Do Preferences for Fair Trade Rely on Ethical Arguments or Logos?

This paper investigates the effect of ethical labelling on consumer choice in the context offair trade. Previous studies have shown that the Fairtrade logo has a positive effect on brandchoice. However, it is uncertain whether this effect is due to attention to an ethical claim ordue to the Fairtrade brand. Understanding which of these two aspects are the main drivers inconsumers decision making can help marketers to design marketing communications and packaging strategies. This paper reports a conjoint experiment that compares the effect of theFairtrade logo with a hypothetical comparator logo that is matched on contrast, size, numberof colours and ethical context. The effect of the Fairtrade logo was much larger than for thecomparator logo demonstrating that fair trade effects are not solely due to mere attention orethical appeal.