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Teen girls have been identified as a particularly "powerful consumer demographic" within the US economy (Salzman, 2010), capturing the attention of marketers for a number of reasons. The sheer size of the US teen market - estimated to be 26 million strong in 2012 - renders teen girls an influential market segment and one that is highly appealing to marketers (Statistic Brain, 2012). Additionally, teens, especially girls, are recreational shoppers who enjoy shopping for its hedonic and social pleasures (Dworjan, 2013; Haytko and Baker, 2004). Teens also have higher disposable income, relative to other demographic segments (Dworjan, 2013); recent estimates suggest that total US teen spending exceeded $208 billion in 2012 (Statistic Brain, 2012). And, teens' roles as "future consumers" as well as their influence on family purchase decisions further expands their presence within the marketplace and their appeal to marketers (Taylor and Cosenza, 2002; Sutherland and Thompson, 2003).
Of particular interest to teen girls is fashion (i.e. clothing and accessories), which accounts for up to 40 per cent of teen budgets (Piper Jaffray, 2013), with girls spending more than do boys (Soard, 2013). In one study of teenage consumer spending, 41 per cent of girls aged 13-18 years reported purchasing > or = 10 of clothing over a six-month period (Statistic Brain, 2012). Further, there is evidence to suggest that teen girls' are giving more attention to charitable causes, environmental issues and other socially responsible business practices as they make apparel purchasing decisions (Furlow and Knott, 2009; The Online Mom, 2011) and as they determine how to dispose of their unwanted apparel items (Lee et al. , 2013). Although the trade literature provides considerable evidence of teen girls' spending on apparel and the scholarly literature has established the salience of clothing to teen girls' identity and self-esteem (Kaiser, 1997; Piacentini and Mailer, 2004), relatively few researchers have explored how teen girls may differ in their decisions to purchase apparel, including the varying impact that issues of social responsibility may play in their decision-making. The role of social responsibility in shaping teen girls' apparel purchase decisions is of interest because of the growing attention dedicated to issues of ethics within the fashion industry (Joergens, 2006). In recent years, the industry has received considerable attention...