ANNALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA FASCICLE OF TEXTILES, LEATHERWORK 133 DETERMINANTS TO THE CONSUMPTION OF LEATHER PRODUCTS

The current paper looks at some of the determinants in the consumption of leather fashion products by the 16-34 year old population of Québec. Although the Québec population presents some idiosyncrasies, we surmise that our results could probably be generalized to similarly aged population groups in the western world. Leather goods are now often considered as luxury it ems, a sub-sector of the fashion industry which has been outgrowing all others in the last few years. Yet leather is often seen as non-ethical, requiring the killing of animals, and non-ecological, since the production process is polluting. Those two opposing forces make the future of leather very uncertain. Surprisingly, very little literature has been written on the subject. This paper presents a survey in which the authors tried to identify the determinants to the consumption of leather in the 16-34 age groups, often referred to as Generation Y. Our findings reflect this dichotomy between the consumer’s interest for apparel and his or her negative reaction to some characteristics of leather. Although not as influenced as fur by ethical and ecological concerns, leather products the object of similar reactions. This paper concludes on some recommendations to participants in the leather industry who should note this trend and try to position their products in such a way as to minimize the negative elements and bank on the more positive aspects