Exploratory evaluation of potential and current consumers of organic cotton in Hawaii

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify attitudes, behaviors, motivations, and consumption patterns of potential and current consumers of organic cotton products in the Hawaii market.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from face‐to‐face structured interviews from an intercept sample of 420 Hawaii consumers. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi‐square tests and correlation analysis to provide additional information about the association of variables.FindingsSignificant associations were found between gender and knowledge about organic cotton, between cotton preference and ethnicity, and between cotton preference and knowledge of differences among organic and conventional cotton. This study also found that people who preferred organic cotton were more likely to purchase organic products and were more concerned about the environment than people who preferred conventional cotton, and that people who owned organic cotton products were more eco‐literate than people who did not own organic cotton products. A profile describing characteristics of organic cotton consumers was developed which may assist organic product producers, marketers, and sellers.Research limitation/implicationsThis research only involved collecting and analyzing information from participants in Hawaii, therefore, more research may be needed to compare characteristics of potential organic cotton consumers in different regions of the USA.Originality/valueIn addition to providing researchers with further understanding of potential and current organic cotton consumers, this study may provide organic product producers and sellers further insight about their potential customers which may help develop better ways to market their products.