Fair Trade Products Research Articles

The Impact of Social Preferences and Information on the Willingness to Pay for Fairtrade Products

This paper investigates the impact of social preferences and information about the value chain on the willingness to pay (WTP) for Fair-trade products. More specifically, the perceived social and economic benefits for Fair-trade farmers are analyzed in order to study whether altruistic preferences or information biases may shift consumers’ WTP. By means of an online survey, the empirical analysis is carried out for the coffee market. After grouping and comparing participants with respect to their WTP, social preferences, and demographic backgrounds, we find some evidence that consumers wrongly estimate, and lack information on, the financial benefits of Fair-trade certification that are eventually allocated to the coffee farmers. Large multinational enterprises often seem to make use of the Fair-trade system in order to gain financial and competitive advantages by “fair-washing” their products. This demonstrably leads to a higher WTP for an ethical premium that is not necessarily justified.

Fair trade and sustainable development practices

There is consumer interest in organic and fair trade products globally. This has created a growing interest for producing agricultural products, which meet the standards for organic and fair trade products. This paper critically discusses fair trade as notion and in practice and connects the analysis of production of fair trade quinoa in a community in Southern Bolivia with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). According to World Fair Trade Organization fair trade will improve environmental sustainability both at local level and globally as peasants in global South have opportunities to export organic products to markets in the global North, which will also have the result of empowering producers. This paper poses the question whether fair trade is alleviating poverty and supporting local producers creating environmentally sound technologies (Sustainable Development Goal 12, Target 12a) – in this case in communities in the highlands (Altiplano) in Southern Bolivia. The paper critically discusses sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals and questions whose interests Sustainable Development Goal 12 is primarily serving: consumers or producers. The discussion concludes that initiatives like fair trade and policies based on global goals can have unintended consequences, which are disadvantageous to local communities.

Premiums Paid for What You Believe In: The Interactive Roles of Price Promotion and Cause Involvement on Consumer Response

Building on the persuasion knowledge model, the present research suggests that price discounts have divergent effects on consumer response to fairtrade products depending on the level of personal relevance to fairtrade (i.e., cause involvement). More- (vs. less-) involved consumers are engaged in more effortful processing of information to evaluate fairtrade products. For this reason, in response to a price discount, more-involved consumers access persuasion knowledge that entails suspicion of the brand’s ulterior motive for offering the discount and its fairtrade claim. Thus, they are likely to perceive the brand as less credible and show decreased purchase intention and brand attitude. Conversely, less-involved consumers are likely to infer the brand’s persuasion motive by trusting the brand and believing its claim. By accessing persuasion knowledge that involves trust and belief, less-involved consumers perceive the brand as more credible, exhibiting a favorable response to fairtrade products on price promotion. The present research also discusses how to mitigate the negative effects of price discounts for more-involved consumers: When a justifiable reason for a promotion is provided, the negative effect of the price discount disappears among more-involved consumers.

Evaluation of minimum standards for communal catering in Styrian nursing homes

Abstract Background Nutritional standards in community catering facilities are essential for adequate quality of care. As part of the initiative GEMEINSAM G'SUND GENIESSEN of the Health Fund Styria, minimum standards for nursing homes were published. The aim was to investigate the current situation of the implementation of selected minimum standards for food and drink supply in Styrian nursing homes to create appropriate measures for healthy living for elderly people. Methodology Of 81 defined minimum standards, two thirds were examined in the study (n = 54; 66.6 %). To get detailed insights into the current degree of implementation, the project team worked with a mixed- methods-basis, consisting of an online survey (n = 94; 41.4% of all Styrian nursing homes), 46 guideline interviews and 169 weeks of menu analysis. Results Of the 54 minimum standards analysed, 34 were fulfilled (63.0%), nine were rather fulfilled (16.6%), five were rather not fulfilled (9.2%), four standards could not be fulfilled (7.4%) and two standards could not be investigated (3.7%). Nursing homes prefer seasonal and regional products, but pay less attention to the use of fair trade products or organic food. In addition, the food choice is determined by the preferences and acceptance of the residents, which are the main reasons for the low use of whole grain products and the rare offer of vegetarian dishes. With regard to the design of the menus, almost all plans are age-appropriate and attractively presented, but rarely meet the standard with regard to recommended labelling (e.g. alcohol aromas). Challenges in the daily practise are finding a way between the self-determination of the residents, the arranged diets as wells as meeting the minimum standards. Conclusions Results indicate that minimum standards in nursing homes are taken into account. In order to achieve a comprehensive implementation, further development of the standards as well as information and awareness-building interventions are needed. Key messages Challenges in the daily practise are finding a way between the self-determination of the residents, the arranged diets as wells as meeting the minimum standards. The range of vegetarian dishes, dishes with legumes and wholemeal products should be focused in the future. In addition, the provision of tools (age-and target-group- specific-menus) is recommended.

