Religious, Environmental, Economic and Behavioral Determinants of Ethical Clothing Consumption in Morocco: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

Abstract

Introduction: Ethical clothing consumption combines environmental, social, economic, moral and cultural dimensions. In Arab-Muslim societies, religious beliefs may also structure consumption choices.

Objective: To identify the factors associated with self-reported purchase of ethical clothing in Morocco and to assess the robustness of the associations using several complementary statistical approaches.

Methods: Cross-sectional study among 104 Moroccan participants. The primary outcome was Q25, self-reported purchase of ethical clothing. Associations were examined using conventional logistic regression, Firth penalized regression, and modified Poisson regression with robust variance. Missing data, discrimination by ROC curves, the Brier score, internal bootstrap validation (1,000 replications), the Q70×Q20 interaction, and an E-value were examined. A targeted bibliographic update, limited to PubMed and Scopus, was performed for 2020–2025 to contextualize the observed determinants.

Results: Among 102 respondents, 76 (74.5%) reported purchasing ethical clothing. The main model included 91 complete cases (67 buyers, 24 non-buyers). Islamic beliefs guiding consumption choices were strongly associated with Q25: conventional aOR=7.56 (95% CI 2.42–23.67; p<0.001), Firth aOR=6.73 (95% CI 2.31–20.88; p<0.001), and robust aPR=1.98 (95% CI 1.18–3.33; p=0.010). Ecological purchasing remained associated in the robust Poisson model (aPR=1.24; 95% CI 1.00–1.55; p=0.048), unlike Q81 (aPR=1.35; 95% CI 0.91–1.99; p=0.132). The logistic model had an apparent AUC of 0.827 (bootstrap 95% CI 0.732–0.908) and an optimism-corrected AUC of 0.809. The Q70×Q20 interaction was borderline: p=0.048 in conventional logistic regression and p=0.055 with Firth. The E-value for the Q70 aPR was 3.38, and 1.64 for the lower bound of its 95% CI.

Conclusion: Ethical clothing consumption appears to be multidimensional. The association with Islamic beliefs is consistent across logistic, penalized, and prevalence models. The environmental dimension also contributes to the behavior, while sensitivity analyses call for cautious interpretation given the cross-sectional, self-reported nature of the data and the sample size.

Keywords: ethical consumption; sustainable fashion; clothing; consumer behavior; religiosity; halal fashion; environment; Firth regression; prevalence ratio; Morocco.

Received Date: February 25, 2025                  

Accepted Date: March 18, 2025                   

Published Date: April 01, 2025

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/832