Delivering the Goods: Fair Trade, Solidarity, and the Moral Economy of the Coffee Contract in Nicaragua

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Fair Trade ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Fair Trade Coffee ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
Development Outcomes ◽  
Moral Economic ◽  
Oral History Interviews

This paper explores a deceptively simple question: why do peasant farmers participate in Fair Trade coffee networks? Campaigns touting Fair Trade often suggest that farmers are incentivized to participate due to price premiums and social development benefits. However, a growing literature documenting development outcomes in coffee farming communities suggests that farmers do not reap the benefits of Fair Trade in the way they are presented in the global North. I draw upon ethnographic research in a community that is one the earliest suppliers of Fair Trade in Nicaragua. Combining participant observation, political economic analysis, and oral history interviews, I explore a conflict over out-of-network coffee sales in 2005 that threatened to undermine supplies of high quality coffee critical to the growth of the producer organization and by extension the Fair Trade network. The conflict and its aftermath reveal place-based moral economic entanglements between farmers and producer organizations in Nicaragua that shape whether farmers deliver the goods. I argue that farmers participate in Fair Trade networks in spite of low household incomes and cycles of indebtedness because of the ability of the producer organization to maintain a sense of solidarity linking coffee contracts to a longer agrarian struggle.

scholarly journals Seduced or Sceptical Consumers? Organised Action and the Case of Fair Trade Coffee

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janette Webb
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Fair Trade ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Outer Edge ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Fair Trade Coffee ◽  
Consumer Movements

This article brings together research on political consumerism, social movements and markets to analyse the phenomenon of fair trade coffee. It does this to demonstrate the influence of organised consumers in shaping markets, and to show that people are not inevitably individualised and seduced by the power of corporate marketing. The case of fair trade coffee is used because of the pivotal role of coffee in the global economy. ‘Organised consumers’ are treated as comprised of three inter-connecting, fluid, components: an activist core, responsible for building the campaign and its alternative trade networks; a widely dispersed alliance of civil society and social movement organisations, articulating the connections between trade justice, human rights and wellbeing; and an ‘outer edge’ of quasi-organised consumers acting as part of a largely imagined group by using economic capital to express cultural and political values. Despite saturated markets, and oligopoly among suppliers in a highly rationalised supply chain, such consumer movements have been instrumental in an emerging new trade paradigm, which has influenced the business and product strategies of trans-national corporations. The creation, and rising sales, of Fair Trade products are evidence of the role of consumers as sceptical actors, challenging consumerism and the ethics of a supply chain which impoverishes coffee farmers. Although the future trajectories of fair trade campaigns and products are uncertain, their growth indicates that people continue to draw on sources of social identity beyond that of ‘consumer’.

Moral economy: What’s in a name

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G Carrier
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
The Past ◽  
Empty Symbol ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Moral Economic

The idea of moral economy has been increasingly popular in the social sciences over the past decade, given a confusing variety of meanings and sometimes invoked as an empty symbol. This paper begins by describing this state of affairs and some of its undesirable corollaries, which include unthinking invocations of the moral and simplistic views of some sorts of economic activity. Then, referring especially to the work of EP Thompson and James C Scott, this paper proposes a more precise definition of moral economy that roots moral economic activity in the mutual obligations that arise when people transact with each other over the course of time. It thus distinguishes between the moral values that are the context of economic activity and those that arise from the activity itself. The solution that the paper proposes to the confused state of ‘moral economy’ can, therefore, be seen as terminological, as the sub-title suggests, but it is intended to have the substantive benefits of a better approach to economic activity and circulation and a more explicit and thoughtful attention to moral value.

Do young consumers care about ethical consumption? Modelling Gen Z's purchase intention towards fair trade coffee

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Robichaud ◽  
Hong Yu
Keyword(s):  
Peer Influence ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Fair Trade ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Ethical Consumption ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fair Trade Coffee

PurposeA global shift in ethical/sustainable purchase drivers highlights Generation Z (persons aged 15–24) as an important market for producers and marketers. Although much research has touched on fair trade consumption, very little has focused on Gen Z's consumption patterns. This study provides insights into and implications of younger consumers' motivations in ethical/sustainable consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis research examines Gen Z's purchase intention towards fair trade coffee with the theory of reasoned action framework. Data were collected with a convenience sample, and analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe research found a significant influence of knowledge of fair trade towards product interest. Furthermore, general attitudes towards fair trade had a significant influence on product interest, product likeability and convenience. Lastly, product interest and subjective norms significantly influenced Gen Z's purchase intentions towards fair trade coffee.Originality/valueFindings suggest that Gen Z's shift in ethical/sustainable consumption revolves around their subjective norms or peer influence circles and contributes to the notions of self-branding, identify claims and social currency. Younger generations are digital natives, and social media has created a looking glass into their actions. This digital expansion has created more opportunities for individuals to monitor the actions of others and release information in real-time. Therefore, ethical/sustainable consumption by Gen Z can be used as a communication tool among their peers to project personal values and ideological shifts and to influence others close to them.

