Content area
Full text
Over the past ten to 15 years, the practice of ethical consumption has gained in popularity ([6] Crane and Matten, 2004; [27] Pelsmacker et al. , 2005; [28] Randall, 2005). Ethical consumption has been defined as "the conscious and deliberate decision to make certain consumption choices due to personal moral beliefs and values" ([6] Crane and Matten, 2004, p. 290). Ethical consumption includes either purposeful refusal to buy certain products by boycotting them or intentional decisions to purchase other products, such as cause-related products. Cause-related products result from "a general alliance between businesses and non-profit causes" ([8] Cui et al. , 2003, p. 310). With a cause-related product, a for-profit business agrees to make a monetary donation to a specific non-profit organization each time a consumer purchases their cause-related product ([35] Trimble and Rifon, 2006). The products raise money for a specific charity as well as awareness of the cause.
One of the most popular fashion accessories in the United States in 2005 was a cause-related product: the silicone rubber charity bracelet ([13] Dodes, 2005; [36] Webster, 2005). These inexpensive, colorful, rubber bracelets were sold by a variety of businesses (e.g. Nike, 7-Eleven, Hot Topic), and the proceeds or portion of the proceeds of these sales were donated to specific charities (e.g. Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research, USO to support American troops stationed abroad, Hot Topic Foundation to support programs and organizations that encourage youth in art and music). According to the LivestrongTM Lance Armstrong Foundation more than 55 million people across the globe wear a yellow silicone band in support of people living with cancer ([23] LiveSTRONG(TM), 2007).
With the overwhelming success of the rubber bracelet cause-related fashion product, both for-profit and non-profit organizations located in the United States and around the globe are trying to develop new cause-related products that will be similarly popular in the upcoming seasons ([4] Carnwath, 2006). Thus, a need exists among practitioners for information related to the consumers of rubber charity bracelets. While general information has been collected about the consumers of ethical products and cause-related products ([8] Cui et al. , 2003; [12] Dickson and Littrell, 1997) the unusually massive appeal of the rubber charity bracelet as a cause-related fashion product seems to warrant...