Consuming Anti-Consumerism: The German Fairtrade Movement and the Ambivalent Legacy of ‘1968’

AbstractThe article explores the influence of ‘1968’ on the West German fair trade movement. It argues that 1968 constituted an ambivalent legacy for the perception of mass consumerism: while the 1960s student movement radically criticised modern consumer society, it also put new emphasis on consumer products as markers of individual identity. The article analyses this relationship by focusing on the design, representation and advertising of fair trade products by the German fair trade organation GEPA. The first two case studies examine the politicisation of fair trade products in its early campaigns in the 1970s and the subsequent attempts to use everyday products like coffee, tea and honey to educate consumers about their individual lifestyles. The third case study looks at the GEPA's first mail-order catalogues and asks how the GEPA tried to transform an icon of modern mass consumerism into a tool to communicate its fair trade approach.

To Erect Temples to Virtue: Effects of State Mindfulness on Other-Focused Ethical Behaviors

While prior research suggests a link between mindfulness and ethical decision-making, most of the evidence for this link is correlational and refers to self-focused ethical behaviors. The paucity of experimental evidence, coupled with a lack of clarity on what mechanisms underlie the effect, limits our understanding of whether and how mindfulness might foster other-focused ethical behaviors. In this research, we hypothesize that state mindfulness might promote other-focused ethical behaviors by increasing resourcefulness, which we define as a perceived state of resource abundance. Across four experimental studies, we report causal evidence for the effects of state mindfulness instantiated through brief mindful meditation exercises on other-focused ethical behaviors, including choice of fair-trade products (Study 1A), charitable giving (Study 1B), and volunteering (Study 1C and Study 2). Resourcefulness mediates the effects of mindfulness on other-focused ethical behaviors (Study 2). Our work answers the call for more experimental research on mindfulness and its important implications for ethical decision-making.

How Millennials' Knowledge, Trust, and Product Involvement Affect the Willingness to Pay a Premium Price for Fairtrade Products?

How Millennials' Knowledge, Trust, and Product Involvement Affect the Willingness to Pay a Premium Price for Fairtrade Products?

Market competition and ethical standards: the case of fair trade mainstreaming

This paper analyzes whether ideology-driven firms doing business based on ethical principles such as those envisioned by fair trade can survive in the market when competition increases. By formally evaluating the development of fair trade over time, we show that such firms cannot continue to exist with full compliance with ethical standards about fairness. We conceptualize fairness as wealth transfers to small local producers in developing countries and apply a Hotelling-model of horizontal competition in fairness. Results show that increasing the scale and scope of fair trade products in the market implies that concessions on fairness are needed to survive intensified competition. Ideology-driven fair trade firms will survive only if they differentiate. In the end, paradoxically, wealth transfers by ideology-driven firms can be upheld only by focusing on other attributes than fairness to attract consumers. Only then can ideology-driven firms maintain ethical standards in a market environment, while alleviating pressure on total wealth transfers to local producers.

Personal values and willingness to pay for fair trade coffee in Cape Town, South Africa

Understanding ethical buying behaviour is an important component in the study of sustainability. Multiple studies on fair trade have been conducted in established markets in Europe, with limited but increasing research in emerging markets. This study used a questionnaire survey to investigate South African consumers’ ethical buying behaviour, using conjoint analysis to imitate the multi-attribute decision consumers face when buying coffee. Based on previous research, factors concerning consumers’ personal values, willingness to pay, and knowledge are combined. In the results, participants were segmented based on their willingness to pay for fair trade labelled coffee and these segments were then compared in terms of their fair trade knowledge and personal values. The study profiled four different segments and concluded that conventionalism, rationalism, sincerity, and personal satisfaction did not differ significantly across segments. The segment ‘Fair Trade Lovers’, however, exhibited higher levels of humanitarianism than the segment ‘Brand Likers’, and were willing to pay a higher fair trade premium. While knowledge of fair trade did not differ significantly between segments, the total sample displayed above average fair trade knowledge and 63% were willing to pay a 10% premium. Insights from this study suggest that marketing managers promoting fair trade in emerging markets can design more effective targeting and promotional strategies by highlighting the psychological determinants affecting the willingness to pay for fair trade products.

