Female consumers' purchase intention of fair trade textile and clothing handicrafts: the roles of a geographical indication and fair trade knowledge in a brand equity model

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of Geographical Indication (GI) certification and fair trade knowledge (FTK) on U.S. female consumers' perceived brand equity and purchase intention of fair trade (FT) textile and clothing handicrafts. Online experiments and a survey were conducted using the measurement items of perceived quality (PQ), brand awareness (BA), brand association (BS), uniqueness (UQ), willingness to pay a price premium (PP), purchase intention (PI), and FT knowledge level. The study results analysis indicated that consumers' willingness to a price premium for GI products and positive impact of FTK on the brand equity of FT handicrafts. In addition, the study findings also showed that increase in BS, UQ, and PP leads to the increase in PI. By exploring the relationship between GI, FTK, brand equity, and PI in FT textile and clothing handicrafts brands, this study contributed to the previously neglected literature and may help the sustainable management of FT textile and clothing handicrafts enterprises and organizations.