Actitudes de los consumidores ante productos no éticos: diferencias sobre la percepción del precio

The aim of this research is to analyse experimentally the attitudes of consumers towards unethically priced products. Four experiments were designed and carried out in two field studies using two different products (toy, suitcase) from industries with a poor record of workers’ rights. Care was taken in the design of the experiments to avoid the risk of social desirability bias, which is a major concern in studies of this type on ethical purchasing decisions. The analysis of a sample of 587 participants confirmed that the perceived attractiveness of a product is influenced by concerns about price fairness. However, the study also showed that consumers’ fairness concerns are more related to themselves than to the workers who make the products. The research reveals that consumers are characterised by selfish motives rather than feelings of altruism or cooperation, which raises questions about the effectiveness of consumer awareness-raising campaigns as a way of combating labour exploitation.