Sustainable Consumption and Ethical Behavior of Consumers in the Footwear Industry

Traditionally shoes are made from leather and most of the worldwide population wear it, but there is a particular group of consumers, with an ethical behavior, who prefer shoes made from alternative materials. In our days, the main objective of the fashion industry (T&C, footwear) is to reduce the intensive use of fossil energy, non-renewable raw material and decreasing of landfill waste. In past years, sustainable and ethical consumption has become a popular topic in industries, has gained increasing importance in wealthy countries all over the world. This paper presents some point of view about ethical footwear and the consumer behavior, it also provides a brief overview of global consumption of footwear, as starting point for a new approach of the supply chain of footwear industry. The objective of this paper is to present consumers perception and interests regarding ethical footwear and ethical brands. To reach the main objective of the article, the methodology of the research consists in a survey applied to a target group of Romanian people, men and women, with average to high incomes, interested in buying less but sustainable products.