Polish Consumer on the Market of Fair Trade Products

Fair Trade is an organised social movement, a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect, whose strategy is to cooperate with marginalised producers and workers. The paper discusses selected results of empirical studies conducted in 2013 within the framework of research project Polish Market of Fair Trade Products financed from the NCN funds, concerning the Fair Trade idea and Polish consumer behaviour in the market of Fair Trade produets. They demonstrated that Fair Trade idea is not a subject of interest to wider circles of Polish consumers. Polish consumers most willingly buy stimulants, tea, coffee, and food produets. Many of them decide to buy such produets influenced by ethical and environmental factors.

Fairtrade credentialism: towards understanding certified producer organizations’ perceptions of Fairtrade as a credential

ABSTRACTFairtrade is a transnational voluntary labelling initiative that aims to upgrade the social, economic, and environmental conditions of producers in developing countries. In this paper, we systematically translated, coded, and analysed open-ended responses from a global survey of Fairtrade producers to explore how Fairtrade operates as a credential. The credentialism literature sheds light on Fairtrade's ability to create social and economic mobility, the operation of positive and negative selection processes and the hidden curriculum. We conclude with research and policy recommendations, including the need for the research community and Fairtrade International to track and monitor initial conditions of Fairtrade producers and measure progress over time to improve understanding of how Fairtrade operates as a credential and structures the social and economic mobility of developing country producers.

소비자생활협동조합의 실천공동체 학습: 포토보이스를 이용한 두레생협의 필리핀 공정무역 생산지 해외연수 사례연구

본 연구는 한국의 소비자생활협동조합(이하 생협)의 필리핀 공정무역 생산지 해외연수를 실천공동체 관점에서 분석한 것이다. 한국 생협들은 조합원들에게 다양한 학습 기회를 제공해 왔으며, 필리핀 해외연수도 그 일환으로 진행되고 있다. 해외연수의 필요성과 효과에 대해서 암묵적으로 인정하고 있으나, 연수 참여자들이 어떤 과정을 거쳐 학습을 하는지에 대해서 이론적으로 설명한 경우는 거의 없다. 이를 설명하기 위해서 두레생협의 필리핀 공정무역생산지 연수 참여자들의 학습경험을 포토보이스를 통해서 분석했다. 필리핀 해외연수과정에서 참여자들은 새로운 환경을 경험하고, 다양한 방식으로 공정무역 제품의 생산과 수출에 관여하는 사람들과 대화를 하면서 새롭게 의미를 생성해 나간다. 동시에 한국에서 참여자 자신과 조직이 해왔던 실천을 숙고하며 평가한다. 이와 더불어 자신과 공정무역 생산자와의 관계를 재설정하면서 자신의 정체성이 변화한다. 분석결과, 공정무역 생산지 연수는 기획 의도 이상의 학습효과를 갖는다는 것을 알 수 있었다.

The factors of Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability influencing pro-environmental buying behaviour

Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) consumers are seen as environmentally aware, socially attuned and with a view of the world that takes into account personal, community and planetary outcomes. The main aim is to identify the relationship between the consumer's affiliation with a LOHAS segment and its buying behaviour. It is based on a questionnaire survey among costumers of shopping centers. The possibility of identifying the attitude and tendency among the consumers regarding the five factors as defined by the Annual LOHAS Forum was found by confirmatory factor analysis. Three LOHAS segments were found by cluster analysis with rmANOVA test. We have found age and especially gender as important for differentiation of LOHAS market segment. LOHAS consumers could be identified as a group with a specific buying behaviour. Healthy Lifestyles and Ecological Lifestyles correlate strongly in multivariable space (based on redundancy analysis) with the preference for products by companies with similar social values to those of the respondent, the strong interest in socially responsible consumption, and the preference to domestic and local products. Sustainable Economy negatively correlate with influence by marketing, advertisement and sales promotion, impulse buying behaviour, and importance of the price. It is positively correlated with the preference for Fairtrade products. It seems, that LOHAS factors are influenced by East-West paradigm as Personal Development and Alternative Health Care were of low importance for respondents.

