<p>In contemporary public debate there is currently a great deal of focus attached to environmental problems and social responsibility. This trend is noticeable within the clothing industry, where it has become increasingly popular for new brands to market themselves with an environmental and ethical profile. An anthropological approach has been used to investigate how individuals understand ethical dimensions of clothing, and relates to the consumers’ ideals that are pronounced by clothing companies with an environmental and ethical profile. Interviews have been conducted with young men, a group often absent in accounts of ethical consumption. From these conversations, it is possible to discuss wider processes going on in society at large. Contemporary discourse on ethical shopping appears to rest on the assumption that the individual is able to freely choose among merchandise available on the market, and is placed in a central position of responsibility towards human and non-human others. There is a need for research that challenges this view. From the material it became visible that there existed a strong boundary from the informants´ point of view of what was mentioned as social problems or global issues, and of what they considered reasonable of themselves to bear responsibility for. Distrust was expressed against ongoing public debate that was considered to be too one-sided. Barely any references existed of ecological and fair made fashion, suggesting a generational gap in experiences of this kind of clothing. The study is considered to stimulate for further research in the area of ethical shopping of clothes.</p>

In contemporary public debate there is currently a great deal of focus attached to environmental problems and social responsibility. This trend is noticeable within the clothing industry, where it has become increasingly popular for new brands to market themselves with an environmental and ethical profile. An anthropological approach has been used to investigate how individuals understand ethical dimensions of clothing, and relates to the consumers’ ideals that are pronounced by clothing companies with an environmental and ethical profile. Interviews have been conducted with young men, a group often absent in accounts of ethical consumption. From these conversations, it is possible to discuss wider processes going on in society at large. Contemporary discourse on ethical shopping appears to rest on the assumption that the individual is able to freely choose among merchandise available on the market, and is placed in a central position of responsibility towards human and non-human others. There is a need for research that challenges this view. From the material it became visible that there existed a strong boundary from the informants´ point of view of what was mentioned as social problems or global issues, and of what they considered reasonable of themselves to bear responsibility for. Distrust was expressed against ongoing public debate that was considered to be too one-sided. Barely any references existed of ecological and fair made fashion, suggesting a generational gap in experiences of this kind of clothing. The study is considered to stimulate for further research in the area of ethical shopping of clothes.