Scenarios of style: An exploration of subcultural research as embodied practice in Los Angeles’s vintage Jamaican music scene

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina L. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Performance Studies ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Setting ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Fashion Studies ◽  
Music Scene ◽  
Oral History Interviews ◽  
Embodied Practice

This article sets forth a performance studies framework for subcultural research: scenarios of style. This embodied epistemology brings together Diana Taylor’s scenario paradigm with interdisciplinary perspectives on style to provide a means for researchers to explore the ways in which style is constitutive of subcultural life. Twenty-five years of involvement in Los Angeles’s vintage Jamaican music scene and four years of fieldwork – comprised of participant observation, oral history interviews and archival research – undergird my theorization. To communicate individual agency and subcultural traditions of style, this article explores a single case study situated within my larger research setting. Because scenarios of style supports embodied, situated understandings of knowledge and is contextually adaptable, this article posits its broader relevancy for fashion studies research.

“Our fair trade coffee tastes better”: It might, but under what conditions?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart C. Carr ◽  
Ines Meyer ◽  
Mahima Saxena ◽  
Christian Seubert ◽  
Lisa Hopfgarten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fair Trade ◽  
Fair Trade Coffee

scholarly journals Placing the distant other on the shelf: An analysis and comparison of (fair trade) coffee packages in relation to commodity fetishism

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Robbe Geysmans ◽  
Lesley Hustinx
Keyword(s):  
Fair Trade ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Commodity Fetishism ◽  
Textual Information ◽  
Fair Trade Coffee ◽  
Marketing Materials ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Fair Trade Organizations ◽  
Ground Coffee

Fair trade has been praised for ‘de-fetishizing’ commodities by providing consumers with information on the production of the commodity. Various empirical studies of fair trade marketing materials have generated critique of this vision. However, these focused on materials produced by engaged fair trade organizations. As the fair trade concept has entered the mainstream, fair trade products have found their way into supermarkets. In this setting, these products are confronted with competition, both internal (with other fair trade products) and external (with non-fair trade products). In this article, we argue for a broader focus when studying the relationship between fair trade and defetishization. Our argument is based on a study of whether and how defetishization is advanced on packages of ground coffee within the retail landscape of Flanders, Belgium. Several categories of packages can be distinguished, based on brand (e.g., fair trade advocate, regular brand, retailer house brand) and label (e.g. fair trade label; other social label; no label, but origin is emphasized in the product name). We demonstrate the difficulty of distinguishing these packages based on the visual and textual information they carry (beyond the label), which complicates the identification of any clearly distinct ‘fair trade message’ on these packages. Instead of serving a clear ‘defetishizing’ function, these messages are mixed, interchanged, and adapted. We argue that this could be a direct consequence of perceived or actual changes in the consumer publics inherent to the mainstreaming of fair trade.

scholarly journals Local Government Initiatives and Prospects for Mango Farming Community Capital Enhancement in Guimaras Province, Philippines

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noe John Joseph Endencio Sacramento
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
Community Capitals ◽  
Farming Community

Agricultural communities often confront issues such as lack of support from various political actors. The local government units LGUs are responsible for initiating measures for improving community capitals towards fostering growth and development to mango farming communities. This descriptive qualitative study provides an understanding of the initiatives of the LGU in enhancing the community capitals in the Guimaras, Philippines mango farming community. The community capitals framework (CCF) served as a lens and guide. Semi-structured interview guides and participant observation are instrumental in data gathering from five key informants. Findings revealed that LGU provided various programs and initiatives to help enhance the community capitals of the mango sector; thus, LGU as a political actor and development enabler has significant roles in fostering community development. Recommendations in this study are essential to the LGU further to enhance the community capitals of the mango farming sector. In gist, there is a need to focus more on building social networks within the community, establish means for transporting the mango produce, and strengthen community education on agriculture among the youth for them to involve in the mango industry’s development.

scholarly journals Fashioning sustainability: drawing lessons from the fair trade coffee industry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Pringle
Keyword(s):  
Fair Trade ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Consumer Awareness ◽  
Entire Life ◽  
Fair Trade Coffee ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Eco Fashion ◽  
Do So ◽  
Voluntary Initiatives

Due to the fashion industry’s global reach, spanning many jurisdictions, regulations are difficult to implement, monitor and enforce. Strict voluntary initiatives that focus on raising consumer awareness, thereby creating greater demand for eco fashion have greater potential to lead to reform within the fashion industry. To do so, voluntary initiatives must include clear labeling of ‘eco’ products and designer input, and include strict guidelines for company and designer standards. Standards must take the entire life cycle of a garment into consideration. Fashion can apply lesson from the fair trade coffee industry by appealing to consumers based on ethics and environmental responsibility through a trusted consumerfacing label. Fair trade was successful, in part, due to their recognizable label. Fair trade type certifications are most often business to consumer facing and provide consumers with the environmental and social information on the benefits of purchasing fair trade. Fair trade certification models have capitalized on large retailer involvement, allowing certifications to become mainstreamed and therefore more accessible for consumers.

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