Abstract
The aim of this paper is to clarify the profile of the ethical consumer as a “Citizen-consumer.” Those who bought eco-friendly or fair trade products were regarded as consumers who were motivated by social responsibility and political engagement. However, some studies show that such consumers are not necessarily ethical or political, but rather hedonistic and individualistic. This paper, therefore, focuses on “creativity” as an important factor of the ethical consumer. In order to examine what kinds of people purchase ethical products, we analyzed the fair trade consumer's motivation using quantitative data in Tokyo. The result of the analysis demonstrated that the younger ethical consumers tend to be associated with creative life, but without awareness of contribution to society. We can describe the younger ethical consumers as “Citizen-consumer” which pursue a good life for themselves.
