The Challenges of Marketing Fair Trade - Wynne, Sandy

Fairtrade Foundation. Awareness is influenced by education and consumer exposure.
Sources of information and exposure may come from seeing products in retail outlets,
workplaces, schools or places of worship, in books or periodicals, on web sites, or talking
with others. Consumer exposure to Fair Trade may come from seeing posters and
brochures, learning about campaigns like “For Now, Chocolate is Bitter Sweet”,
watching media events or reading a product’s packaging. The fact remains, though, that
only about 1 in 4 Americans recognize the Fair Trade logo. Consumers are not readily
getting exposed to and informed of Fair Trade. Traditional business books rarely seem to
mention Fair Trade. If mentioned at all, the reference is to governmental protectionism.
The same was true for textbooks in the author’s Master’s program. Professor Matthew
Warning at the University of Puget Sound, a researcher and advocate of Fair Trade,
indicated he experiences a similar pattern of textbooks ignoring Fair Trade. From my
interviews and survey results (Appendix D), it is apparent to the author that consumers
and retailers want information and appreciate learning about Fair Trade when given the
opportunity to do so.
On February 13, 2008, the author visited several local Dunkin Donut and
McDonald locations in Chittenden County, VT. At Dunkin Donuts, when the author
asked for a cup of Fair Trade Certified coffee, most store employees did not know
what Fair Trade was. They were unaware that Dunkin Donuts carries a Fair Trade
Certified coffee, specifically their Espresso, although one employee thought all Dunkin
Donuts coffee products were Fair Trade. At the McDonald’s locations, where all the
coffee is Fair Trade Certified from GMCR (in the Northeast stores), the author
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