Notesale: Turn your study into money

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St Edmund Hall
Discuss the consequences of the “shifting cultural politics of fair trade” (Goodman,
2009) for marketers
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6 billion worldwide (Fairtrade Foundation, 2007)
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Essentially this is through paying
exporters prices above the market traded world price, and to encourage sustainability, there
are a number of social and environmental standards which also must be achieved
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As the adopters of Fair Trade goods are businesses which are ultimately
profit seeking, the movement has naturally been at the centre of shifting cultural politics – a
phenomenon which marketers must stay on top of
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While the ideals of the movement have been somewhat lost along the way, the
increased benefits that have been received by producer countries make it hard to argue that
marketers should not use this to appeal to as many customers as possible, however there
should also be greater awareness around the unethical trading that occurs when customers are
misled
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If we do not push companies for Fair Trade goods
they have no reason to stock them, as the implication is that there would be a massive
oversupply of expensive and unsold products
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Without the exposure of
unethical supply chains by NGOs and activists, often through investigative reports which
rapidly spread across social media, consumers would not be at fault for their lack of
awareness about these issues
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This is
especially true of influential firms under the most scrutiny, and Fair Trade is an obvious route
to take to solidify the position of the firm as being socially aware and an advocate of
expanding the responsibility of the business beyond shareholder value
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Even so, as consumers have had increased access to information about the way in
which firms act, the rise in CSR has naturally coincided with the rise in the Fair Trade
movement
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While many of these shops sell Fair Trade through their own-label brands, there are also
brands dedicated solely to Fair Trade, such as Cafedirect
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This has been
made significantly easier by the improvement in the general image of Fair Trade – while
initially it was associated with low quality and bad taste, efforts to shift this image through
new marketing techniques and producers increasing product quality have made the concept
much more appealing to everyday consumers, as opposed to just the hardcore activists
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Celebrities such as David Beckham and Bill and
Melinda Gates have worked to raise awareness of poverty issues throughout the world, for
example through Ambassador roles or promotion of ‘creative capitalism’
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Consumer demand for Fair Trade goods has been pushed forward by celebrities such as Chris
Martin, who show their support through wearing T-shirts, sending tweets and using camera
time to make their views heard, and this has further pushed Fair Trade into the mainstream
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The first of these is that the use of celebrities, logos and symbols
constructs a far less visual and textual language around the producer-consumer relationship
which Fair Trade is built on
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Griffiths (2012) stands
strongly against such changes, arguing that consumers pay a higher price for Fair Trade goods
under the impression that almost all of the premium will go to the Third World, whereas in
fact in the UK only 1
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8% of the extra charge reaches producers on average
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This is unfortunately very rarely true, and the changed landscape of
Fair Trade has had three major implications for marketers
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Such a shift has partly
attributed to grater sales, and the information-focused packaging of the past has been replaced
with idyllic images of famous tourist destinations, which have proved far more appealing to
consumers and more profitable for firms
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St Edmund Hall
Secondly, Goodman (2009) writes that sourcing, selling and marketing Fair Trade goods
allows firms to deflect some of the criticism they receive for their business practices through
a ‘halo’ effect, keeping the public happy with the ethical side of trade
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While Fair Trade used to be about being a part of transformative action, not just buying
products, the cultural shift means it can no be used by firms as essentially a brand name
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It could be argued that marketers need to ensure they are aware of what constitutes ‘unfair’
trade in terms of the image they are selling consumers
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In some ways, despite Fair Trade’s successful move into the
mainstream, this point may suggest that firms should instead move back to selling Fair Trade
products on their ethical aspects, preserving the integrity of the movement
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Lyon (2002) has discussed some of the benefits that have been achieved through Fair Trade,
and showed that the higher wage has allowed the majority of co-operative members to pay
workers to harvest their crops, limiting child labour and increasing school attendance –
arguably a major step in the development of these countries
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Despite the
movement away from its roots, Fair Trade has had a much greater impact as it has reached so
many more consumers worldwide, and if the end game is higher welfare in poor countries I
believe marketers should make as much use of mainstreaming Fair Trade products as
possible
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A
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Dolan, C
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(2005) “Fields of obligation: rooting ethical consumption in Kenyan
horticulture”, Journal of Consumer Culture, 5(3):365-389
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Goodman, M
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(Sept 2004) “Reading fair trade: political ecological imaginary and
the moral economy of fair trade foods”, Political Geography, 23(7):891-915
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K
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Griffiths, P
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St Edmund Hall
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Low, W
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, (2006) “Mainstreaming fair trade: adoption, assimilation,
appropriation”, Journal of Strategic Marketing 14(4):315-327
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, (2012), “Fair trade and organic initiatives with BT cotton in Andhra
Pradesh, India: A paradox” Geoforum, 43(6):1232-1241
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and Opal, C
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London: Sage
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& Song, J
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