Ethical Luxury - Myth or Trend?

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Business economics - Business Ethics, Corporate Ethics, grade: 'Distinction' (<1,3), London School of Economics (Management), course: International Marketing - A Strategic Approach, language: English, abstract: 'Ethics are in vogue' is the conclusion drawn by New York Times journalist Alison Smale (2007) regarding the outcome of the 2007 IHT luxury conference. This claim is based on the assumption of a new emerging type of luxury consumer whose buying decision seems to depend on the ethical performance of manufacturing companies (Gonzalez, 2009). Is this notion merely wishful thinking or does it actually fit empirical reality, since the latter would invalidate the saying 'the devil wears Prada'. The particular question of this discourse therefore is, whether consumers really care about ethics when it comes to the consumption of luxury goods or whether the very nature of such products leads to the suppression of any potential ethical issues related. The key to investigating this question is the focus on behaviour rather than being misled by good attitudes or intensions. In this context, it is crucial to evaluate contemporary ethical consumption in general before applying the concept to the specific characteristics of the luxury industry.