Do Animal Fur Coats Symbolize Status or Stigma?: Examining the Effect of Perceived Stigma and the Label of “Faux Fur”

Abstract

Animal fur has historically served as a status symbol. Recently, however, the anti-fur consumption movements heightened perceived stigma around wearing fur. Through a survey and an experiment, this study examined whether perceived stigma has changed the symbolic meaning of animal fur coats. Specifically, this study investigated the relationship between the need for status and purchase intention toward genuine fur coats and tested whether an industry practice of affixing a “faux fur” label to the cuff of faux coats that look real can increase the purchase intention. In both the survey and experimental studies, the moderating effect of perceived stigma on the purchase intention was examined. Two-hundred female participants were recruited from MTurk. The experiment had a one-way between-subjects design where participants were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: explicit labeling condition and no explicit labeling condition. Survey results revealed that consumers with a higher need for status had higher purchase intention toward real animal fur coats. The moderating effect of perceived stigma on the relationship was found, indicating that consumers with heightened perceived stigma around wearing animal fur desired animal fur coats less. In the experiment, no effect of labeling and perceived stigma was found. By incorporating stigma theory, this study goes beyond the previous focus on exclusivity and scarcity of status symbols by showing that stigma is one possible mechanism by which the symbolic value of status products can be tainted.