Browsing by Person "Ritch, Elaine"

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Accessing and affording sustainability: The experience of fashion consumption within young families
(Blackwell Publishing, 2012-03) Ritch, Elaine; Schröder, Monika
Despite the ever increasing levels of fashion consumption, neither retailers nor consumers have as yet implemented sustainability principles to a significant degree. This is despite the fact that sustainability principles are increasingly understood and will be applied by consumers, as long as affordable alternatives in mainstream fashions are available. In a highly competitive fashion retail sector, there exists an opportunity for UK high street fashion retailers to differentiate their brand image through aligning products with consumers' moral frameworks. Using phenomenological interviews, this research explores the fashion consumption experiences of professional women with young children and living in or near Edinburgh, with particular focus on their expression of their own sustainability concerns in their day-to-day practices. The findings reveal that in the absence of suitable products, information and labelling, consumers apply heuristics to their choices, especially price. They refer to the more familiar ethical food market which serves as a metaphor for fashion-related practices. They talk about trustworthy retailers and about how they deal with and rationalize their own practices where they reveal an obvious attitude-behaviour gap. The women's role of providing for the family adds further complexity in a sector which provides affordable alternative options. 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Capturing the voice of older consumers in relation to financial products and services
(2010) Brennan, Carol; Ritch, Elaine
The purpose of this pilot study was to focus on the suitability of selected financial products for older people. Bank accounts and equity release products were selected for this study by an expert advisory panel. New marketing initiatives are being used to promote bank accounts, including forms of insurance, for the '50+' market. Also, older people are now expected to provide for their retirement and it is anticipated that equity release will be one product which may be used to fund and maintain consumer lifestyles. In the first phase of the study, a questionnaire was distributed to 152 people aged over 50 years in Scotland. Eighty-three were completed, a response rate of 55%. The results informed the development of questions for the second phase which were discussed with 46 participants via the World Caf in June 2008, enabling a deeper insight into their opinions. The research found that consumers had lost trust in financial product and service providers because of the perceived excessive profits of banks and lack of customer service. Further, many products and services were prohibited for or incurred extra costs to those aged over 60 or 65 years, leaving limited choices, and equity release products were seen as a last resort for those in financial difficulty. Although the profitability of banks has changed dramatically since the completion of data collection, the issues identified by older consumers in Scotland will be of international interest. The demographic changes resulting in an increasing proportion of elderly people in the population are reflected throughout the UK and many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Similar financial products and services, which were the focus of this study, are promoted internationally, offering opportunities to replicate the research methods.
Involving older people in the development of financial products and services.
(Queen Margaret University, 2009-07) Brennan, Carol; Ritch, Elaine; Coull, Yvonne
Context - For older people, financial awareness is increasingly relevant in a complex market where the implications of making ill-informed decisions can be costly both financially and emotionally (National Statistics 2007). This pilot research study provided an opportunity to focus on the suitability of selected financial products for older people. Bank accounts and equity release products were selected for this study by an expert advisory panel. New marketing initiatives were being used to promote bank accounts including forms of insurance to the ‘50+’ market. Also older people are now expected to provide for their retirement and it is anticipated that equity release will be one product which may be used to fund and maintain consumer lifestyles
Plastic bag politics: modifying consumer behaviour for sustainable development
(2009-03) Ritch, Elaine; Brennan, Carol; Macleod, Calum
The adverse environmental impacts of plastic bags, including production energy costs, limited lifespan, increasing landfill content and inability to biodegrade, provide symbolic and practical evidence of a 'throwaway' consumer culture which acts as a significant barrier to sustainable consumption in particular and sustainable development in general. Decoupling consumer behaviour from plastic bag use is therefore an important challenge in the pursuit of sustainable consumption as a precursor to achieving sustainable development. This article provides a critical evaluation of that challenge, set within the theoretical framework of sustainable development. It examines the adverse environmental impacts of plastic bag use and evaluates initiatives by governments and businesses internationally to change consumer behaviour regarding the use of plastic bags in line with sustainable development principles. The politics of this agenda are analysed using a combination of consumer policy and public policy perspectives. Finally, the article draws conclusions regarding the earlier analysis.
Sustainable consumption and the retailer: will fashion follow food?
(Tilde University Press, 2011-06-01) Ritch, Elaine; Schroder, Monika; Brennan, Carol; Pretious, Mike; D'Souza, Clare; Polonsky, Michael J.; Taghian, Mehdi
Using World Café and drama to explore older people's experience of financial products and services.
(Blackwell Publishing, 2010-07) Ritch, Elaine; Brennan, Carol
This article examines a novel strategy to get older people talking about their financial needs and equity release. A questionnaire was used to identify issues which were then written into a drama on equity release products and bank accounts. This dramatic representation of the issues preceded discussion among older people at a World Caf event - a format that involves a series of circulating focus groups where concepts can be discussed in depth and recorded. The drama offered an initial stimulus of alternative and opposing opinions and facilitated conversation about financial products and services which are often considered uninteresting and private. The aim was to record ideas in the discussions that would benefit the production and design of innovative financial products that would meet the needs of people over 50 years. Further, as a technique, the combination of drama, used to stimulate discussion, and the World Caf format, to obtain and record consumer opinions, arguably offers innovative options to researchers in other sectors of product or service consumption.