READ ME File For 'Dataset supporting thesis titled: "Criminal couture: consumer demand for luxury fashion sourced from the illegal wildlife trade"' Dataset DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/D3731 ReadMe Author: ARJUN RAJ AWASTHI, University of Southampton ORCID ID 0000-0002-6285-3565 This dataset supports the thesis entitled AWARDED BY: University of Southampton DATE OF AWARD: 2025 Date of data collection: 2022 - 2025 Information about geographic location of data collection: Licence: CC-BY Related projects/Funders: N/A -------------------- DATA & FILE OVERVIEW -------------------- This dataset contains: 1) SurveyDataJulyR.csv, 2) FinalBFData.xlsx, 3) Transcripts_Interviews.pdf 1) Survey data capturing consumer attitudes toward luxury fashion products made from exotic skins, alongside psychological and personality attributes. 2) Seizure data obtained from UK Border Force, detailing animal and plant contraband relevant to the illegal wildlife trade. 3) Interview transcripts from semi-structured interviews with luxury consumers discussing ethical consumption and perceptions of exotic skin products. Relationship between files, if important for context: Additional related data collected that was not included in the current data package: CITES trade database, open access from https://trade.cites.org/ -------------------------- METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION -------------------------- Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: 1) Data on animal and plant seizures were obtained from the UK Border Force through publicly available Transparency Data (2012–2013, 2018–2022) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. These records document contraband intercepted at UK borders under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Each seizure includes information on species, product type, unit (count, weight, or volume), and transport direction. The dataset was filtered to include imported animal products only and organised by taxonomic level, product category, CITES classification, and year. This data captures confirmed illegal trade incidents, providing insight into the scope and species composition of the illegal luxury fashion market (ERGO ID: 92507.A1). 2) The survey was designed to examine consumer attitudes toward luxury fashion products made from exotic animal skins and their association with psychological attributes such as narcissism and empathy. It incorporated validated scales including the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), Narcissistic Vulnerability Scale (NVS), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), Animal Empathy Scale (AES), and a bespoke Luxury Exotic Skins Attitudes and Ethics Scale (LESAS). The online survey was distributed via social media and email between July and October 2022 to adult participants (aged 18+) residing in the UK. Ethical approval was granted by the University of Southampton (ERGO ID: 87939.A1). 3) Semi-structured interviews were conducted with self-identifying luxury fashion consumers between March and August 2024. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling and convenience sampling through the University of Southampton. The interview guide was informed by the themes emerging from the survey’s PCA results. Interviews explored participants’ motivations, ethical reasoning, and justifications for consuming or rejecting exotic skin products. Each interview lasted 45–75 minutes and was conducted in-person. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and anonymised. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Southampton (ERGO ID: 91904). Reference: Awasthi, A. R. (2025). Criminal Couture: Consumer Demand for Luxury Fashion Sourced from the Illegal Wildlife Trade (Doctoral thesis, University of Southampton). Methods for processing the data: 1) Raw data from FOI responses and Border Force Transparency Data were cleaned and standardised. Common and scientific names, taxonomic classification, conservation status (IUCN Red List), and CITES Appendix information were manually added where missing. Entries with ambiguous or multiple species, mixed plant–animal products, or unclear product descriptions were excluded. Quantities were converted to consistent units (grams, millilitres, counts), and data were filtered to include only imported animal products. The cleaned dataset was used to produce descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, and trend analyses of illegal wildlife trade seizures. Data was processed using R version 4.3.1 (R Core Team, 2023) in R Studio 2) Survey responses were exported from Qualtrics and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 28.0.1.1 (15)). Data cleaning included the removal of incomplete responses and attention-check failures. Scale items were reverse-coded where appropriate, and internal reliability was tested using McDonald's omega test. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was applied to the LESAS to identify underlying factors, which were subsequently used to inform the qualitative interview guide. Non-parametric tests were employed to explore relationships between narcissism, empathy, and attitudes toward exotic skins. 3) Interview transcripts were imported into NVivo (Version 14) for qualitative coding. A hybrid inductive-deductive thematic analysis was employed. Initial codes were informed by neutralisation theory (Sykes and Matza, 1957), literature review, and expanded iteratively as new themes emerged. The codebook was refined through multiple readings to ensure consistency and depth. Final themes were 'Factors that Influence Decisions to Buy Luxury Fashion Products Made from Exotic Skins', 'How Perceptions of Non-human Animals Shape Ethical Considerations and Environmental Concerns', and 'Values Shaping the Identity of the Consumer and Justifications for Ethically Dubious Consumption'. Software- or Instrument-specific information needed to interpret the data, including software and hardware version numbers: SPSS (Version 28.0.01 (15)), NVivo 14 (QSR International, 2023), R version 4.3.1 (R Core Team, 2023) in R Studio Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: Environmental/experimental conditions: In-person semi-structured interviews in a private space on university premises for qualitative data collection. Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: The UK Border Force data was cleaned based on assumptions made and these can be found in Appendix B of the thesis. For survey data for some incomplete responses imputations were performed. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: I was solely involved in the sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission -------------------------- DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION -------------------------- 1) SurveyDataJulyR.csv Number of variables: Demographic (8): Age, Sex, Education, Employment, Income, Diet, Pet, Animal, A1–A23 (23) (attitudinal statements from the Luxury Exotic Skins Attitudes and Ethics Scale — LESAS). Further variables include scores from the NARQ (B1 - B18), NVS (C1 - C11), IRI (D1 - D28), and AES (E1 - E22) Number of cases/rows: 120 cases and 110 rows. Variable list, defining any abbreviations, units of measure, codes or symbols used: All scale responses are recorded on a 5-point Likert scale; demographic variables are categorical or ordinal (e.g. income bands). A1–A23 (23) (attitudinal statements from the Luxury Exotic Skins Attitudes and Ethics Scale (LESAS). Further variables include scores from the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) (B1 - B18), Narcissistic Vulnerability Scale (NVS) (C1 - C11), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (D1 - D28), and Animal Empathy Scale (AES) (E1 - E22) Missing data codes: Blank cells denote missing responses. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: No specialised data formats; standard CSV text encoding (UTF-8) Date that the file was created: July, 2023 2) FinalBFData.xlsx Number of variables: 13 Number of cases: 913 Variable list, defining any abbreviations, units of measure, codes or symbols used: Species/Taxa - Scientific name of the species seized Family - Taxonomic family or genus classification Class/Phylum - Class or phylum of the species (e.g., Reptilia, Mammalia) Description - Description of the seized product (SLP = Small Leather Product) Category - Broad category of seized item (TM = Traditional Medicine, F = Fashion, IOTA = Ivory Objects, Trophies & Art, C = Cosmetics, FO = Food, AP = Animal Parts, WDA = Whole Dead Animal, LA = Live Animal) Mass - Measurement of the seizure Unit - Measurement unit (count, g, ml) Direction - Direction of transport (import, export, re-export) Name - Common name of the species Kingdom - Biological kingdom classification (Animalia, Plantae) IUCN - Conservation status per IUCN Red List CITES - CITES Appendix classification (I, II, or III) Year - Year of seizure (2012–2022) Missing data codes: None (0 missing entries). Specialised formats or other abbreviations used: All entries are stored in standard tabular format. CITES and IUCN use internationally recognised coding systems. Date that the file was created: July 2024 3) Transcripts_Interviews.pdf The data is transcribed verbatim from anonymised interviews.