Consumers' Acceptance of Unethical Clothing Consumption Activities: Influence of Cultural Identification, Ethnicity, and Machiavellianism

Abstract

We studied the influence of clothing consumers' ethnicity, cultural identification, and one personality characteristic, Machiavellianism, on acceptance of unethical clothing consumption activities. Using a survey of 127 Chinese and U.S. students, the following findings were obtained: 1) those more closely identifying with U.S. culture tend to be more accepting of unethical clothing consumption activities than those identifying with Chinese culture, 2) ethnicity moderates the influence of cultural identification on consumers' acceptance of unethical clothing consumption activities, 3) those who are more Machiavellian accept more unethical behaviors than those who are less Machiavellian, and 4) both cultural identification and Machiavellianism significantly explain variance in consumers' acceptance of unethical clothing consumption activities. The findings of this study contribute to the development of a consumer ethics model.