethicsdo not impact; I don’t care because I don’t the story of a brand, only if itappears on newspaper”.

4.2 Reputation and ethical behaviour:

4.2.1 Relation between unethical business behaviour and consumer

attitude

Respondents have provided their opinion on the ethical practices and the

brand reputation. 62% of Respondents have declared they would stop buyingfrom a brand if it was involved in unethical behaviour. One of the respondentshas commented on Primark’s reputation after the factory collapse in

Bangladesh –

“ Near place where I live there is a Primark, the amount of people is

significant, despite the unethical event. I know people that have boycott

there, but tourists and people that are from lower social economical

class are shopping. Personally .I will not shop there”.

Another respondent that studies fashion has outlined that within the industry

brands such as Primark and GAP have a significant damage of the reputation,- “Reputation is damaged severally, as a big brand every process shouldbe made in the right way. I would not buy these brands”.

On the other hand, 38% of respondents have stated that they will still continueshop from brands that use unethical practices as a result of the brands

promise; particular one of the respondents has outlined Primark’s change ofstrategy-“Yes, I will still buy from Primark, because they are promising tobe fix those issues through strategies”. Seven out of eight respondentshave mentioned that positive brand reputation influences their buying decisionwhen they consider several brands, one of the respondents outlined loyaltyand repurchasing pattern-

“Yes for me brand loyalty it starts with a positive reputation, and if the

product is good and produce ethically I will repurchase it, as you will be

buying it and wearing it everyday”.

In addition respondents mentioned that positive reputation develops a long-term brand loyalty with the brand where they will continue to repurchase thatproduct. One respondent has outlined that positive reputation influences theirbuying behaviour however it does not create their brand loyalty with the

brand, as more important components that were indicated were: product

lifecycle and quality-

“No, I would say brand loyalty is a driver, for my initial decision making

but my brand loyalty is associated with the product quality and its

product lifecycle. This could only work for one time purchase”.

4.2.2 Reputation and recommendation of purchase

All respondents (100%) have indicated that they will not recommend the

product upon feedback of unethical behaviour and negative reputation in

clothing industry. One of the respondents said they would mention the

unethical practices to their friends or family member to give them the

opportunity to take decision on purchasing themselves-

“No I would not, even if I like the product. Actually, I would tell them that

I like this product but the brand uses unethical practices so they can

make the choice themselves”.

Another respondent has outlined, that they already discussed unethical

practices with their family towards clothing brand ZARA-.

“No I will not recommend, for example my family likes to buy ZARA but I

told them about their unethical practices, I suggested them to switch to

other brand”.

4.3 Corporate Social Responsibility

4.3.1 CSR for clothing brands from consumer perspective

All eight respondents have indicated that companies are obligated to follow

corporate social responsibility, most of the respondent have outlined followingreasons as statements: government regulation in U.K that force brands to

follow CSR practices in terms of sustainability and work related regulations, inadditions the respondents have touched on the society demands, as

consumers have changed their perception towards external issues that effectthe society as a whole. One of the Interviewees has indicated that mass

market is obligated to have a stronger CSR commitment, “Since I have

learned CSR, I recognize the importance of it in all business spheres.CSR increases the sensitivity of my brand perception, definitely it willeffect my decision. Mass market will be more obligated to follow CSRbecause they are low on budget.” This could be explained by the fact thatmass market has a larger share of “fast-fashion” where there is a large

turnover of the clothes lifecycle, as a result there is a lot of unethical issues inthe manufacturing area.

Reputation damage was stated as another pressure for brands to follow ifCSR. One of the respondents have outlined the reputation that is attached

towards the CSR in addition the respondent have gave an example of a brandthat has a strong CSR commitment, this could be explained as the

interviewee studies fashion therefore knows about the CSR structure of theclothing brands in depth:

“I think CSR for clothing brands it obligatory as the reputation is

connected, for example, Stella McCartney uses CSR that are appointedto reduce waste and recycle which has boosted the reputation within theindustry”.

None of the respondents have stated that CSR is voluntary, however one ofthe interviewees has stated that companies should apply volunteer CSR notbeing forced due to the environmental impact-

“Considering the nature damage I think companies should be naturally

wanting to follow CSR, if not they should be obligated by the

government.

4.3.2 Transparency as a part of CSR

25% of respondents have outlined that businesses should be transparent butnot fully as they do not feel the need to know detailed actions of the brand.

One respondent has motioned that companies should be transparent but notfully as it is important to keep some of the information discrete, in addition theinterviewee has outlined that they would like to now detailed information onproduct and social commitment,

“I think if after being transparent will help the company than yes,

however I believe in some secrecy of the information, but as a consumerI would like to know service, product, what they do, if they give benefits

to others but other than that I would not want to know”.

