摘要：An emerging social ethic for animal welfare that seeks to improve the welfare of animals in industrial farming is evident in the growing demand for products perceived to be ‘animal friendly’. Research examining consumer response to ‘animal friendly’ products has focused on the food product category despite the extensive use of animal fibres, fur, and skins in the production of clothing and textiles. How consumers respond to animal welfare issues in the clothing and textile product category is of particular interest to animal production industries. This paper explores ethical consumers’ response to ‘animal friendly’ labelling of wool apparel. Five focus group interviews were conducted with American female ethical consumers to elicit beliefs and attitudes towards social labels applied to wool apparel that incorporate animal welfare principles. The focus group data indicated that consumers’ beliefs about social labels, in terms of perceived credibility, transparency, and relevance of the label to the product, influence their attitude towards the label and subsequent purchase intentions. Further, it appeared that consumer beliefs about the ethical issue(s) articulated by social labels influence consumer attitudes and purchase intentions.
