Green clothes : A survey of people’s willingness to pay for environmentally friendly clothes

To engage in environmental and social issues is getting more important for companies, and many companies have integrated environmental considerations into their business. Consumers have a strong influence on companies and their environmental awareness and willingness to pay affects the companies wor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Levinson, Elsa
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-42628
Description
Summary:To engage in environmental and social issues is getting more important for companies, and many companies have integrated environmental considerations into their business. Consumers have a strong influence on companies and their environmental awareness and willingness to pay affects the companies work within the environmental field. The consumption of clothes has grown rapidly and the average Swede spends 3.9 percent of their income on clothes. The production process of clothes can harm the environment, society and the consumers themselves. So the purpose of this thesis is to see if consumers have a willingness to pay extra for an environmentally friendly garment. The aim is also to identify what factors that may influence consumers’ decisions. A survey containing a contingent valuation has been conducted. The results show that a prominent majority, 89 percent, of the respondents stated that they would pay extra to make sure the garment they buy is eco-friendly, and the median for the amount they are willing to spend is 65 SEK extra. This indicates that there is an interest from the consumers to pay extra to make sure environmental consideration is taken in production of clothes. The awareness of the indirect harm that purchasing clothes can cause themselves, others and the environment and how intensely consumers feel that it is their own responsibility not to cause that harm, probably have an influence on peoples’ willingness to pay extra.