12% said that transparency is not important to them as a consumer as theyhave indicated that it shows the opposite behaviour. One of the intervieweeshas outlined that being transparent shows that the business has actions thatneeds to be covered through transparency, which could be explained as thestudent studied global business they are aware of “ green washing”

phenomena which is often used by multinational brands to cover the unethicalbehaviour.

“For me its not important, its like green washing, if they are unethical

brand but they pretend to be and they can tell stories on their website.

For me the attitude is more important to tackle those issues, than their

public transparency”.

Lastly 62% have indicated that transparency plays a significant role for them.

One respondent has motioned that knowing supply chain is critical to themwhen they consider a specific brand,

“Yes I think companies should be fully transparent, in relation to my

work I would say that secrecy is a annoying, knowing the supply chain

and I would agree that it is an important component of CSR”.

4.3.3 Impact of charity and donations on consumer

Four out of eight respondents have declared they will be participating in storedonation and usually do it on regular basis. One of the respondents

mentioned that they donate regular, they have stated that they would be

interested in listen to the charity member if that was during the shopping timeand participate in any cause of donation –“Yes I tend to donate, when I

think I can help someone else without asking additional questions. I willbe open to donate and listen to the purpose”. Three of the respondentshave outlined that it depends on the nature of charity, one of the intervieweeshave outlines specific matters that they would engage-

“Depends on the charity as I am more about child education, hunger,

women empowerment I am more into these issues if the company isfocus on these I will participate. For me if the cashier or the store is fine

I will be happy to participate. I will be more persuaded to donate”.

Two of these three have stated that they will not donate to particular

organizations, one of the respondents has outlined breast cancer support withprevious unethical behavior ‘It depends on the charity, I would not donateto breast cancer, as I know that the profits go to the organizations ratherthan the patients”. Finally, only one respondent have outlined that they willnot donate to charity run by the clothing brand, as the donation may not bereceived. Specifically the respondents have stated about their experience in

working in an organization which has shown that the money often is not

allocated to those that are seeking help,-

“I don’t believe on charities that much, as I worked in foundation I know

what is happening behind the scene, the money often does not even

reach the people in need”.

4.3.4 Impact of CSR on price increase

Six respondents have mentioned that they will continue purchasing the

product even if the price increases due to Fair Trade commitment, one

respondent has outlined that a price increase will actually indicate the brandscommitment to ethics, -

“It comes from transparency, as I understand that cost increases due to

ethical supply chain therefore I will be convinced to choose the ethical

brand and I will be happy to purchase and help”.

Two out of eight respondents have indicated that there are other factors inaddition to Fair Trade that are important to them when considering the priceincrease that include. One of the respondents has indicated past experienceas a major factor towards purchasing the product at a higher price, “If that issomething I have discovered recently, I might not, if that is something tobe combination of my experience, reputation and also loyalty from thepast”. Another respondent has outlined justification and trustfulness as part ofthe purchase at an increased price which, as the company may act in theirfavorite to mislead the consumer in purchasing an ethical product, -

“If I feel that the reason is justified than I will if the company is cheating

by charging I higher price than obviously if they can show I would not

mind, for example government initiative”.

CHAPTER FIVE: Analysis

This chapter analyzes the primary and secondary data collection in order tocompare and contrast the data found by the researcher from the interviewcollection, ground theories found on ethical business and the empirical datathat was identified in the past.

5.1 Ethical and unethical practices in U.K clothing industry

The interviews have determined that there are a number of ethical and practicesthat can be identified in the U.K clothing industry. Consumers are aware of theethical business practices most of respondents highlighted: commitmenttowards consumers, fair treatment of workers and suppliers. When looking atthe model of ‘Corporate ethics of a business’ Kaplan (2016), it could be seenthat it involves key stakeholders: customers, suppliers and employees whichprovides an indication of the model relevance among todays modern clothingindustry for brands to have in order to be appealing to the customer (Kaplan,2016). The respondents highlighted the importance of ethical sourcing ofmaterials, which comes in line with secondary data where study by McMillan(2016) and Trapp (2010), refer to the consumer demand of more ethicalpackaging and sustainable materials which enhanced the waste elimination ofclothing brands by 12.5% in 2015. On the other hand in results from Mintel(2009) disagree with primary data, the report outlined only 35% of consumersin U.K have little to no interest in clothes that were manufactured ethically(Mintel, 2009).

Figure 5. Corporate ethics of a business (Kaplan, 2016)

Primary research has shown that respondents indicated fast fashion as beingmore unethical in clothing industry than luxury market due to large clothingseasonal turnover, which agrees with secondary research where Richards(2007) and Barnes (2006) that indicated more unethical practices originatedfrom fast-fashion such as Primark and Asda (Richards and Barnes, 2007). Infact the limitation of ‘ Corporate ethics of a business’ above does not considerthe differences of ethics in luxury and mass market, which were outlined in theprimary data collection by respondents (Kaplan, 2016).

