NATIONAL FAIR TRADE STUDY - ROLLING OUT

KUSIKUY'S founder, Tamara Stenn is working with her Keene State College students and FairTradeUSA to conduct the first ever, large scale Fair Trade consumer study in the US.  Contact FairTradeUSA to see how you can participate!  Stay posted for results (this May).  

Fair Trade Consumer Study 2012

Guest Blogger:  Tamara Stenn, Professor at Keene State College

According to the United Nations, the US is the world’s largest consumer by far, spending over $10 billion and making up almost 30% of the world’s consumer market in 2009.  (Second to the US is Japan weighing in at just 8.5% of world consumption).  For Fair Trade consumption, the US is second to the UK, with almost $1.2 billion spent on Fair Trade goods in the US in 2009.  Per capita, the US has been a much less enthusiastic supporter of Fair Trade with people spending less than $2 a year on Fair Trade goods in 2006 (table 2).  This is more than nine times less than the Swiss who spend an average of $19 each on Fair Trade goods and more than half of what our counterparts in the UK are each investing into Fair Trade.

Some of the largest Fair Trade buyers in the world such as Green Mountain Coffee and Starbucks, are in the US.  US Fair Trade is prominently sold in national grocery stores such as Safeway, Sam’s Club, Trader Joes, Whole Foods Market, WalMart, Target, and thousands of specialty stores in our towns and cities.  Fair Trade is visible, available, but not wholeheartedly consumed, yet.
Why? Are the products still too hard to find?  Are the Fair Trade labels not known?  Is there confusion about what Fair Trade is?  Is there a lack of belief, trust, or understanding?  How are people learning about Fair Trade anyway?

Keene State College students and Fair TradeTowns USA are partnering together to conduct the first nation-wide study of Fair Trade consumption in the US.  We will be examining how age, gender, occupation, income, region lived and community size, all come into play when making decisions about Fair Trade.  We will also be examining how those decisions are being made – how people are learning about Fair Trade, what is the media influence, social networking, and what barriers exist to keep consumers from making Fair Trade purchases.

Hundreds of convenience sample surveys (16 questions and 15 minutes long) will be administered by Fair Trade Towns volunteers in towns and cities across the US during February and March 2012.  Keene State College Quantitative Literacy students studying Fair Trade will then analyze the results and share them in a researched report scheduled to be released in time for World Fair Trade Day in May 2012.

This is study is significant in that it provides a baseline measure in which to begin to understand the US Fair Trade consumer, their motivations, and challenges.  This will provide an important starting point for more specific, follow up studies.

This opportunity is a great way to gauge the impact of Fair Trade in your community.  If you are interested in getting started with this survey and administering it in your town, please contact Billy Linstead Goldsmith at wgoldsmith@fairtradeusa.org or Courtney Lang at clang@fairtradeusa.org.

Fair Trade Consumers

Fair Trade Consumers

One’s positional perspective, explained Amartya Sen, affects the way in which one views  justice.  People with a greater global cognitive orientation, it was discovered, have a greater propensity for engaging in Fair Trade (considering they have the funds to do so).  While others, with a lesser orientation, believe trade is more the responsibility of the government than themselves.  Consumers, it was noted, are rational beings in their choice to support justice.  If the value of helping others is strong, than one will naturally act in one’s own self interest, and choose to spend a few more dollars to support Fair Trade.  This is called ethical consumption and is a rational choice.  However, bound rationality and high uncertainty will undermine a consumer’s rational choice, resulting in their not purchasing of Fair Trade, even though they had originally said they would.  Greenwashing plays a big role in undermining consumer confidence in Fair Trade claims. 

Without consumers, Fair Trade as justice can not exist.  To realize justice, the many facets of consumer behavior need to be understood.  However this is where limitations exist.  Not all consumers are alike.  It would be interesting to learn why the US has a very low Fair Trade consumer spending per capita (even though they are the world’s largest consumers).  Gender and socioeconomic differences also need to be explored, especially in the context of justice. Most Fair Trade consumers are educated, middle class, women.  To understand Fair Trade in advancing justice for all, is important to know how and why non Fair Trade consumers can become pro Fair Trade consumers.  Is it through more education, better pricing, or the development of a greater global orientation? 

Greenwashing and mis-information inhibit Fair Trade engagement.  Other ways of conveying Fair Trade information are needed.  Technology offers many opportunities for consumers to more deeply engage with Fair Trade producers and create reciprocal relationships.  This too can be further studied.  Bolivians are working to develop local Fair Trade models.  The idea of local (and regional) Fair Trade would make reciprocity and inclusiveness easier and there would be more consumer confidence as cultural and language similarities would lead to easier communication.  However local markets as not as strong, economically, as international ones.  There might not be a large enough demand or volume sold of Fair Trade products for this to be completely viable.  Never-the-less, a local Fair Trade would be something to look at, especially as a way of lessening dependence on others so far away for a realization of justice.   In conclusion, consumers, while an integral part of Fair Trade, are not tightly tied to their role in its advancement of justice.  More inclusion and an understanding of the many types of consumers is needed.