Ethical Apparel Consumption: A Study on Muslim Consumers in Malaysia

Najdah Abd Aziz; Rubiah Abu Bakar

Najdah Abd Aziz
Rubiah Abu Bakar

Abstract

The ethical consumption behaviour of individuals has received much attention from several parties as this activity is frequently debated in relation to its effects on the environment, human welfare, climate change and the sustainability of the planet. A lot of issues in relation to unethical apparel behaviour have been raised in the mass media and it has become a topic of increasing concern due to reports of the negative impact on society and the environment (Rusinko, 2007). Indeed, the demand for products, especially clothing has increased dramatically. The clothing and textile industries have increased their production capacity and are competing with each other to fulfil consumer needs. Several studies show that apparel consumption is one of the main reasons for environmental degradation. Therefore, ethical consumption behaviour is encouraged among consumers in order to minimize the damage to the environment and achieve sustainability. Due to this issue, the study aims to analyse the effect of conspicuous values, pro-environmental belief, personal norms and ethical consumption behaviour focusing religiosity and ethics on Muslims consumers in Malaysia. This study applied the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory as the underlying theory. The sample for this study consisted of 219 Muslim consumers in Malaysia, using an online survey method. The collected data were analysed by using SPSS version 23. The results showed that conspicuous value has no relationship on pro-environmental belief and ethical consumption behaviour. This study makes a significant contribution to the field of ethical behaviour as it deepens our understanding on ethical consumption behaviour particularly on religiosity and ethics. From the theoretical perspective, it fills in the literature gap by developing a comprehensive concept of ethical consumption behaviour, identifies factors that influence ethical consumption behaviour and extends the VBN model by adding new variable which is ethical consumption behaviour focusing on religiosity and ethics.

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