According to empirical data found from secondary research CRM (2015) stated

that unethical behaviour identified by consumers were tax avoidance,exploitation of workers and child labor (CRM, 2015). When comparing this toprimary research finding the respondents have identified critical unethicalbehavior where respondents would stop buying was found to be child labor,workers exploitation and unethical material sourcing. Further the results areconsistent with Cohen (2010) which states that 45% of clothing brands out of55 are accused of using child labor in manufacturing of clothes-thisdemonstrates the high awareness of respondents in primary data collectionwhere (Cohen, 2010).

As could be seen above the results of primary and secondary data two out of

three factors are correlative which are: child labor and workers exploitation,while the third component was found to be different. Respondents in primarydata have placed more importance on unethical material sourcing rather thattax avoidance that was found in secondary data.50% of Respondents inprimary data have outlined that that businesses are more ethical, in contrastwith secondary data CRM (2015) research indicated that 25% of respondentshave stated that businesses are more ethical in United Kingdom. However, It isimportant to outline the number of respondents of the primary research issignificantly less than in the secondary research therefore the results aredifferent.

Solomon (1991) has indicated the three levels of corporate ethics, micro, mesoand macro, where each stage is recognized as specific indication of compliancetowards the employees, consumers and suppliers (Solomon, 1991). The theoryis consistent with the primary data, where the respondents have outlined thatfor them ethical business must combine fair treatment of employees, customeradvocacy and having a ethical supply chain which sets and enhances the imageof a brand among consumers.

Figure 5.1 Three levels of business ethics (Solomon, 1991)

According to primary data it was found that positive brand reputation from

ethical practices creates customer loyalty, as respondents indicated that theywill prefer the brand with a positive reputation gained from ethical behaviour.

This can be proved with in line finding by Mitchell (2003) that found thatconsumers place attention towards ethics that enhance the reputation in theeyes of consumers (Mitchell, 2003). Further, the ‘Corporate ReputationFramework’ agrees with the findings and shows that reputation must includetrustworthiness and responsibility among stakeholders to be appealing toconsumers (Isherwood, 2012).

Figure 5.0.2 Corporate Reputation Framework (Isherwood, 2012)

In secondary research it was found by Rangan (2015), that ethics have little tono impact on brand reputation, however the interviews has indicated that ethicshave a strong impact on the brand reputation from consumer point of view. Theinterview has determined that 62% of respondents will stop buying the brandthat is involved in unethical practices; such as Primark case in Bangladesh,which proves the opposite of findings of Rangan (2015).Shandwick (2016) hasstated that 75% of consumers will recommend a product by the word of mouthif it follows an ethical strategy, the interview results are consistent and haveshown that all respondents (100%) agreed that if they have recognized a branduses unethical practices it will not be recommended to their friend or familymember, despite the having personal preference (Shandwick, 2015).

5.3 Corporate Social Responsibility and consumer purchasing decision

When comparing primary and secondary research, Nielson (2015) hasindicated that 60% of consumers select company that is committed to CSR(Nielson, 2015). While, the primary data has shown that all respondentsindicated the importance of CSR practices, specifically the respondents haveoutlined transparency affects their purchasing decision and brand recognition.

Baker (2015) studies agree with the findings where transparency is vitalcomponent for clothing brands to have to be more appealing to the ‘consciousconsumer’ in the changing society trends towards ethical business(Baker,2015).Six out of eight respondents have placed a purchasingcommitment towards brands that follow CSR. This reflects the theoreticalframework ‘CSR commitment from consumers to their purchasing habits’, themodel shows the companies CSR actions which lead to consumer intentions,as the primary research has shown six out of eight respondents are ready topay more for the product with the organization that has a strong CSRcommitment even when there are cheaper alternatives available (Trudell,2011).

Figure 5.2 Model of CSR actions in relation to consumer behaviour(Trudel, 2011)

However when comparing to Mintel Consumer Report (2009) that has indicatedthat consumers will be more likely to purchase the product if the price will bereduced (Mintel, 2009). In fact the primary research has shown that anincreased price due to ethical compliance will mean that the brand is actingtowards ethical strategy, which was motioned by one of the respondents. Theinterview has shown that four out of eight respondents will be participating incharity run by a clothing brand, while Nielsen (2015) report has indicated that83% of consumers will support charity donations (Nielsen, 2015). Thesecondary data has provided a higher percentage rate than the interview, whichcan be explained by the fact that two out of eight respondents have outlinedparticular charities they would don’t donate based on the past experience ofunethical allocation of donations.

