Six In Ten Respondents Embrace Ethical Shopping In Asia/Pacific
The results of this survey by MasterCard show that ethical shopping is increasing in importance to Asia/Pacific consumers. More than 80% of Malaysian, Thai, and Chinese respondents buy according to fair trade principles; 60% said they purchase because a percentage of the sale was donated to a good cause.
Ethical purchases are a growing trend in the Asia/Pacific region. Significant numbers of consumers from five markets said they would be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly items, including China (94%), Thailand (87%), India (83%), the Philippines (82%), and Hong Kong (77%). More than 70% of total respondents said they would go out of their way to purchase environmentally friendly items.
Retail outlets were identified as the preferred point of purchase for ethical products (60%) versus online channels. However with respect to online purchases, 75% of respondents said there were more choices online for environmentally friendly products based on fair trade.