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Political Consumerism in Context: An Experiment on Status and Information in Ethical Consumption Decisions
Author(s) -
Hudson Mark,
Hudson Ian,
Edgerton Jason D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/ajes.12033
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , consumerism , affect (linguistics) , context (archaeology) , politics , economics , business , public economics , social psychology , psychology , political science , sociology , social science , law , paleontology , communication , biology
This article investigates two possible explanations for willingness to engage in ethical consumption: increased status and improved information about the benefits of ethical consumption for producers and for nature. We approach our hypotheses through an experimental method in which people are asked, under varying conditions, to choose between fair trade and “conventional” coffee. Unexpectedly, status and information provision did not significantly affect consumption decisions. Implications of our findings for the ethical consumption literature and strategies aimed at increasing ethical consumption are discussed.