CHAPTER SIX: Conclusion and Recommendations

This chapter finalizes the research of this dissertation, it concludes the primarydata findings and provides an outline of recommendations for clothing brandsin the U.K clothing industry.

6.1 Conclusion

Despite the growth of popularity of sustainability, there are a number of ethicaland unethical practices that are present in U.K clothing industry which can behighlighted, although unethical practices that are critical to consumer are childlabor, employee treatment and material sourcing which shape the consumerperception of a brand in the clothing industry. On the other hand ethicalpractices have an increasing trend among brands operating in both U.K luxuryand mass market: such as H&M and Stella McCartney. Today, consumers havedeveloped a strong relation with the ethics in general as a result of changes insociety trends and environmental compliance. Social media has a greatinfluence on recognizing these practices that create awareness andacknowledgement of brands like GAP with toxins evaporation, which harmthose in manufacturing chain. Ethics represent importance where consumerspurchase a product not for quantity but quality –the term can be described as

‘conscious consumer’, which represents modern shopping habits in society of

fast moving goods. Despite the changes in the attitudes of consumers beingmore conscious through their general shopping approaches, brands are still donot represent an ethical strategic approach, which reflects negative behaviourof customer towards unethical brands or brands that are less ethical than theircompetitors.

Today consumers are conscious buyers; therefore they pay great attentiontowards issues that happen in the manufacturing countries regardless of thefact of the distance and geographical location of the supply chain. Generally ithas been acknowledged that the corporate actions and behavior trigger theconsumer behavioural changes, if these found to unethical the impact

significantly the corporate value in the clothing industry, indicating a clearrelationship with the ethical compliance and reputation. If the brand is actingunethically it reveals a long-term damage which is difficult to recover.

Consumers refer to word of mouth recommendation based on their past

experience, which represents a critical aspect of trustworthiness towards thefriend and family member which is greater than brand preference. Therefore ifa consumer acknowledges the negative practices they will transfer the negativeperception of behavior further through negative feedback.

CSR has built in many organizational cultures which are recognized by

consumers that are generally aware of CSR despite the nature of previousstudies, the level of expectation has risen for ethical consumer shopping, ascustomers know what they are expecting from the brand to be appealing tothem. Transparency presents a critical component of CSR enhances the overallcontribution towards the social commitment of a clothing company for U.Kcustomer which presents a variable for increasing trust and reliability in theconsumer-brand relationship which enhances the informative stance of aproduct either before or after sales. Consumers reward brands that have a CSRaction that contributes towards consumer expectations, which provide aperspective among competitors that avoid CSR in general. While brands thatsocially committed towards fund raising are enhancing their relationship withcustomer being continues not only about their profits but also about those inneed, consumers are more inclined to contribute to social matters financiallyincluding specific donations for charities and organizations.

The study could be concluded through with a projected theory based on theapproach of grounded theory (Figure 6). Ethical actions have both positive andnegative practice that is approached by brand in the clothing industry. If thebrand uses unethical practices which do not meet the consumer expectationsthe company risks its corporate reputation damage that changes the perceptionof the brand in terms of brand preference and repurchasing habit. On the otherhand if the brand approaches ethical practices these have a positive impact onconsumer purchasing decision as the customer expectations, which bring a

positive brand reputation created through the word of mouth, which generatesbrand loyalty as a part of repurchasing trend in the long-term.

Ethical

actions

Consumer

Behviour

Customer

expectations

Impact on

reputation

Figure 6.Impact of ethics on consumer behaviour (developed byresearcher)

Overall, the study has provided a clear outline between the level of ethicalbusiness behavior and consumer preference and choice of the particular

clothing brand and fulfilled the objectives of the aim of this study. There is apotential future growth of both companies and consumers for ethical products,which indicates the ethical shopping trend in U.K.

6.2 Recommendations

Clothing brands must create an ethical scheme within the micro, meso, and

macro level, which indicated a compliance of fair business at all, levels.

Developing ethical practices within the organization as well as externally will bemore appealing to the phenomena of “conscious consumer” to take advantageof ethical shopping trend n U.K.

Reputation must be indicative not only for the image but for ethical behaviourof the clothing brand, which must be monitored regular based on the businessethical actions in supply chain management consumer and employees for U.Kbrands operating abroad, paying specific attention for the brands operating inmass market. In order to monitor efficiently clothing brands may use customerfeedback to incorporate consumer expectations, which will fulfill the demand ofethical business practices.

CSR represents a critical component of an ethical clothing brand, developing

and approaching CSR in a volunteer manner rather than a forceful action ingeneral creates a more appealing choice of brand to the consumer. Enhancetransparency through the development of description of clothing manufacturingthat will include: location, labor practices and content of the fabric.

