Ethical fashion shoppers: beyond the hedonic/utilitarian motivations dichotomy? An explorative research

Despite the growing importance of ethical fashion, little attention has been given to the understanding and analysis of the consumer motivations of ethical fashion shoppers. Indeed, ethical fashion literature mainly focuses on issues such as: re-cycling, vintage, under consumption, second hand clothes, child free labour conditions, local craftsmanship valorisation, solidarity towards disadvantaged people (such as disables, prisoners, disadvantages mothers) (Dickson 2001; Shaw and Duff 2002; Tomollilo and Shaw 2004). Starting from the classical Consumer Behaviour dichotomy between hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations (Tauber 1972; Westbrook, Black 1985; Dawson et al.1990, Babin, Darden, Griffin, 1994) the aim of this contribution is to verify if these motivations are sufficient to explain the success of ethical fashion. The explorative research has been conducted through qualitative personal interviews to a convenience sample of twenty women, actual consumers of ethical fashion in Milan. The data have been interpreted and arranged by re-codifying the gathered information in a series of emergent categories able to highlight the actual consumers’ motivations.