Browsing by Author "Kuivalainen, Nina"

Ethical questions concerning fur material have put fur garments in a contradictory position. This exceptional status makes fur garments an interesting theme for research. Based on the public debate it was assumed that there are strong attitudes both against and in favour of fur. The attitudes based on ethical values are specified in this research. Since clothing can be seen in a symbolic manner this study also explores the symbolic meanings of fur garments. The purpose of this study is to analyze how ethical attitudes affect on the meanings given to fur garments. This study draws its inspiration from the fur researches of Leena Alalääkkölä, conducted in 1987 and 1991. Nevertheless there are little research and literature available on fur in clothing. This means that the literature and research used in this study is mainly of clothing and consumer studies in general. The quantitative data was collected during spring 2015 using a web survey. The data (N=831) was oriented in young females and it was analyzed using statistical software SPSS 22. By computing K-means cluster analysis the data was divided into five groups based on respondents fur related ethical attitudes. The symbolic meanings given to fur garments by these groups were then analyzed by using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney –tests. In addition to the quantitative data a qualitative data was formed of the comments written by the respondents. This was used to explain the results of the quantitative analyses. Attitude groups found in this study were named as very positive, somewhat positive, case-specific, very negative and extremely negative. The key factors defining the attitude were about fur farming, Finnish wild furs and recycled fur garments. The attitude towards fur affected meanings given to fur garments. People with positive attitude saw fur garments as diverse garments. Case-specific respondents did not have a strong opinion on the symbolic meaning of fur in general. Negative attitude provided an unfavourable view on fur garments and fur-users.