This thesis explores the role of the self-concept on ethical consumption behaviour within the Thai consumer context. Religiosity has an influence on a person’s self and morality as Thai people place high importance on religious values. Ten consumers are studied through in-depth, phenomenological interviews, focusing on ethical consumption experiences and meanings. The self-concept is viewed as an experiencer and a moral entity that is dynamic and contextual between internal and external values. The study has extended knowledge on the self-concept and self-image congruency in the context of ethical consumption. It found the existence of a self-ethics relationship through processes of internalisation and externalisation. Personal value, emotion, moral salience, religious beliefs and social values are internalised into the self-concept. On the other hand, externalisation allows consumers to express personal meanings onto society. Self-monitoring functions in these processes to control ethical behaviour. Ethical consumption helps consumers to construct and enhance moral identity, underpinned by the moral self. This thesis has found self-ethics congruency, where meanings of the self and ethical consumption are symbolised and encouraging ethical consumption. Moreover, the multidimensional self has emerged from the study. This finding offers insights on different aspects of the self-concept through ethical consumption. Consumers intuitively engage in ethical consumption when emotion is involved. The implications of this study suggest “who ethical consumers are” by looking at the consumer’s self. Organisations and marketers can use different selves and moral identity to segment and target potential ethical consumers while creating brand image corresponding to consumer’s self-image.

This thesis explores the role of the self-concept on ethical consumption behaviour within the Thai consumer context. Religiosity has an influence on a person’s self and morality as Thai people place high importance on religious values. Ten consumers are studied through in-depth, phenomenological interviews, focusing on ethical consumption experiences and meanings. The self-concept is viewed as an experiencer and a moral entity that is dynamic and contextual between internal and external values. The study has extended knowledge on the self-concept and self-image congruency in the context of ethical consumption. It found the existence of a self-ethics relationship through processes of internalisation and externalisation. Personal value, emotion, moral salience, religious beliefs and social values are internalised into the self-concept. On the other hand, externalisation allows consumers to express personal meanings onto society. Self-monitoring functions in these processes to control ethical behaviour. Ethical consumption helps consumers to construct and enhance moral identity, underpinned by the moral self. This thesis has found self-ethics congruency, where meanings of the self and ethical consumption are symbolised and encouraging ethical consumption. Moreover, the multidimensional self has emerged from the study. This finding offers insights on different aspects of the self-concept through ethical consumption. Consumers intuitively engage in ethical consumption when emotion is involved. The implications of this study suggest “who ethical consumers are” by looking at the consumer’s self. Organisations and marketers can use different selves and moral identity to segment and target potential ethical consumers while creating brand image corresponding to consumer’s self-image.

Forskning bekräftar att ett gap mellan intention och handling finns. Denna studie belyser etiska konsumenter samt gapet mellan att vilja handla etiskt och hållbart men att inte alltid göra det. Fokus har legat på att ta reda på varför detta gap uppstår och att skapa en förståelse för de faktorer som påverkar konsumenters köpbeteenden. En avgränsning till klädbranschen har gjorts då det finns begränsat med forskning kring gapet inom detta område samt ett till synes begränsat utbud av etiska och hållbara kläder. Genom en kvalitativ metod har 37 semistrukturerade intervjuer gjorts. Intervjuerna har ägt rum i två olika köpcentrum i Sverige. Resultatet visar att det finns respondenter som känner igen sig i det så kallade gapet och de främsta faktorerna respondenterna menar påverkar deras handlingar är pris, hållbara kläder ansågs dyra, informationsbrist, svårt att veta vad som är hållbart och inte samt bekvämlighet, orken att söka information på egen hand är begränsad. Det framkom även att en bristande tillit till det media och företag kommunicerar finns från konsumenternas sida och att detta kan vara en bidragande faktor till att gapet uppstår. Respondenter uttryckte att det aldrig finns några garantier för att de produkter som sägs vara tillverkade under bra förhållanden faktiskt är det. En slutsats om att det inom klädbranschen finns mycket för företag att arbeta med för att öka sin trovärdighet gentemot konsumenterna har kunnat dras. Det ligger dock även ett ansvar hos konsumenter att våga göra sin röst hörd samt att vara öppna för förändring. Det är en ömsesidig relation mellan företag, individer och samhälle / Consumers’ intentions don’t always result in actions. This study focuses on ethical consumers in order to investigate why a gap between intention and action occur. Based on this an improved understanding for the underlying factors that impact buying behaviour is created. A delimitation has been made to focus this study on retail apparel and ethical and sustainable clothes. Some factors have been seen to be of bigger importance to the gap than others, such as price, lack of information and convenience. The results also imply that there is a missing trust from the consumers’ point of view when it comes to trusting what is communicated about ethical and sustainable work within the clothing industry.