Ethical and sustainable consumption in the Italian coffee market: a choice experiment to analyse consumers’ willingness to pay

Abstract

Consumers increasingly consider ethical and sustainable attributes of products in their purchasing decisions, in particular with reference to food consumption. Among agri-food products, coffee is a pioneering food for sustainability and ethical certification, such as organic and Fair Trade, whose success depends significantly on consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price for these attributes. This study uses a choice experiment (CE) to investigate the attitudes towards organic and Fair Trade coffee among Italian consumers. The results show considerable heterogeneity among respondents, the majority of whom tend to be more interested in organic coffee than Fair Trade coffee, even if a large group of them are willing to pay a premium price to consume Fair Trade coffee.