How Fair Is Fair-Trade: How Much Do Coffee Buyers Know About Grower Food Security & Nutrition? (P04-080-19)

ObjectivesThere is currently no information on what buyers know about nutrition of their fair trade coffee grower’s nutrition and therefore are missing the opportunity to improve the condition of their grower families, many of whom are headed by women. Our objectives are to highlight knowledge and awareness of buyers and consumers; identify best practices to address needs of coffee growers and families to improve nutrition resources; and develop “Nutrition Actions for Coffee Growers” for companies to implement. MethodsReview evidence and secondary data; review U.S. Government programs supporting small-scale farmers and their effectiveness to address grower nutrition; conduct key informant interviews with coffee buyers and companies identified during the Specialty Coffee Expo, April 2019 and Sustainability Consortium TSC10 Conference. Research protocol: Internet-search (pubmed, other sources); synthesize evidence from studies, publications, research; attend Specialty Coffee Expo and Sustainability Consortium TSC10; identify key informants among TSC10, International Women’s Coffee Association (IWCA), coffee buyers and companies focusing on fair trade coffee; develop interview instruments; conduct interviews. ResultsThis abstract is focused on methods and protocol for our research which will be the first of its kind. ConclusionsThis study will provide insight into fair trade purchasers’ understanding and recommend actions companies can take to enable women growers and their families to improve family food security and nutrition. Women provide up to 70% of labor in cultivating and harvesting coffee and 20–35% of coffee-producing households are female headed (International Coffee Organization, ICC 121, 2018). Even when growers get a price premium for fair trade or organic certification, it is not enough to support family livelihoods (Bacon, 2008; Méndez, 2010; Beauchelt, 2012, 2011). Better understanding among fair trade coffee buyers and companies will provide opportunities for growers to ensure better household nutrition. These actions could be scaled to other fair trade products like cocoa, essential oils, artisanal textiles. Funding SourcesGlobal Food & Nutrition Inc. provided funding for the literature review and conference participation.

Governing the Governors: The Global Metagovernance of Fair Trade and Sustainable Forestry Production

To promote environmentally sustainable corporate behavior, a complex system of global private governance operates where civil society groups play dominant roles. We argue that the concept of “metagovernance” developed in the public administration literature helps scholars and practitioners make sense of the constellation of actors, structures, and processes that have emerged in the field of global private governance. This article advances the metagovernance research agenda by providing a comparative application of the concept to two global private governance schemes: the fair trade and sustainable forest product certification systems. We examine the key organizations, arrangements, and relationships that constitute these systems to demonstrate that metagovernance in this sphere is produced heterarchically: multiple organizations within global private governance schemes are mutually responsible for their own coordination. We argue that employing metagovernance as an analytical tool enables the identification and appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of complex systems for “the governance of governance” from a holistic perspective. Related Articles Alejo, Antonio. 2019. “Contemporary Diplomacy, Global Politics, and Nongovernmental Actors: Dilemmas of the Multistakeholder Mechanism of Participation in Mexico.” Politics & Policy 47 (1): 105‐126. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12284Bance, Philippe, and Angelique Chassy. 2017. “The Rollout of the Multilevel Governance System: A Source of Reworking the Contingent Valuation Method?” Politics & Policy 45 (6): 1080‐1107. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12236Burau, Viola, and Carole Clavier. 2018. “Understanding Gaps in the Coexistence between Different Modes of Governance: A Case Study of Public Health in Schools in a Multilevel System.” Politics & Policy 46: 604‐629. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12269 Related Media FLOCERT. N.d. “How it Works.” https://www.flocert.net/solutions/fairtrade-resources/how-it-works/Forest Stewardship Council. N.d. “Who We Are.” https://ca.fsc.org/en-ca/about-usfsc‐watch.com. 2016. “Jari Certificate Suspension: Why Was it Ever Certified in the First Place?” https://fsc-watch.com/2015/12/22/jari-certificate-suspension-why-was-it-ever-certified-in-the-first-place/

Effects of perceived justice of fair trade organizations on consumers’ purchase intention toward fair trade products

The purpose of fair trade (FT) initiatives is to provide fair and reasonable payment to producers who may otherwise be negatively affected by free trade. Attracting consumers to purchase FT products is key to the success of the FT movement. This study identified the effects of consumers’ perceived justice of FT organizations (FTOs) on their purchase intention toward FT products. A total of 398 valid questionnaire responses were received and structural equation modeling was adopted to assess the casual relationships between variables. The results indicate that (a) perceived distributive, procedural, and interactional justice of FTOs among consumers positively affected trust in FTOs; (b) perceived distributive and procedural justice exhibited positive effects on perceived effectiveness of FT; and (c) trust in FTOs and perceived effectiveness of FT among consumers positively affected their purchase intention toward FT products. Based on these findings, this study provides practical suggestions to FT-related businesses and organizations, enabling these entities to accurately determine directions for the promotion and marketing communications of FT products.

A new model to predict consumers' willingness to buy fair-trade products.

