Willingness to pay for organic cotton

Abstract

Purpose Consumers seem to be increasingly concerned about the environmental and social consequences of their purchases. For this reason, companies are involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies for their supply chain to responsibly manage the consumption of the environmental resources and to support sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the Italian organic apparel consumer by investigating the importance of consumers’ attitudes towards CSR in agricultural products processing industries and their willingness to pay (WTP) for organic cotton clothing. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire data were gathered in Italy on a Likert scale. Questions focussed on WTP for organic cotton, with the aim to test consumer responsiveness to a CSR initiative in Italy. A structural equation model is proposed to shed some light into this relatively unexplored area. Findings One of the direct implications of the authors’ study is that companies in apparel industry should try to improve their social and environmental performance to elicit the desired consumer responses. Originality/value This implies important managerial implications for new marketing strategies. If consumers’ perception of CSR practices drives their behavioural intention, firms will be motivated to be involved and to invest in socially responsible practices.

Why U.S. Consumers Buy Sustainable Cotton Made Collegiate Apparel? A Study of the Key Determinants

“…As defined by Chi [2], environmentally conscious consumers are consumers who buy goods and services that they believe to have a positive or less negative impact on the environment. A growing number of environmentally conscious consumers have shown to be willing to pay price premium for environmentally friendly products that lead to a new source of competitive advantage in business and are shifting firm focus to provide environmentally conscious consumers with more product options to meet their preferences, reflect their values, and represent their lifestyle [3][4][5]. This is particularly apparent in the U.S. textile and apparel industry that has long been considered one of the most environmentally unfriendly businesses [6][7][8].…”

“…Furthermore, the chemicals used in pre-treatment, dyeing and finishing processes pose great environmental hazards and may cause severe health problems to people involved [6,11]. Given the considerable adverse impacts of the textile and apparel industry on the environment and the ever-increasing public concern about sustainability issues, a growing number of brands and firms have started looking into adoption of more sustainable practices [2,4,5]. Sustainable practice is considered a practice that supports economic and profitable growth, while helping to minimize environmental impact [12,13].…”

Consumers' Attitude Towards Eco Friendly Textile Products

“…Consumer behaviour is, during the purchase decision making process, affected by various factors. These can be divided into several factor (influence) groups: psychological (motivation, attitude, learning and memory), social (reference groups, family, individual's role and position, and status), personal (age and level of a family's life cycle, occupation and financial situation, lifestyle, personality and self-image, values and beliefs), cultural (culture and social class) [6][7][8], economic (price-monetary and non-monetary aspect, income and quality) [9], individual differences and environmental impacts [10][11][12][13][14]. In the research of authors [7] and [15], we observed a classification into internal and external influence factors on purchase decision making.…”

Leave some for me! The role of marketing in influencing responsible consumption during times of crisis

“…Despite the evidence that responsible consumption is becoming an increasingly important topic (Davari & Strutton, 2014;Moore et al, 2006;Nassivera et al, 2017;Valor & Carrero, 2014), a literature search reveals no evidence of responsible consumption conceptualized as one consumer's responsibility to other consumers. More specifically, previous studies have not addressed how motivational factors that exist during times of crisis might impact socially responsible consumption, nor have scholars discussed steps that firms could take to promote, support, or even enforce socially responsible consumption during extraordinary times.…”

“…Research on socially responsible consumption covers a multiplicity of topics. Having been examined through the lens of consumer activism (Barnett et al, 2005), 'buy local' (McCaffrey & Kurland, 2015), environmentalism (Menon & Menon, 1997), green marketing (Cronin et al, 2011;Pinto et al, 2011), sustainability (Moore et al, 2006;Nassivera et al, 2017), ethical consumerism (K. C. Park, 2018;Connolly & Shaw, 2006), and citizen-consumers (Devinney et al, 2006), previous research has 'largely investigated this phenomenon as a conscientious activity by rational individuals' (Ulusoy, 2016, p. 1). Moreover, prior research has primarily explored socially responsible consumption in times of plenty, but has ignored episodic, extraordinary situations like pandemics.…”