Marketing

Beirne, M. (2008). Marketers eye fair trade certified as the new 'green'. Brandweek, 49(33), 014-015.

The article looks at the increasing popularity of products from ecologically friendly farms. Several companies, including Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and eBay, have begun marketing products designed to attract environmentally aware consumers. Specific products labeled as "Fair Trade Certified," such as coffee, sugar, rice, and fruit, are discussed.

Available online: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content....

Golding, K. (2009). Fair trade's dual aspect: The communications challenge of fair trade marketing. Journal of Macromarketing, 29(2), 160.

Effective communication strategies are fundamental to achieving sustainable consumption, yet there is a gap in the literature with respect to their design. Moreover, there is considerable debate with respect to the starting point for such strategies: whether the shift to sustainable consumption can be achieved within the dominant social paradigm or whether a new paradigm is required. Fair trade (FT) marketing presents a valuable case study of these issues in practice. Case analysis of a campaign by the Divine Chocolate Company suggests the importance of transcending the polarization of the radical and pragmatic visions of FT and also the within or without dichotomy of macromarketing in terms of moving consumers along a pathway to sustainable development. The campaign's synergism further has significant implications for the design of communication strategies to effect sustainable consumption. These are presented in terms of two working propositions for exploration in alternative contexts. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Halepete, J., & Park, J. (2006). Competitive e-tailing strategies for fair trade organizations. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 10(4), 491.

This study aims to provide competitive e-tailing strategies for fair trade organizations using a benchmarking approach. Design/methodology/approach - A coding guide was developed to obtain information available on 28 fair trade web sites and 28 commercial web sites focusing on company information, product information, distribution channels, customer service, and web site structure/media service. This paper provides valuable managerial implications for fair trade organizations focusing on web site operations. Information availability and strategic web site management can attract customers to make purchases on fair trade web sites and, in turn, enable organizations to sustain and grow in the competitive marketplace. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Grankvist, G., Lekedal, H., & Marmendal, M. (2007). Values and eco- and fair-trade labelled products. British Food Journal, 109(2), 169.

The purpose of this article is to study whether preference for a product increased, or decreased, as a consequence of information that the product was either eco- or fair trade labelled. An additional purpose was to investigate associations between importance attached to values and preference for eco- and fair-trade labelled food products. Effects of information that orange juice was either eco- or fair trade labelled were studied in an experimental setting, with a sample of Swedish students. Importance attached to values was measured with the list of values (LOV) scale. Taste preference was the evaluated aspect. (Grankvist and all., 2007)

Gumbel, P. (2009). The sweet taste of fair trade. Time, 174(11), 50-50.

The article discusses the British company Cadbury PLC, its Dairy Milk chocolate bar, and its 10-year purchase agreement with Ghana's cacao farmers. It notes that the agreement will increase cacao farmer income and fund schools in Ghana. It notes the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations and the marketing advantages of adding its label to products. (Gumbel, 2009)

Kopali's zak zaidman: Making fair trade fruitful.(2009). BusinessWeek Online, 27-27.

An excerpt from the conversation between Rebecca Reisner with Zak Zaidman, founder of software company Kopali Organics, on the challenges of Fair Trade and marketing organic snacks, is presented.

Available online: http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/....

Linton, A., Liou, C. C., & Shaw, K. A. (2004). A taste of trade justice: Marketing global social responsibility via fair trade coffee. Globalizations, 1(2), 223-246.

The movement to certify and promote fairly traded coffee is one of many efforts aimed at linking social responsibility and free market capitalism. In the wake of a worldwide crisis in which coffee prices have fallen to levels that do not support small-scale production, non-profit Fair Trade certifying and labeling organizations are working to develop a market situation that is sustainable for workers and the environment. The Fair Trade system promotes living wages for farmers, access to affordable credit, and the adoption and maintenance of environmentally sound practices. Fair Traders' marketing efforts seek to influence cultural and political values in such a way that consumers and corporations will have to respond to them by incorporating the welfare of Southern workers into their purchasing decisions. This article discusses and evaluates current strategies for creating and expanding the market for Fair Trade-certified coffee and their outcomes in the United States and Europe. We argue that, while Fair Traders have achieved some laudable goals, they must now address the limits to supply-driven marketing efforts. (Linton and all., 2004)

Available online: http://www.canunite.org/files/A%20Taste%20of%20Trade....

Low, W., & Davenport, E. (2009). Organizational leadership, ethics and the challenges of marketing fair and ethical trade. Journal of Business Ethics, 86, 97.

This article critically evaluates current developments in marketing fair trade labelled products and "no sweat" manufactured goods, and argues that both the fair trade and ethical trade movements increasingly rely on strategies for bottom-up change, converting consumers "one cup at a time". This individualistic approach, which we call "shopping for a better world", must, we argue, be augmented by more collectivist approaches to affect transformative change. Specifically, we look at the concept of mission-driven organizations pursuing leadership roles in developing affinity relationships to promote fair and ethical trade and developing ethical spaces. (Low and Devenport, 2009)

Macrae, L. (2005). Fair's fair. New Internationalist, (379), 2-2.

Presents a letter to the editor concerning commercialization of the "fair trade" label.

Moore, G., Gibbon, J., & Slack, R. (2006). The mainstreaming of fair trade: A macromarketing perspective. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 14(4), 329.

