105poInts For lEarnIng and tEachIng
Analysis of trade figures in Item 1 allows students to see
evidence of consumer trends, as opposed to media hype. It
puts the value of sales into perspective (currently low – the
high growth figures are a result of increases on a very small
base level). It also demonstrates that there is a long way to
go (huge market potential). It is interesting to see the value
of boycotts – the hidden force of consumerism.
Item 2 provides a starting point for an exploration of the
concept of an ‘ethical consumer’. Just as the term ‘ethical
clothing’ can represent products with different levels of
‘ethicalness’ within its components and features, so the
ethical consumer has different concerns, different levels
of attitude towards those concerns, and demonstrates
different types of behaviour in response to those attitudes.
Students can use their own attitudes and behaviours as
reference points; however, as so little is known about
consumer attitudes (and they are changing rapidly), there
is a great opportunity to teach the fundamentals of market
research using the ethical consumer as a vehicle.
Item 2 is useful when teaching the concept of
segmentation in a marketing course. It allows the
student to understand the difference between traditional
measurable demographic segmentation variables (such
as age and income) and attitudinal variables, in this case
attitude towards ethical issues. This can lead into the
concept of targeting - considering which companies
target particular attitudinal group(s) - and then on to the
idea that companies can used a mix of demographic and
attitudinal variables to come up with a more narrowly
targeted offer, such as age and attitude towards ethical
clothing. It is also useful to try to analyse to what extent
high profile ethical clothing brands use age in their
targeting, because many don’t!
Item 3 demonstrates how ethical issues can effectively be
used to underpin an exploration of strategic marketing
concepts. There are many marketing textbooks that
cover these concepts, either in a chapter as part of
an introductory text (such as Brassington and Pettitt,
Jobber or Kotler), or in a more detailed way in a strategic
marketing text (such as Aaker, Baker or Brennan et. al. -
see further reading section). The company examples are
included in this item in order to provide some suggestions
for strategic analysis, asking questions such as what is the
company’s strategic brand positioning; what is the level of
commitment of the organisation to an ethical supply chain,
and so on. Other companies to add in here would be: Adili.
com, Noir, Ciel, American Apparel and Gary Harvey.Using information from all three items, students can start
to consider the societal aspect of a business environment
analysis (PESTLE), and how this is likely to present future
opportunities or threats for ethical clothing brands.suggEstIons For spEcIFIc lEarnIng actIVItIEs- Collect articles from newspapers and trade journals
about consumer boycotts, lobbying and sales response
to ethical fashion ranges: What evidence is there from
these that consumer attitudes are changing? How have
companies responded to consumer actions and buying
behaviours? - Devise a questionnaire and conduct a small-scale survey
of consumer attitudes towards ethical clothing. Design
questions carefully to gain the most valuable data you
can get in a short space of time. Questions could
cover the following aspects: frequency of purchase of
ethical clothing; expenditure levels; avoidance of brands
considered unethical; future intention to purchase;
different attitudes and behaviours of different consumer
groups, defined by age, gender, income, interest in fashion,
etc.; different attitudes and behaviours according to
clothing category (babyfood, for example, is a highly
successful organic food category; is the same true of
baby clothes?). - Conduct a focus group to look into the issue of
consumer confusion with ‘ethical labelling’. Use products,
labels and promotional material where possible to
prompt the discussion. Probe into reasons for purchasing
or not purchasing products when different ethical terms
are used to promote them.
MarKEtIng