Transparency should be present for a clothing brand however should not haveunnecessary information that can harm the business in addition not beinteresting to consumer.

Donations are supporting clothing brands in being more social committed, whileconsumers were found to willing to donate, not only will these supportiveactions help those in need they will also attract the ethical shopper. However itis important to mention on the information provided on the charity program asconsumers are focusing on the nature of the donation and the donation shouldbe preceded at the end of the shopping.

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Appendix 1: Ethics Checklist

Low Risk Research Ethics Approval Checklist

Applicant Details

Name xxxxxxxxxxxx	E-mail xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Department MBA	Date xxxxxxxxxx
Course Global Business	Title of Project:THE IMPACT OF ETHICALBUSINESS PRACTICES ONCONSUMER BEHAVIOURTOWARDS THE BRANDS OFCLOTHING INDUSTRY IN U.K

Project Details

Summary of the project in jargon-free language and in not more than 120 words:Research ObjectivesTo determine which unethical practices are present in U.K clothingIndustryTo investigate the impact of negative and positive ethical actions on abrand reputation in the U.K clothing industryTo identify the influence of CSR on consumer purchasing decision inU.K clothing industryResearch DesignThis research follows a grounded theory strategy, the study is explanatoryengaging the link among ‘ethical business practices ‘and ‘consumerbehaviour’, which will allow developing a theory about the phenomena fromcollected qualitative data adopted from the interviews with open endedquestions.Methods of Data CollectionPrimary Research carried out through semi-structured Interview:Twelve participants will be interviewed for research; the interviews will besemi-structured, following a non-probability sampling technique.

Participants in your research

1. Will the project involve human participants?

Yes

If you answered Yes to this questions, this may not be a low risk project.

 If you are a student, please discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, please discuss your project with your Faculty

Research Ethics Leader or use the Medium to High Risk Ethical Approval or NHS

or Medical Approval Routes.

Risk to Participants

2. Will the project involve human patients/clients, health professionals, and/orpatient (client) data and/or health professional data?		No
3. Will any invasive physical procedure, including collecting tissue or othersamples, be used in the research?		No
4. Is there a risk of physical discomfort to those taking part?		No
5. Is there a risk of psychological or emotional distress to those taking part?		No
6. Is there a risk of challenging the deeply held beliefs of those taking part?		No
7. Is there a risk that previous, current or proposed criminal or illegal acts willbe revealed by those taking part?		No
8. Will the project involve giving any form of professional, medical or legaladvice, either directly or indirectly to those taking part?		No

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, this may not be a low risk project.

 If you are a student, please discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, please discuss your project with your Faculty

Research Ethics Leader or use the Medium to High Risk Ethical Approval or NHS

or Medical Approval Routes.

Risk to Researcher

9. Will this project put you or others at risk of physical harm, injury ordeath?		No
10. Will project put you or others at risk of abduction, physical, mentalor sexual abuse?		No
11. Will this project involve participating in acts that may causepsychological or emotional distress to you or to others?		No
12. Will this project involve observing acts which may causepsychological or emotional distress to you or to others?		No
13. Will this project involve reading about, listening to or viewingmaterials that may cause psychological or emotional distress toyou or to others?		No
14. Will this project involve you disclosing personal data to theparticipants other than your name and the University as yourcontact and e-mail address?		No
15. Will this project involve you in unsupervised private discussionwith people who are not already known to you?		No
16. Will this project potentially place you in the situation where youmay receive unwelcome media attention?		No
17. Could the topic or results of this project be seen as illegal orattract the attention of the security services or other agencies?		No
18. Could the topic or results of this project be viewed as controversialby anyone?		No

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, this is not a low risk project. Please:

 If you are a student, discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, discuss your project with your Faculty Research

Ethics Leader or use the Medium to High Risk Ethical Approval route.

Informed Consent of the Participant

19. Are any of the participants under the age of 18?		No
20. Are any of the participants unable mentally or physically to giveconsent?		No
21. Do you intend to observe the activities of individuals or groupswithout their knowledge and/or informed consent from eachparticipant (or from his or her parent or guardian)?		No

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, this may not be a low risk project.

Please:

 If you are a student, discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, discuss your project with your Faculty Research

Ethics Leader or use the Medium to High Risk Ethical Approval route.

Participant Confidentiality and Data Protection

22. Will the project involve collecting data and information from humanparticipants who will be identifiable in the final report?		No
23. Will information not already in the public domain about specificindividuals or institutions be identifiable through data published orotherwise made available?		No
24. Do you intend to record, photograph or film individuals or groupswithout their knowledge or informed consent?		No
25. Do you intend to use the confidential information, knowledge ortrade secrets gathered for any purpose other than this researchproject?		No

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, this may not be a low risk project:

 If you are a student, discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, discuss your project with your Faculty Research

Ethics Leader or use the Medium to High Risk Ethical Approval or NHS or

Medical Approval routes.

