2. Literature review The purpose of the literature review is not only to review the current knowledge of the problem concerned, but also to emphasize the importance of the topic by providing evidence (Ridley, 2012). Therefore, a critical analysis of previous studies is necessary in order to provide in-depth knowledge of the field. The goal of this chapter is to present the reader with a clear understanding of ethical consumption. Since the main objective of this study is “to explore the influence of price on ethical purchasing behavior in the apparel industry of cross-cultural populations between two countries,” to achieve this objective, this chapter will begin by providing a definition of ethical purchasing. Then, it will provide the concept of ethical consumption and also the internal issues of the sector. The gap between the client's ethical concern and his actual practice will be discussed later. 2.1 Definition of ethical purchasing To date, the meaning of ethical purchasing, also known as ethical consumption, has been defined by many experts. However, a detailed and generally accepted meaning has not yet been defined. Before providing the meaning of ethical consumption, it is necessary to understand the meaning of ethics. As translated by the Cambridge Dictionary (2015), ethics means “a system of accepted beliefs that control behavior, especially a system based on morality.” Therefore, ethical consumption can be defined as customer behavior that has ethical concerns in the purchasing decision. As described by Cooper-Martin and Holbrook (1993, p.113 cited in Bray et al., 2011), ethical consumption is "the decision-making, purchases and other consumption experiences that are influenced by the consumer's ethical concerns", a... .... half of the paper ......practices as a source of competitive advantages (Straughan & Roberts, 1999; Pedersen & Neergaard, 2006). To illustrate, Innocent, a 100% natural juice and smoothie company that ethically sources raw materials and practices many other CSR activities, appears to be very successful and has been positioned as a market leader in its product segment (Datamonitor , 2007). From the consumer's perspective, as suggested by Shaw and Shiu (2002), besides price and quality, ethical issues are another factor that customers consider when purchasing goods. Recently, consumers are more interested in ethical issues than in the past and usually reflect their concerns through ethical purchases (De Pelsmacker & Janssens, 2007). In the United Kingdom, for example, there is an increase in ethical consumption. As shown in Figure 2.1, spending on ethical activities has increased steadily.