University of Zurich study: People in Switzerland buy fair trade products more frequently than their German counterparts

Adapted behavior of Germans in Switzerland

Not only did the authors of the study examine the differences between Switzerland and Germany, they also looked at differences between Swiss people and German people living in Zurich. While there are differences between Swiss people and Germans who have recently arrived to live in Zurich, these differences disappear the longer the Germans stay. “Over time, the divided social context appears to lead to an adaptation of attitudes among those persons. As a result, consumption of fair trade products is also identical.” This is how Patrick Schenk, an assistant at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Zurich, interprets this finding.

According to the authors, the fact that the surveys were carried out in two urban centers should not restrict the reliability of the results. On the contrary: choosing two urban areas enhances the comparability of the sample populations. For Georg Sunderer from the Institute for Social-Ecological Research, the findings demonstrate “the importance of the interaction between social context and individual attitudes in explaining the country-specific differences in the consumption of fair trade products.”

Literature:

Are Swiss Germans more solidary than Germans? Comparing the consumption of fair trade products between Germany and Switzerland. Berliner Journal für Soziologie: 1–26. October 18, 2016. doi:10.1007/s11609-016-0312-4