Gatekeeper Risk

26. Will this project involve collecting data outside Universitybuildings?		No
27. Do you intend to collect data in shopping centres or other publicplaces?		No
28. Do you intend to gather data within nurseries, schools or colleges?		No
29. Do you intend to gather data within National Health Servicepremises?		No

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, this is not a low risk project. Please:

 If you are a student, discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, discuss your project with your Faculty Research

Ethics Leader or use the Medium to High Risk Ethical Approval or NHS or

Medical Approval routes.

Other Ethical Issues

30. Is there any other risk or issue not covered above that may pose arisk to you or any of the participants?		No
31. Will any activity associated with this project put you or theparticipants at an ethical, moral or legal risk?		No

If you answered Yes to these questions, this may not be a low risk project. Please:

 If you are a student, discuss your project with your Supervisor.

 If you are a member of staff, discuss your project with your Faculty Research

Ethics Leader.

Principal Investigator Certification

If you answered No to all of the above questions, then you have described a low riskproject. Please complete the following declaration to certify your project and keep acopy for your record as you may be asked for this at any time.

Agreed restrictions to project to allow Principal Investigator Certification

Please identify any restrictions to the project, agreed with your Supervisor or FacultyResearch Ethics Leader to allow you to sign the Principal Investigator Certificationdeclaration.

Participant Information Leaflet attached.Informed Consent Forms attached.Risk Assessment Form attached.

Principal Investigator’s Declaration

Please ensure that you:

 Tick all the boxes below and sign this checklist.

 Students must get their Supervisor to countersign this declaration.

I believe that this project does not require research ethics approval. Ihave completed the checklist and kept a copy for my own records. I realiseImay be asked to provide a copy of this checklist at any time.
I confirm that I have answered all relevant questions in this checklisthonestly.
I confirm that I will carry out the project in the ways described in thischecklist. I will immediately suspend research and request a new ethicalapproval if the project subsequently changes the information I have given inthis checklist.

Signatures

If you or your supervisor do not have electronic signatures, please type your name inthe signature space. An email sent from the Supervisor’s University inbox will beaccepted as having been signed electronically.

Appendix 2: Consent Form

Project title:

THE IMPACT OF ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES ON CONSUMER

BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THE BRANDS OF CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN

UNITED KINGDOM

Research summery:

This research focuses on investigating consumer behavior in relation to

ethical activities of brands operating in clothing industry. Specifically it targetsthe purchasing intentions and rational behind the decision making process ofconsumers, which incorporate: ethics, reputation and CSR.

You will be taking a face-to face interview that will consist of three parts; PartOne: Ethical business practices, part 2: Reputation and ethical business

practices and part three: CSR. The interview will take 20-25 minutes in total.

You can ask questions or clarify with researcher if there are any problems.

The date of the interview will be confirmed in advance providing a convenienttime. The information will be recorder on a device and transcribed fully

anonymously the names of students will be discrete.

Please initial

1. I confirm that I been informed about the study and I have

read the participant information sheet

2. I confirm that I acknowledge that my participation is

voluntary and I am able to withdraw from the study

3. I understand that the information I will provide is

presented confidentially without breach of private data

4. I confirm that I understand about changing my mind on

participation for this study which can be before my

participants or after the collection of my data (by 10th of

September)

5. I confirm that I give researcher the permission to record

my responses during the interview

6. I confirm that I give permission to the researcher to use

my responses as anonymised quotes which will be

presented in the research

7. I agree to participate in the research project

Name of participant:

Signature of participant:

Date:

Witnessed by (if appropriate):

Name of witness:

Signature of witness:

Name of Researcher:

Signature of researcher:

Date:

Contact information: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxk

Appendix 3: Participant Information Sheet

Project Title: THE IMPACT OF ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES ON

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THE BRANDS OF CLOTHING

INDUSTRY IN UNITED KINGDOM

1) Project briefing

This research explores the impact of ethical business practices on consumerbehaviour towards clothing brands. This report focuses on determining thekey drivers for ethical shopping of consumers and monitoring current ethicalbusiness practices in U.K.

2) Why have I been selected? Taking part is compulsory?

You have been selected for this interview as you have previously studiesCSR during your MBA course, however there is no obligation to take part you

may reject this participants.

3) What is required from me? Does research carry out risks?

This research requires one-to-one interview which is voluntary. The interviewwill take approximately 20-25 minutes and will be recorded and further

transcribed to be used in the research. There are no risks involved in thisparticipation and will be only used for this study in academic frames.

