For decades, researchers and practitioners have focused on ethical and environmental consumerism that is regarded as a mainstream phenomenon in contemporary consumer culture (e.g., Doane, 2001; Low & Davenport, 2007). In this context, the ethical consumer is supposed to be concerned about a broad spectrum of issues ranging from the environment and animal welfare to societal concerns, including human rights. By “shopping for a better world” (Low & Davenport, 2007, p. 336), the ethical buyer demands products that meet his/her moral principles and boycotts companies involved in unethical practices (e.g., Muncy & Vitell, 1992; Barnett et al., 2005). Nevertheless, a critical perspective on the economic reality has led to the discussion if the ethical consumer is nothing more than a myth (e.g., Carrigan & Attalla, 2001; Devinney et al., 2010). A particular industry context where cruel production processes are widely discussed is the cosmetics industry. Therefore, from the multitude of ethical dilemmas related to consumption behavior and cruel business activities, the underlying study focuses on animal testing for cosmetic purposes.
The main research focus of this study is built on the idea that anthropomorphic communication about cruel tactics in production processes has significant impacts on consumers’ perception and behavior. Besides the form of communication, the perception of anthropomorphic communication is largely determined by personal and individual characteristics of the recipient. In addition to the ability to emphasize – generally known as to encourage the perception of harmful conditions and foster the ability to experience and share another´s condition or state of mind and emotional context (Johnson, Cheeks & Smither, 1983; Cohen & Strayer, 1996) - there exists a “dark side” of consumer personality as well. The Dark Triad which is composed of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Hence, the study additionally examines the impact of bright and dark personality traits on the perception of anthropomorphized communication and highlights the importance for the identification of diverse consumer segments.

• Klaus-Peter Wiedmann(Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)
• Nadine Hennigs( Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)
• Evmorfia Karampournioti( Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)