Abstract
Professionals are supposed to conduct their duties in accordance with a set of ethical standards accepted by all members of the profession. These standards determine what they should or should not do or what is right or wrong in the workspace. The classification and description of these moral questions are even more difficult when artistic creation is in question. Duplicating previous works, re-using some parts of the previous studies to create a new work and stealing from other designers’ productions can be observed in the profession. Moreover, the use of ecologically friendly materials is emphasized recently. However, the degree to which these behaviours are judged as ethical or unethical depends mostly on the rigour and conscience of the creators. In this regard, the current study administers a questionnaire addressing above constructs with 135 fashion design students in a Turkish state university. Participant perceptions regarding the professional ethics of fashion designers were investigated. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure. Factors were named as ethics during creativity and environmental awareness. The analysis explained 46 per cent of the total variance and factors had high internal consistency coefficients. Participants’ averages did not differ with regard to gender whereas differences among classes were observed. Findings are discussed followed by implications and suggestions for further implementations.
Keywords: Professional ethics; fashion design; environmental awareness in fashion