Following a brief review of the development and underlying purposes of the Fair Trade movement, the paper introduces perhaps the key issue for the UK Fair Trade movement currently: the mainstreaming of Fair Trade food products. The macromarketing literature, with its focus on sustainable consumption, ecocentrism and a consequent need to change the dominant social paradigm, is used as a framework for analysing the findings of an empirical study of this mainstreaming process involving interviews with and case study material from both Fair Trade organisations and the major supermarkets which have engaged with Fair Trade. The key question that the paper addresses is whether Fair Trade, particularly as it enters mainstream markets, provides an exemplar, from within the existing dominant social paradigm, of the kinds of actions that the macromarketing literature suggests are necessary to enable sustainable consumption. Implications for both the Fair Trade movement and for macromarketing are drawn out. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Nicholls, A., & Lee, N. (2006). Purchase decision-making in fair trade and the ethical purchase 'gap': 'is there a fair trade twix?'. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 14(4), 369.

Children are increasingly being recognised as a significant force in the retail market place, as primary consumers, influencers of others, and as future customers. This paper adds to the literature on children as consumers by exploring their attitudinal responses to a specific group of products: Fair Trade lines. There has been no research to date that has specifically addressed children as consumers of Fair Trade or the ethical purchase decision-making process in this area. The methodological approach taken here is an essentially interpretive and naturalistic analysis of two focus groups of school children. The analysis found that there is an urgent need to develop meaningful Fair Trade brands that combine strong brand knowledge and positive brand images to bridge the ethical purchase gap between the formation of clear ethical attitudes and actual ethical purchase behaviour. Such an approach would both capture more of the children's primary market and influence future purchase behaviour. It is argued that Fair Trade actors should coordinate new marketing communications campaigns that build brand knowledge structures holistically around the Fair Trade process and that extend beyond merely raising consumer awareness. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Tarmann, K. F. (2003). The Fair Trade Coffee Movement: Norm Change or Niche Marketing? Dissertation Abstracts International, A: The Humanities and Social Sciences, 63 (8), 2997-A. (Available from UMI, Ann Arbor, MI. Order No. DA3062109.)

This project assesses the efforts and achievements of the fair trade coffee movement--a paradigmatic example of a transnational advocacy network--to effect behavior and norm change not through state-backing but by venturing into the global marketplace to redefine what constitutes "fair" trade by mobilizing information strategically to persuade and pressure businesses and consumers directly, deliberately bypassing formal political channels. An introduction reviews the relevant literature and makes the case for studying transnational advocacy networks. Among the conclusions reached about the process of norm change in contemporary global politics: states and multilateral institutions remain overwhelmingly preeminent; the predominance and persistence of the existing norms on what production considerations are "fair" remain a formidable obstacle to the emergence of a new norm; the role of NGOs in global norm change has evolved in format but not substantially changed in content; and, the slight shift in overall demand in favor of fair trade coffee does not speak to whether or to what extent the change is motivated by principled concerns rather than material interests or other considerations. (Tarmann and all., 2003)

Tibken, S. (2008). Beyond fair trade. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 251(140), R9.

The article discusses the problems that artist entrepreneur faces in selling their products and presents web solutions to their predicament. It states that artists can only turn out small batches of items with big investment in time and trying to reach an extremely small audience further aggravates their marketing situation. This situation reportedly spawned the growth of websites where craftspeople can sell their wares for a small charge plus sales commission. The article also includes some websites that offer the service.

Watson, M. (2006). Towards a polanyian perspective on fair trade: Market-based relationships and the act of ethical consumption. Global Society: Journal of Interdisciplinary International Relations, 20(4), 435-451.

Fair trade requires that developed country consumers engage in market-based transactions with developing country producers. Yet this is not market trade in any straightforward sense, because the purchase of fairly traded products brings consumers into two market relationships at the same time. One is the market relationship through which consumers buy the product itself, which enables them to act altruistically by consciously paying the price premium that the producer receives. The other is the market relationship through which consumers buy the socially reputable knowledge of having helped a distant stranger, which enables them to harness their ostensibly ethical consumption to a knowingly self-interested action. This latter relationship adds a new dimension to orthodox commodity fetishism. A Polanyian perspective is developed to investigate the way in which fair trade reworks the commodity fetish. This serves as a prelude to an extended discussion of the moral status of the behavioural motivations that underpin fair trade consumption. (Watson, 2006)

Welford, R., Meaton, J., & Young, W. (2003). Fair trade as a strategy for international competitiveness. International Journal for Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 10(1), 1.

Argues that in a world of globalization with greater transparency and information availability it will be important for companies to be clear about their policies on supply chain management and trade. Strategies for the integration of fair trade policies, strategies and standards; Conflicts between sustainable development and free trade; Purpose of ethical trading or sound sourcing.

Wright, L. T., & Heaton, S. (2006). Fair trade marketing: An exploration through qualitative research. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 14(4), 411.

This paper is concerned with the extent of consumer understanding of the Fairtrade brand and consumer uptake of products under the auspices of the Fairtrade organisation. There are ethical issues surrounding the brand from both the consumer and organisational (supplier) perspectives. Qualitative focus groups and personal interviews are undertaken. Findings from research with organisations and consumers are presented with regard to investigations of Fairtrade from an ethical perspective and the barriers inhibiting consumer support of Fairtrade products. Conclusions drawn concern the success of the Fair Trade name in the ethical and social contexts. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]