Fair Trade Consumer Study - Demographic: Age

-FINDINGS

There was a rich and interesting collection of data created by this study.  The following is a breakdown and explanation of some of the more compelling findings from the study as authored by student teams who spent the semester collecting and analyzing the data.  To receive a pdf of the complete report or an excel copy of the original data, please contact Dr. Stenn:  tamara (at) keene.edu.  More information is available from the data than what is presented here.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Age

Of 637 people surveyed, 67% were younger than the age of 30. Of the younger than 30 population, 44% made their own household buying decisions while 88% of the respondents over the age of 30 made their own buying decisions. This can be explained by the fact that many people under the age of 29 may still live with their parents or are financially dependent on their parents and their parents, rather than them, are making the household buying decisions.

According to a the National US Fair Trade Consumer Study, most of the fair trade is purchased by people in their 50’s (Fig. 2). In fact people in their 50’s are almost three times more likely to buy fair trade than people in their teens. Of the people 50-59 years of age surveyed, 26% said they always seek out fair trade when they go shopping, while only 10% of people aged 19 and under said they sought out fair trade. 

 Fig. 2

Based on the US Fair Trade Consumer Survey in all age groups, the most frequently purchased Fair Trade product is coffee, except for the 50 to 59 year olds, as they purchased chocolate just as much as coffee.  The second most popular Fair Trade product for people under the age of 40 to purchase is chocolate, though people over 40 seem to enjoy bananas and handicrafts more. The third most purchased Fair trade Product vary differently from age group to age group, with people 19 and under buying packaged food, 20 to 29 year olds buying bananas, 30 to 39 year olds buying packaged food and household items (tied), 40 to 49 year olds buying handicrafts, 50 to 59 year olds buying packaged foods, 60 to 69 year olds buying bananas and 70+ year olds buying flowers. The least bought products by all the age groups totaled together were flowers and tea.

The study also provided insight into who was familiar with the concept of fair trade (Fig. 3).  As in Fig. 2, the 50 to 59 year olds came out on top showing the most knowledge of Fair Trade. Of the younger than 30 population, 44% made the household buying decisions.  Thirty-three percent of the survey sample were older than 30. Of them, 88% made their own buying decisions. The lower knowledge of Fair Trade for people under the age of 19 and above the age of 70 could be due to many people in these age categories not making as many buying decisions as the people in the categories in between.   

Fig. 3

Fig 4 gives an overall comparison by age of respondents’ familiarity, commitment and engagement with Fair Trade.

(Fig. 4)

NOTE:  Other demographics studied include gender, occupation, income, where live, and use of media. Contact Dr. Stenn for a copy of the full report.