Fairtrade.com versus Fairtrade.org—how Fairtrade organisations use the Internet

Abstract

This paper summarises the findings of a study, the first of its kind in Germany, which explored the potential that the Internet can offer for German Fairtrade organisations. Data was gathered from three organisations, comparing their e-commerce strategies. Then interviews were conducted with the organisations' representatives and with the e-commerce customers of Gesellschaft zur Partnerschaft mit der Dritten Welt (Gepa), the largest Fairtrade company in Europe. The Fairtrade organisations differed in political outlook and in regards to their approach to the Internet, thus reducing the potential for cooperation and networking. However, some of the Gepa customers interviewed used e-commerce to circumnavigate the distribution difficulties characteristic of Fairtrade, thus suggesting that there is potential for increased turnover. On the other hand, many of the customers were not interested in accessing the informational part of the Gepa-website, so the potential for disseminating political information with the product is low. Based on in-depth interviews with online buyers, it is argued that customers will only access campaign information online if Fairtrade organisations become more visible in offline and online debates on global justice. Like other Civil Society actors, Fairtrade organisations need to develop strategies how they can best use the Internet for their aims. This, the paper argues, will have to include careful vetting of the brand and connected website as well as appropriate and ongoing investment of personal and financial resources. The overall marketing strategy will have to integrate the offline and online presence and should aim to customise the organisations' services to more or less committed supporters. The paper calls for further research on Civil Society's use of the Internet and advocates website analysis as a particularly useful method to decipher the non-governmental organisations' strategies as they negotiate their message with the mainstream of public opinion.