With growing global interest in sustainability, ethical concerns in fashion are receiving increased attention. While ethical fashion is expanding, research on consumer responses to ethical fashion advertising, particularly animal ethics fashion, remains limited. This study examines potential cultural differences in consumer responses to animal ethics fashion campaigns, focusing on British and Korean Generation Z consumers.
The research objectives are: (1) to define animal ethics and animal ethics fashion and understand their current applications in different countries as well as the activities of organisations and brands, (2) to explore consumers' experiences and knowledge regarding animal ethics and fashion (3) to analyse and understand consumer responses to prevention-focused and promotion-focused framing in animal ethics fashion advertising, and (4) To discuss the localisation of global ethical fashion advertisements to enhance global consumers' motivation.
A multi-method approach was employed, incorporating semi-structured interviews, systematic selection of advertising campaigns from YouTube, content analysis of advertising campaigns, and a large-scale online survey. Findings indicate that British consumers responded more positively to information-oriented, prevention-focused advertisements, whereas Korean consumers showed a stronger preference for visually-oriented, promotion-focused advertisements. This contrasts with previous studies that culturally compare motivational factors related to Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT).
Furthermore, this study identifies that consumer perceptions and responses to animal ethics fashion advertising are shaped by a complex interplay of factors, including social perception, education, economic conditions, and emotional elements such as empathy and sympathy. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of cross-cultural ethical fashion advertising and provide practical implications for global organisations and brands, policymakers, and marketers. Accordingly, this study expects culturally adaptive and localised advertising campaigns to enhance global consumers' ethical consumption.
