Procedure and subjects
We collected the data using an online survey of undergraduate marketing students at two US universities, one in the southeast and one in the midwest. We offered the students extra class credit to complete the survey. We emailed the informed consent form and survey site URL to them. Clicking on the URL took them to the survey site. We gave them a week to complete the questionnaire and sent them a reminder email a few days after the initial invitation encouraging them to participate and thanking them if they already had. Student consumers are appropriate for the study because they have considerable experience in the marketplace, clothing is a major purchase category for them, and they represent a large segment of future consumers. Student samples have provided the data for many previous studies of materialism