Female consumers' intention to be involved in fair-trade product consumption in the U.S.: The role of previous experience, product features, and perceived benefits

Fair-trade practices include paying fair wages, supporting participatory workplaces and environmentally sustainable production, and developing long-term and supportive buyer-producer relationships (Kunz,G. I. and Garner, M. B. (2011), Going Global (2nd ed.), New York, NY: Fairchild Books). Fair-trade is both apolitical movement organized around the theme of trade justice, and the practice of particular types of trading and production relationships (Mare, A. L. (2008), The impact of fair-trade on social and economic development: a review of the literature, Geography Compass, 2, (6), 1922 1942). The aim of this study was to examine female consumers' previous experience, product features and perceived benefits of fair-trade product consumption. Specifically, the study examined how previous experience or lack of experience in fair-trade product consumption influences female consumers' purchase decisions by considering the impact of product features and perceived benefits. Results indicated that consumers who did not have fair-trade products experience made their purchase decision based on traditional product features (i.e., style and new trends). On the other hand, consumers who had experience with fair-trade products more consider ethical responsibility (i.e., perceived consumer effectiveness) in fair-trade shopping. Implications and limitations were discussed.