Buying into Fair Trade: Culture, Morality, and Consumption

Notes

>> 155 Notes Chapter 1 1. DeCarlo 2007. 2. Global Exchange 2012. 3. Osorio 2002. 4. Smith 2010, p. 31. 5. Jaffee 2007; DeCarlo 2007; Lyon 2011. 6. Gould (1993) theorized that social movement participation is determined in part by individuals’ belief that their actions in support of a movement will efficiently go towards a social problem. These trips foster this belief. This idea is explored in more depth in chapter 3. 7. Giddens 2000. 8. Smith and Johnston 2002; Klein 2001. 9. Kimeldorf et al. 2006. 10. The research on fair trade is growing quickly. A dynamic database keeping track of the latest research on the fair trade movement can be found at www.fairtradeinstitute .org/. 11. DeCarlo 2007. 12. DeCarlo 2007, p. 67. 13. Jaffee 2007, p. 12; DeCarlo 2007. 14. Akerloff and Kranton 2010, p. 41. 15. Bryant Simon (2009) makes this point with the title of his book about Starbucks, attributing the company’s success to “Everything but the coffee.” Gary Alan Fine (2003, 2004) shows that the stories about a piece of art are often more important than the object itself. The value of self-taught art (sometimes referred to as outsider art) is largely determined by the authenticity of the stories associated with the artist. Pierre Bourdieu (1984) explains that individuals are searching for distinction and thus attach certain meanings to certain products. These meanings tend to be related to a person’s economic position and level of cultural capital. Holt clarifies Bourdieu’s point by explaining that it is not just consumption that reflects social status; it is the way in which individuals talk about the products they buy. The stories describing why individuals chose a certain home or vacation serve to convey a person’s class position and how much cultural capital a person possesses (Holt 2000). 16. I compiled this number by comparing the number of international trips (not including Mexico or Canada) taken by Americans in 1988, which came to 156 > 157 39. Fair Trade Research Network 2011. 40. Robinson 2011. 41. Solidarity eXchange 2011. 42. Rice 2012. 43. United Students for Fair Trade 2011. 44. Bryant Simon (2010) estimates that at least one-quarter of Starbucks’ signage discusses its fair-trade coffee. Further, the signage varies significantly by location . In Japan, there are few signs promoting fair-trade coffee, whereas, in the United Kingdom, the signs are all over the place. In the United States, there tend to be more fair-trade signs in Starbucks stores located close to college campuses. 45. Jaffee 2007. 46. Moberg and Lyon 2010, pp. 11–12. 47. CAN 2011. 48. Fairtrade Labeling Organizations Association 2011. It is important to reiterate that Fair Trade USA and FLO certify many products, but coffee is currently driving the growth of the fair trade movement. The rift between FLO and Fair Trade USA presents a threat to the well-being of coffee farmers and the gains made by fair trade entrepreneurs who want consumers to understand what fair trade certification means. 49. United Students for Fair Trade 2011. 50. Moberg and Lyon 2010. 51. White 2002; Bourdieu 1984. 52. A quick note about my use of “ethical,” “moral,” and “altruistic” is warranted. I tend to use these phrases interchangeably throughout the book. I argue not that products are inherently moral or ethical but that consumers view them as such. They view fair-trade coffee, for instance, as better or more socially conscious than conventional coffee. 53. King 2006. 54. Micheletti and Follesdal 2007. 55. Matathia and Salzman 1999. 56. A line of products also referred to as Product RED, RED, or (RED). These labels are often combined with product and brand names in a variety of different ways. See Richey and Ponte 2011 57. Cohen 2003. 58. Cohen 2003, p. 31. 59. Cohen 2003, pp. 18–19. 60. Goodman (2004) characterizes this type of social movement as “consumerdependent ” rather than “consumer-driven.” I think this distinction is important because it’s not so much the consumers who are driving change in the fair trade market but the “promoters,” who are often coffee roasters, advocates, retailers, or members of nongovernmental organizations. This was made clear to me when “conscientious consumers” told me they sought fair-trade coffee because they 158 > 159 shopping all align with variables described by Hilgartner and Bosk that allow social problems to enter public arenas. 80. DeCarlo 2007. 81. Brooks 2000. For full disclosure, I moved to Mount Airy while writing this book. I reluctantly...