Effects of social responsibility labelling and brand on willingness to pay for apparel

This study examined changes in consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for apparel products as labour-related information and brand were added. Tobit analysis of auction bids from 121 university students for t-shirts showed men, Hispanics and consumers who believe in social responsibility and fair trade had significantly higher WTP once labour-related labelling was added. The amount and complexity of information did not matter, leaving substantial leeway to companies in crafting their message. Adding brand significantly increased WTP for two better-known brands while not changing WTP for the social responsibility messages. Results suggested brands can benefit from stressing social responsibility-related attributes of products.