Sustainability and Social Responsibility

The Role of Guilt in Ethical Consumption of Vegan Fashion: Comparing Consumer Responses to Vegan Leather and Vegan Fur

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Abstract

Vegan fashion is expanding as ethical consumption rises, yet consumer responses may differ across vegan materials. Grounded in deontological ethics, we test a moderated mediation in which guilt toward animal-based materials increases perceived business ethics, which in turn elevates purchase intention, with material type (vegan leather vs. vegan fur) as moderator. Using ads for an imaginary fashion brand, a pretest with 100 U.S. women confirmed higher guilt for natural fur than natural leather. In the main experiment (n = 198), guilt increased perceived business ethics. Perceived business ethics predicted purchase intention more strongly for vegan fur than vegan leather. However, the direct effect of guilt on purchase intention was stronger for vegan leather than vegan fur. Furthermore, indirect effects were larger for vegan fur than vegan leather. Findings show leather elicits immediate action, whereas fur operates via ethical evaluations, informing material-specific marketing.

Keywords: Vegan fashion, Ethical consumption, Vegan leather, Vegan fur, Guilt in ethical consumption

How to Cite:

Kim, S., Youn, C. & Kim, S., (2025) “The Role of Guilt in Ethical Consumption of Vegan Fashion: Comparing Consumer Responses to Vegan Leather and Vegan Fur”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 82(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.21399