A Critical Review of De Pelsmacker, P.; Janssens, W.; Mielants, C. (2005): Consumer Values and Fair-Trade Beliefs, Attitudes and Buying Behaviour. International Review on Public and Non Profit Marketing, vol. 2, n’2, pp. 50-69.
By using the four Fair-trade dimensions of De Pelsmacker, P.; Janssens, W.; Mielants, C. (2003), a survey is conducted in Belgium by the three authors and focused on the consumer values and fair-trade beliefs, attitudes and buying behaviour among 615 Belgians via sampling frame of a marketing research agency who were responsible for day-to-day purchase of groceries. This research aimed to identify the relationship between the attitudes and buying behaviour of Belgian consumers and the personal values of those Belgian consumers towards fair trade. The study shows that there is a remarkable positive sign about the overall attitudes of consumers or buyers towards fair trade, yet the results of the quantity and quality of information and product attitudes, especially price acceptance, were less apparent significantly. To the extent of that, this research was descriptive and exploratory as an explanatory model of fair-trade buying behaviour of consumers can be identified and constructed based on the basic of the relevant behavioural and attitudinal of consumers nowadays. It will be possible for us to get the relative importance of each attitudinal factor in fair-trade buying behaviour. However, several potentially relevant causes were not taken into account.
In this paper “Consumer Values and Fair-Trade Beliefs, Attitudes and Buying Behaviour,” De Pelsmacker, P.; Janssens, W.; Mielants, C. (2005) state that empirical research which is used in determining the factors of fair-trade buying behaviour and ethical ...
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...tempts to use his or her purchasing power to bring about social change. Therefore, in this context, social conscious consumer is someone who “takes into account” the public consequences of his or her consumption and who “attempts” to make a social change, but in fact the consumer has no obligation to do so, not to mention his or her rights in placing priorities on price, quality and value of the products based on his or her preferences.
All in all, this article is interesting, lively presented and very comprehensive. It did attract my attention as the ways the researchers present the information and data were interesting and straight to the points. They provide tables in presenting their findings which make us able to see the “bigger picture” of the findings. Nevertheless, we could not deny that we found it difficult to argue with the points made in this article.
Characteristics of our society reflect in the outcome of purchasing tendencies. How many of us can honestly say we make a valid effort to purchase goods made in our own country? In our face paced world where both parents are in the work force, raising children, social activities and everything else, who has time to make an effort? Most often, consumers only care about marking off the s...
For example, in 2013, one in three bananas sold in the UK carried the Fairtrade certification mark. This demonstrates the appetite for food traded on fairer terms and is seen as a discernible shift in consumer awareness and behaviour.
...-operative handling distribution of coffee (Kolk 2013:327-28). Fair trade also allows consumers to consider the type of product being purchased by informing them of the fair and ethical practices behind the coffee beans (Kolk 2013:334). By supporting fair trade coffee the consumer can feel a sense of contribution in supporting the farmers’ livelihood.
Fair Trade can be defined as “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South. Fair trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional trade”. (Lyon and Moberg 2010) By encouraging more ethical consumer choice, Fair Trade challenges processes which devalue and exploit people in disadvantaged positions and the environment by aiming to re-embed commodity circuits within ecological and social relations. (Lyon and Moberg 2010) Established and enforced by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Fair Trade is a voluntary system with its success driven by the wi...
Fair Trade will partner with corporations such as manufacturers, retailers and other companies who are associated with buying produce from producers in undeveloped c...
This article hasn’t provided an introduction; however a lengthy summary of the study which identifies the problem, purpose and rationale for the research study has been provided in the background. The introduction should give the reader a general sense of what the document is about, and preferably persuade the reader to continue reading. This prepares the reader for reading the rest of the document (Burns & Grove, 2001 p.636; Nieswiadomy, 2008 p.380; Stockhausen and Conrick, 2002).
...the data did not involve member checking thus reducing its robustness and enable to exclude researcher’s bias. Although a constant comparative method was evident in the discussion which improved the plausibility of the final findings. Themes identified were well corroborated but not declared was anytime a point of theoretical saturation Thus, the published report was found to be particularly strong in the area of believability and dependability; less strong in the area of transferability; and is weak in the area of credibility and confirmability, although, editorial limitations can be a barrier in providing a detailed account (Craig & Smyth, 2007; Ryan, Coughlan, & Cronin, 2007).
Fair Trade has been mainstreamed by the growth of the FLO international certification system and national labelling initiatives, which promote the sale of certified products in conventional supermarkets. This brings middlemen into picture like the large corporate distributors who might under price and undercut more socially oriented Fair trade firms. The mainstreaming strains FLO’s regulatory capacity, undermines the integrity of standards and procedures and affects the credulity of consumers as corporations infamous for their exploitative p...
Fairtrade is something that you will now hear or read about on a regular basis while grocery shopping. We can see packages labelled as Fairtrade; we can see stores promote themselves as being fair trade. However, when you ask people what fair trade actually is, some know and others have a skewed idea of what it means. Fairtrade is a certified process where businesses promote fair prices, fair working conditions, and better trading methods. There are many regulations that are placed onto producers so they can acquire the prestigious title of being labelled “fair trade certified”, yet many of these requirements are not met fully, especially when it comes to workers. Workers are not being treated as fairly as they should be on some of the
SOLOMON (2009). Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, England.
The fair trade market is an approach to a more feasible development that helps the farmers improve the production of coffee by providing them with many resources. The Fair Trade certified label helps the consumers in knowing that their coffee is high quality (6).” Economics of Fair Trade” states that the Fair Trade sets a minimum set price for their coffee that covers the price it costs to produce it. It links farmer cooperatives directly to the United States, creating long term contract and livable lifestyle. Farmers are receiving better incomes that enable them to live a better lifestyle. As it benefits the farmers it does hold a major part in the North. By giving the South a fairer price, it benefits the United States because this is done through trade not aid. The United States receives their high quality coffee and in return knowing that their “dollar” is helping them grow the coffee efficiently (Economics of Fair Trade). The Fair Trade Market is vital for the nation in either consuming the coffee or using the finances to make ends
The term “Marketing ethics” has been defined as how moral standards of right and fair practices are implemented into organization and strategy (Murphy et al., 2005). In fact, marketing and ethics are usually seemed as a contradiction, because the purpose of marketing is monetary-oriented. The ultimate goal for business is making profit or generating sales, while ethics is moral and societal, such as contributing to the society. Introcaso et al (1998) quotes Michael Novak’s (1998) words that business might fail in the short term if introducing ethical model in competition, because high moral standards increase costs. Consequently, numerous companies launch misleading advertising, manufacture unsafe products, exploit labour right and waste natural resource for self-interest. They have indirectly deceived vulnerable consumers and sacrificed minority group.
In conclusion, while selecting articles to use for this research, these particular articles proved to be very useful. They both met the criterion for the purpose of research information, as well as having current information on the topics.
The idea of (fair trade) started in the early nineties of the twentieth century, when some organizations have adopted European and American institutions, the idea represented in achieving a fair price for the products of small farmers and exporters of agricultural materials
Mohan, S., 2010. Fair Trade Without the Froth: A Dispassionate Economic Analysis of ‘Fair Trade’ [online]. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.