4) Advantages of taking part in this research

Your participation will enhance in depth understanding of consumer

behaviour and key drivers of ethical shopping in U.K

5) Can I cancel my participants?

You can quit the participation from the research further after your

interview has taken place, until 5th of September

6) Is there a data protection and confidentiality that will be followed during my

participants?

The research is fully anonymised and will not publish any personal

109-117 Middlesex St.,

London

E1 7JF

United Kingdom

data. The findings that will be presented will include quotations from theinterview.

7) Where can I express my complaints

You can contact the researcher for any complaints; alternatively you can getin touch with Coventry University London

8) How the data collected for the study will be used?

The data will be presented in dissertation report of the researcher

9) Is the research data reviewed?

Coventry University London faculty has reviewed this research

10) Contact details

Researcher:

xxxxxxxxxx

Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Institution:

Coventry University London Campus

Appendix 4: Cover letter

Address:

109-117 Middlesex St., London

E1 7JF

Name of the organization: Coventry University London Campus

Purpose of the research: To investigate the consumer behavior towards

ethical/unethical practices

Research topic: The impact of ethical business practices on consumer behavior

towards the brands of clothing industry in U.K

Dear Sir/Madam,

A postgraduate student at Coventry University London Campus in final term of MBA

(Hons) Global Business course .To carry out this research I would like to invite you to

participate in face-to-face interview the purpose of which is to analyze the consumer

behavior towards ethical/unethical practices and behavior of purchase. You must be

over 18 years old due to the legal conditions. The duration of the interview is 20-25

minutes and has a set of 11 questions. All data will be fully protected and confidential,

you response will be used anonymously in the research and will not be obligated to go

outside of these frames.

If you have any questions please contact me at: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yours Sincerely,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Appendix 4: Meeting Diary

Meeting Diary

M030LON DISSERTATION – Meeting Diary

Student Name: xxxxxxxxxx Supervisor Name: xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Week	StudentRequirements	Summary of ActionsAgreed	MeetingAttendanceSignatures
Week1	Review of ResearchProposal: ResearchTopic and DesignMeeting diary created	 Discussed what willbe included inChapter 1 and 2Ethics checklist formand to be sent beforedata collectionDiscussed what willbe included inappendicesAgreed to submitChapter 1 andChapter 2, beforenext meeting in week4
Week3	Review of SubmittedLiterature Review andMethodologyMeeting diary updated	Review Chapter 1 and 2 anddiscussed the feedbackClarified chapter 3structureAgreed on ethicschecklistAgreed to submitinterview questionsand chapter 3 beforenext meeting
Week5	Review of SubmittedData CollectionMeeting diary updated	 Received feedbackfor Chapter 2 and 3to modifyDiscussed thestructure of Chapter4and the writingstyleClarified thequestions and agreedto submit Chapter 4before next meeting
Week7	Review of SubmittedAnalysis	 Discussed how tomodify Chapter 4to be consistent

	Meeting diary updated	with literaturereview with sub-titlesClarified Chapter 5and 6, AppendicesConfirmed thepresentation timeand format
Week10	Assessed Presentationof Complete Draft toinclude initialConclusionsMeeting diary updated	 Received feedbackon presentationConfirmedconclusion andrecommendationsClarified finalsubmission

Appendix 5: Interview Questions

Section A

1. Explain what is your understanding of ethical and unethical behavior (practices) of a

business? How would you describe ethical and unethical behavior in relation to clothingindustry?

2. Describe three major unethical practices that are critical for you? What is the major

unethical behavior that you can remember for any clothing brand that you have known?

Please describe (seen, read or heard)

3. What is most significant ethical behavior or practice that is important for a clothing brand

to have in your opinion?

4. Does ethics of a brand impact on your buying decision when you consider clothing

purchase? Will you say that brands are more ethical or less ethical today in contrastwith past?

Section B

1. When you have the opportunity to observe a particular company that uses unethical

practice (for example Primark factory collapse in Bangladesh) in your perception does itimpact on the company’s reputation? Would you still consider buying from that brand?

2. Do you think that positive brand reputation of a clothing brand influences your buying

preference when considering multiple options? Would you say positive reputation

creates your brand loyalty?

3. If you have the opportunity to receive feedback on particular clothing brand and you

recognize its unethical practices, would you or would you not recommend the clothingbrand to your friend/family member? Please provide reasons

Section C

1. In your opinion are companies obligated to follow corporate social responsibility and for

you personally does it make a difference on your clothing brand choice? How importantis the brands transparency to you and do you think it should be a part of clothing

brands CSR activities?

