Towards a Framework for Understanding Fairtrade Purchase Intention in the Mainstream Environment of Supermarkets

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Despite growing interest in ethical consumer behaviour research, ambiguity remains regarding what motivates consumers to purchase ethical products. While researchers largely attribute the growth of ethical consumerism to an increase in ethical consumer concerns and motivations, widened distribution (mainstreaming) of ethical products, such as fairtrade, questions these assumptions. A model that integrates both individual and societal values into the theory of planned behaviour is presented and empirically tested to challenge the assumption that ethical consumption is driven by ethical considerations alone. Using data sourced from fairtrade shoppers across the UK, structural equation modelling suggests that fairtrade purchase intention is driven by both societal and self-interest values. This dual value pathway helps address conceptual limitations inherent in the underlying assumptions of existing ethical purchasing behaviour m odels and helps advance understanding of consumers’ motivation to purchase ethical products

How to understand the complexity of product quality and the challenges in differentiating between organically and conventionally grown products—exemplified by fresh and heat-processed carrots (Daucus carota L.)

Quality traits are highly focused upon in the marketing of organic food products. There is a need to define and measure quality as consumers seem to have preconceived notions about the superior health value and taste of organic compared to non-organic products. A commonly held opinion among many consumer groups is that organic farming guarantees optimum quality, despite the fact that this remains unproven. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of quality traits in a plant-based food product, using carrots as an example. Selected designated quality aspects are presented to describe the complexity of quality and discuss the challenges of using these aspects in differentiating between organic and conventional products. The paper concludes we have insufficient tools to be able to adequately authenticate organically produced carrots. The same may be the case for most vegetables and fruit products. Suggestions for further studies include the soil and location aspect (terroir), in order to trace a product back to its origin in an organically or conventionally farmed field by finding a unique fingerprint for chemical constituents of sample