Purpose In the age of transparency, nonprofit organizations have attempted to raise awareness of unethical business practices through diverse social media platforms, putting firms under great pressure to incorporate sustainability in their operations. Focusing on the issue of animal cruelty which is a relatively under-investigated topic in the fashion industry, the purpose of this paper is to examine how different levels of animal cruelty depicted in nonprofit organizations’ ethical consumption campaigns influence viewers’ negative emotions and lead to their supportive behavior and ethical consumption intention. Design/methodology/approach In the main study, undergraduate students (n=82) from a big public University in the USA were recruited in exchange for extra credit and randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions of animal cruelty in a single-factor, three-level, between-subjects experimental design: non-threatening condition (n=26), low-threatening condition (n=27) and high-threatening condition (n=29). Findings The results indicated that the levels of negative emotional arousal are positively related to levels of perceived animal cruelty in social media campaigns. In addition, negative emotional arousal mediates the effect of perceived animal cruelty on the intention of supportive behavior, but no mediation effect on ethical consumption intention was found. Additionally, the findings of this study revealed that the indirect effect of perceived animal cruelty on supportive behavior intention is moderated by participants’ moral justification such as the reality of economic development and government dependency. Originality/value The findings of this study contribute to the literature by advancing the current understanding of the role of negative emotional images in ethical consumption campaigns in the context of animal cruelty in the fashion industry.

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Background and Rationale:The COVID-19 Pandemic has had serious effects on college student's mental health (Son et al., 2020). In particular, previous research demonstrates that differences in the level of COVID-19's economic and health impact can explain a significant proportion of the demographic gaps in COVID-19's influence on the decision to delay graduation, the decision to change major, and preferences for online learning (Aucejo et al., 2020;Cicha et al., 2021). Moreover, it is increasingly difficult for first-generation college students who are faced with the decision to provide with their family who may be experiencing financial or health shocks and achieve their goals of attaining college education (Garces-Jimenez, 2020). This suggests that focusing on the needs of students who are experiencing financial or health shocks due to COVID-19 could be a solution to minimize existing achievement gaps in higher education. Additionally, Fashion Merchandising students are like many employeed in the retail industry where workers are experiencing an increase in abuse related to customer service changes and uncertainty over continued employment (Sundar et al., 2021). In fact, just reading about the negative impact of the pandemic on the fashion industry (e.g. doomscrolling) may heighten the level of stress and reduce confidence about future career outlook (Bushwick, 2021). Finally, those in minority groups are more likely to be experiencing disparate health and employment impact due to the pandemic (Tai et al., 2021). A study from Arizona State University looking at the impact of the pandemic on students found that job loss, illness and fear of hospitalization can reduce the confidence students have in future earnings (Aucejo et al., 2020). Thus, the rationale of this study was to examine the current situation of Fashion Merchandising students at a large Hispanic Serving Institution in the Southwest related to their employment outlook considering the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss theoretical and practical implications for educators to enhance their learning experiences. Method: We recruited 480 fashion merchandising majors or minors to participate in an online survey. After a two-week recruitment period, 103 students responded to the survey, a 21.46% participation rate. After responding to scales on career preparedness (McAuliffe et al., 2006), stress levels (Lemyre & Tessier, 2003) and health impact (Aucejo et al., 2020), students were randomly assigned to one of two groups to read a positive or negative headline about the impact that COVID-19 had on the fashion industry. One group read a positive headline (e.g., "The pandemic has created a moment for the industry to pause and rebrand in a more sustainable, ethical way"); the other group read a negative headline (e.g., "The fashion industry is facing loss of jobs and companies struggle to stay open"). The impact of either negative or positive news headlines about the fashion industry was measured by repeating of three questions from earlier in the survey: industry o...

Keywords: fast fashion, impulse shoppers, compulse shoppers, hoarding Research Purpose and Significance: Fast fashion, low cost clothing often replicating high end designer trends, has allowed consumers to purchase more clothing and has driven the fashion industry to shorten fashion cycles in order to compete with these retailers using quick response systems (Joy, Sherry, Venkatesh, Wang, & Chan, 2012). It is important to understand how consumers evaluate fast fashion garment quality as it affects their purchasing decisions and commitment to repurchasing a brand based on previous experiences (Gitimu et al., 2013). Although anecdotal evidence suggests that fast fashion is made of low quality materials, little research has been done to understand how perceptions of fast fashion quality affects consumer purchasing frequency. In a time where the economy has shown slower opportunities for growth, consumers have shifted their perceptions and ultimately their attitudes towards lower quality products (Apeagyei et al., 2013).The low cost and frequent seasons of fast fashion also presents an opportunity for some consumers to purchase increase quantities of apparel. Consumers who purchase impulsively typically purchase with reckless abandon, forgoing any self-control that they may have (Rook, 1987). In addition, compulsive buying entails consumers who buy frequently, often without controlling their urges (Muller, et al., 2015). Furthermore, studies have identified that compulsive and impulsive shopping is tied to hoarding behavior including difficulty discarding and value oriented hoarding (Frost et al., 1998). However, the connection between fast fashion purchasing frequency (FFP) and compulsive, impulsive and hoarding behaviors has not been, a gap in the research which this study sought to fill. Methods:To understand impulsive and compulsive consumers' FFP and the effects that the apparel quality had on hoarding behaviors, an online survey was conducted with a random nationwide sample of 500 women ages 18-59. This homogenous sample was evenly distributed across ages and the resulting racial ethnicities closely represented US population. The survey employed established scales to measure each construct. Multiple regression analyses were conducted, and FFP frequency was tested using Baron and Kenny's (1986) mediation/moderation tests. Results and Discussion

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