The study aims to enrich the knowledge on the consumer's decision-making process towards fair-trade products. Starting from Theory of Planned Behaviour and Norm Activation Theory basic assumptions, the systemic effect of awareness of consequences, emotional empathy, attitude and personal norms on purchase intention is considered. The empirical research builds on an online survey with a sample of 215 consumers. The proposed model was tested through structural equation modelling. Results showed a positive effect of attitude towards the product, personal norms and empathy on purchase intention. Personal norms were, in turn, influenced by awareness of consequences of fair practices and emotional empathy and positively impacted on attitude towards the product. The paper offers recommendations to governments, industries and non-profit organisations for better marketing and promoting fair-trade products.

Consumers' willingness to buy and willingness to pay for fair trade food: The influence of consciousness for fair consumption, environmental concern, trust and innovativeness

The emerging trend of fair trade (FT) production has gained increasing attention in the food industry due to the growing amount of socially sensitive consumers. In this respect, the purpose of this study is to comprehend how consciousness for fair consumption (CFC), environmental concern (EC), trust in FT label and consumer innovativeness (CI) impact consumers' willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP) for FT food. For this reason, data were obtained through written survey instrument from consumers. The influence of factors on consumers' behavioral intentions was analyzed with maximum likelihood estimation. The results revealed that CFC, EC, trust in FT Label, CI are positively correlated to WTB and WTP for FT food. In addition, among the antecedents, CFC was found to have the greatest impact on consumers' behavioral intentions. Some contributions were also drawn based on the research findings.

THE ROLE OF TREE DOMESTICATION IN GREEN MARKET PRODUCT VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA


 
 
 Internationally, there is increasing interest in acquiring ‘green’ market, organic and/or fair trade products, also sourced from the wild. The latter is expected to come from well-managed (forest) systems. This has led to the development and implementation of programmes designed to reduce deforestation and forest degradation (for mitigation of climate change, and sustainable provision of environmental goods and services) (REDD and REDD+). Crucially, this approach needs to be extended to the many poor, hungry and marginalized smallholder farmers in developing countries so that they can benefit from this increased market interest, but also to allow them to improve their natural resource (management) basis. In this context, agroforestry tree domestication has made considerable progress in the last 20 years, especially in Africa, in providing planting materials of many new tree crops for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries and consumer markets across many agro-ecological zones. Tree domestication is an important element and the first necessary step in the development of sustainable tree production for introduction in agroforestry systems. These trees can then form the basis of Non-Timber Forest Production (NTFP) that can feed into livelihood development. In contrast to wild trees, planted trees can offer a more regular and continuous supply of NTFPs that then feed into local-to-global value chains and highly sophisticated markets that demand higher quality and greater uniformity. Together with research institutes, local farmers are now developing new, more performant cultivars of species of interest. They thus eventually help to create direct benefits from the processing and subsequent marketing of food and non-food products in local, regional and international markets. The latter activities also create business and employment opportunities in local cottage industries. Similarly, through the indirect environmental and ecological services provided by trees, food security can be greatly enhanced as agroforestry may improve the production environment of crops and thus close the yield gap (i.e. the difference between the potential and actual yield) of modern crop varieties. In this way, agroforestry adds income generation to agro-ecological approaches which together reverse the cycle of land degradation and social deprivation whilst at the same time transforming the lives of poor farmers. However, these benefits do not come without some risks: the loss of genetic diversity and local rights over genetic resources, and exploitation by unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Agroforestry developments should therefore focus on better access to ‘green’ business opportunities for poor smallholder farmers in Africa by maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks.
 KEYWORDS: AGROFORESTRY TREE PRODUCTS; GENETIC DIVERSITY; INDIGENOUS TREE SPECIES; LIVELIHOODS, REDD+
 
 

A Matter of Principle: Comparing Norm-Based Explanations for Fair Trade Consumption

Research on fair trade consumption has proliferated in recent years. However, to date, systematic comparisons of the various theoretical models attempting to explain the purchase of fair trade products are rare. The present paper addresses this gap by comparing three theories which explain fair trade consumption by reference to a personal norm: The norm-activation model (NAM), the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, and the value-identity-personal norm (VIP) model. Using data from a random sample of the general population in Zurich (Switzerland), the paper compares the explanatory power and the causal structures of these theories with structural equation models. The results show that the value-identity-personal norm (VIP) model explains the largest amount of variance in the purchase of fair trade products, followed by the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that values influence the personal norm via specific beliefs (awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility), as specified in VBN, as well as via the more general concept of an identity as a critical consumer, as hypothesized by VIP. In contrast, the results do not support the moderator-formulation of the NAM. The paper therefore concludes that VIP and VBN both represent valuable theories specifying complementary mechanisms for explaining fair trade consumption, whereas there is no evidence for the NAM as an explanation of fair trade consumption.