Fair Trade Purchase Intention Scale

What it measures

Measures consumer intentions to purchase fair trade certified products and willingness to pay a price premium over non-fair-trade alternatives. Fair trade products guarantee minimum prices to producers in developing countries, worker rights, and sustainable practices. De Pelsmacker et al. demonstrated that while attitudes toward fair trade are generally positive, only a minority of consumers consistently buy fair trade and pay premiums — illustrating the attitude-behaviour gap in ethical consumption. Widely used in research on ethical labels, cause-related marketing, and price premiums for sustainability.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

Ethical Purchase Intention (Likert 1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

• I intend to buy fair trade products in the future.
• I prefer fair trade products to conventional products.
• The next time I shop, I will actively look for fair trade products.
• Knowing that a product is fairly traded is important to my purchase decision.

Willingness to Pay Premium

• I would buy fair trade products even if they cost more.
• I would be willing to pay more for a product if I knew it was fairly traded.
• I would pay a higher price to ensure producers in developing countries receive fair compensation.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Two subscale scores. The average reported WTP premium across studies is 5–10% for coffee and 5–12% for chocolate. Premium WTP is moderated by perceived authenticity of fair trade certification, brand trust, income, and political values.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

De Pelsmacker, P., Driesen, L., & Rayp, G. (2005). Do consumers care about ethics? Willingness to pay for fair-trade coffee. Journal of Consumer Policy, 28(4), 363–385.

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