2. Would you consider participating in a charity that is run by the clothing brand? (In store

donation) Please provide reasons

3. If the price of a clothing product would increase due to an ethical supply chain through

Fair Trade, would you still consider the purchase or will you switch to another brand?

Please explain

Appendix 6: Transcript of interview

Interviewer:

Explain what is your understanding of ethical and unethical behavior (practices)of a business? How would you describe ethical and unethical behavior inrelation to clothing industry?

Respondent:

“ To me ethical that a business has on employees as well as external

environment, practices benefits neutrally and equally all members to me

ethical actions are beneficial to some organizations and unethical are thathave an negative impact”

“In clothing industry I would say it is child labor, outsourced fabrics, fair

working conditions, suppliers treatment, respect in supply chain management”

Interviewer: Pleas describe three major unethical practices that are critical foryou?

Respondent:

“I would say it s the difference between the perceived value and actual value,

what it takes to be manufactured, material sourcing in terms of fabrics andwhether the business is contributing to society”

Interviewer:

What is the major unethical behavior that you can remember for any clothingbrand that you have known? Please describe (seen, read or heard)

Respondent:

“Gap clothing in relation to children labor which was an off-putting for me I

have not shop there since”

Interviewer:

What is most significant ethical behavior or practice that is important for a

clothing brand to have in your opinion?

“Donation, charity but I want to see the impact, if you take my money I would

like to see how my money contributes to specific organization and how I havehelped”.

Interviewer:

Does ethics of a brand impact on your buying decision when you considerclothing purchase? And why? Will you say that this has changed over the pastyears?

Respondent:

“Yes it does, I am a conscious consumers, especially if it has to do with

expensive brands, I will give it a second thought .It is challenging , comparingthe past the difference, businesses are trying to be ethical as people haveaccess to the companies information , I do believe businesses are trying

however big brands I understand the main focus is to be profitable , I wouldsay there is an equal amount f both practices”

Interviewer:

When you have the opportunity to observe a particular company that usesunethical practice (for example Primark factory collapse in Bangladesh) in

your perception does it impact on the company’s reputation? Would you stillconsider buying from that brand?

Respondent:

“I would not say that consumers are concerned about these issues, as

consumers do not have enough time to consider these, when some familieslive on threshold if they will care about ethics and reputation, I would not say ithas a great effect. There is an impact on the reputation but its not great,

especially with the amount of tourists that shop at Primark and Gap. I will

boycott these brands, having the alternatives, such as h&m .However, if I donot have the alternative that I would go with Primark and Gap”

Interviewer:

Do you think that positive brand reputation of a clothing brand influences yourbuying preference when considering multiple options? Would you say positivereputation creates your brand loyalty?

Respondent:

“Yes, because we live in era where we check the reviews before buying if I

don’t have personal experience reputation plays an important role in my

buying behaviour.No, I would say that brand loyalty it is a driver, for my initialdecision making but my brand loyalty is associated with the product qualityand its product lifecycle. This could only work for one time purchase”

Interviewer:

If you have the opportunity to receive feedback on particular clothing brandand you recognize its unethical practices, would you or would you not

recommend the clothing brand to your friend/family member? Please provide

reasons

Respondent:

“ No, I would definitely discuss the experience but would not recommend. For

example I like ALDO shoes but because they use animal leather I do not buythem and would definitely not recommend further to my friends or family”

Interviewer:

In your opinion are companies obligated to follow corporate social

responsibility and for you personally does it make a difference on your

clothing brand choice?

Respondent:

“I would say yes in both cases, I think we are becoming more conscious about

our choices, we understand the importance of CSR, it feels better when youare a part of these, as well as the company should have permitted their CSRactivities”

Interviewer:

Do you think CSR can be voluntary?

Respondent:

“I think they do not have a option, as the competitors are doing it they have to

do it”

Interviewer:

How important is the brands transparency to you and do you think it should bea part of clothing brands CSR activities?

Respondent:

“Transparency s important for me a clothing company should be fully honest

of their activities. I personally need information on the clothing that I am

purchasing, the more information I have about it the better. If the informationis listed on the website that will definitely be beneficial to me”

Interviewer:

Would you consider participating in a charity that is run by the clothing brand?

(In store donation) Please provide reasons

Respondent:

“Yes of course, but it should be the right time, as I work at the retail we ask

customers about donation at the end of transaction, the right moment is to askat the end rather than during the customer shopping which will be disturbing”

Interviewer:

If the price of a clothing product would increase due to an ethical supply chainthrough Fair Trade, would you still consider the purchase or will you switch toanother brand? Please explain

Respondent:

“It comes from transparency, as I understand that cost increases due to

ethical supply chain therefore I will be convinced to choose the ethical brandand I will be happy to purchase and help”